A flush, recessed screen needs a cavity as deep as the display plus about 3 inches behind it for the plug, cables and air. The panel-mount sizes run 2.1 to 2.8 inches deep, so cut 5¼ to 6 inches of depth and form the opening to the panel's printed cut-out. When the wall's existing recess cannot be deepened, face-mount on a low-profile bracket instead.
A screen that sits flush in a wall, whether it is a door-side room posting, a corridor directory or a lobby board, lives or dies by one measurement taken before anyone picks a model: the depth of the cavity you can cut. Take that number first and the choice is simple arithmetic. Take it last and you are shopping for a thinner panel that does not exist. We sell panel-mount displays from 10.1 to 23.8 inches built for exactly this install, and larger wall models through 75 inches quoted per project. This page gives the depth rule, the clearance behind the panel, the cavity to cut for each size, and the way out when the wall you have is shallower than the screen you want.
The depth rule: display depth plus 3 inches
Three measurements decide a recessed install.
Full display depth. Take it from the panel's own dimensions, bezel included. A panel-mount display clamps to the wall face around the opening, so everything behind the bezel sits inside the cavity.
Rear clearance. Plan 3 inches behind the back of the panel. That covers the plug on the DC power lead, the network connector, and the bend each cable needs to leave the cavity without pressing on the case. Two inches can work when the power lead drops straight down and the data cable leaves low; the third inch is what lets a hand reach the plugs later. If your structure offers far less, see what powering a flush display behind a 7.5 mm gap takes before you write off the recess.
Cut-out opening. The hole width and height, published for each panel. The bezel covers the cut edge, so the opening can be formed to the printed size exactly; the flush-mount cut-out guide shows the real hole sizes and how the clamp holds.
So the rule: cavity depth = full display depth + 3 inches, rounded up to the next quarter inch.
Cavity to cut for each panel size
These are the panel-mount sizes, built to recess. The current wall range through 75 inches is quoted per project, so confirm depth and cut-out on the display range before planning any hole.
| Panel | Full depth | Rear clearance | Cavity to cut | Cut-out, w x h |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.1 in | 53.5 mm (2.11 in) | 3 in | 5¼ in | 276.5 x 176.5 mm |
| 13.3 in | 57 mm (2.24 in) | 3 in | 5¼ in | 357.4 x 229 mm |
| 15.6 in | 70 mm (2.76 in) | 3 in | 6 in | 403 x 252 mm |
| 18.5 in | 67 mm (2.64 in) | 3 in | 5¾ in | 470 x 290.9 mm |
| 21.5 in | 63 mm (2.48 in) | 3 in | 5½ in | 540.6 x 328.6 mm |
| 23.8 in | 67 mm (2.64 in) | 3 in | 5¾ in | 589.8 x 359.8 mm |
Depth comes from each size's published dimensions and the cavity is depth plus 3 inches rounded up to the next quarter inch. Orientation changes nothing: the same panel in portrait takes the same cavity, with the opening rotated.
Example: a room-posting sign in a concrete wall
Scenario. A concrete block corridor, one portrait sign beside each conference room door, read from about 10 ft, no touch.
- Pick the panel. At the safer planning figure of 20 ft of viewing distance per inch of capital letter height (FHWA), a sign read from 10 ft needs capitals about 0.5 in tall, which a 15.6-inch panel carries with room to spare in portrait.
- Depth. Published full depth 70 mm, or 2.76 in. Cavity = 2.76 + 3 = 5.76 in, so form the recess 6 in deep.
- Opening. Cut-out 403 x 252 mm. Portrait turns that into an opening 252 mm wide by 403 mm tall, about 9.9 x 15.9 in, with the bezel covering the cut edge.
- Power. The nearest electrical room is 40 ft away, so feed the panel from a 24 V DIN-rail supply there and run DC through conduit to the recess. Static draw is 18 W, so the feed carries 18 W / 24 V = 0.75 A. Forty feet there and back is 80 ft of conductor; 18 AWG copper is about 6.4 ohms per 1000 ft, so the loop is about 0.5 ohm and drops 0.75 A x 0.5 ohm = 0.4 V, under 2 percent of 24 V. No adapter enters the cavity.
- Result. A recess 252 x 403 mm at the face and 6 in deep, DC and network entering through the cavity floor with a slack loop behind the panel, bezel covering the edge, face flush with the corridor.
