Cable Hiding (...in a Chimney Breast - 2021 Edition)

RushupEdge · 7 Jan 2021 at 11:47

Hi All,

I've read a bunch of old threads on the forum about people chasing holes through their chimney breast and out to the alcove in order to hide cables. I'm in the process of mounting my LG55CX onto my (unused) chimney breast and the idea of having all my cabling hidden is very appealing!

From reading the previous threads, it seems solvent weld