Every row of the table runs the same arithmetic: the opening grows with the panel, the cavity stays between 5¼ and 6 inches.
What lives behind the panel
Power. Power wires through the DC terminal adapter supplied in the box, and the panel runs on 12 to 36 V DC. Two feeds work: an AC power adapter on an outlet near the wall, sold separately, or a 24 V DIN-rail supply in a cabinet or above a ceiling when the recess is far from an outlet. An adapter block inside the cavity needs its own depth added to the cavity, so most installs keep it outside in a closet or cabinet.
Cables. Bring DC and network in low, through the cavity floor, and leave a slack loop behind the panel. The loop is what lets the panel come forward later without unplugging anything first.
Air. The 18 W a panel dissipates showing static content has to leave a pocket of still air. Leave the cavity open at the bottom or vent it to the room. The panels are rated to operate from -10 to 60 °C, and a sealed pocket on a sunny wall can climb toward the top of that range on its own.
Fixings. The clamp that holds a panel-mount display sits behind the finished face, inside the cavity, so the panel cannot be pulled forward through the opening. For anything face-mounted, match the fixings to the load and the reach: the low-profile steel bracket in our accessories range is listed for up to 30 lb, with a listed display range of 14 to 24 inches that covers every panel-mount size we sell, and locking security hangers of the picture-frame type stop a flat panel being lifted off its hooks.
When a recess is the wrong choice
- The wall already has a shallow pocket. A cavity sized for a slim media box, about 1.2 in of box plus a little slack, tops out near 4 inches. That is under the 5¼ in the shallowest panel in the table needs, so face-mount on the low-profile bracket, about 12 mm off the wall, or deepen the pocket with a core drill.
- The screen is big. Recessing suits the panel-mount sizes; wall models through 75 inches hang on the face and are quoted per project.
- Screen and player are separate. A thin TV with a stick player behind it sounds slimmer, but the player's body, its power lead and its own rear clearance usually add up to more depth than an all-in-one panel, and there is a second box to mount and power.
- The wall is framed. Studs make the cutting easy: box the recess between two studs to the same cavity depth and set the clamp into the box.
The decision
Recommendation: Cut the cavity to the display's full depth plus 3 inches, rounded up to the next quarter inch; across the panel-mount sizes that is 5¼ to 6 inches. Form the opening to the printed cut-out, feed low-voltage DC from outside the cavity, leave the floor open for air and a service loop, and keep the fixings behind the finished face. If the recess you have is shallower than 5¼ inches and cannot be deepened, face-mount on the low-profile bracket; chase the flush face only when the wall is being opened anyway.
What to send for a quote
Bring these and the quote comes back with the depth, cut-out and power path settled:
- The wall: material, poured concrete, block or stud, and the opening you can form, width x height x depth.
- The screen: panel size, portrait or landscape, touch or none, and a brightness option if the wall faces a window or atrium; the foyer brightness page has the numbers for that choice.
- The power path: distance from the recess to the nearest outlet or cabinet, and whether the feed is an AC adapter nearby or 24 V DC from a DIN-rail supply.
- The service plan: who opens the wall if a panel ever needs swapping, and how many hours a day the screen is on.
Questions
How do you service or swap a recessed panel later?
It comes out the way it went in: forward, through the opening. The slack loop of cable behind the panel gives you the reach to unplug the DC lead and the network cable, and the 3 inches of rear clearance is what lets a hand work in there. Keep the replacement to the same depth and cut-out and it drops straight into the same opening.
What if the wall is drywall over studs instead of concrete?
The depth rule is unchanged and the cutting is easier. Box a recess between two studs with plywood or MDF to the same cavity depth, set the panel's clamp into that box, and run the DC feed and network cable through the stud bay. Keep the face opening to the printed cut-out so the bezel still covers the edge, and confirm the backing carries the load.
How far can the low-voltage DC feed run?
Longer than most walls need. The panel's static draw is 18 W, which is 0.75 A at 24 V and 1.5 A at 12 V. Over a 40 ft run, 18 AWG copper drops about 0.4 V at 0.75 A, under 2 percent of 24 V. At 12 V the same run carries twice the current, so twice the voltage drop and four times the share of the feed. Feed long runs at 24 V.
Planning information, not legal or engineering advice. Rules differ by place: check codes and permits with your local authority and your licensed trades.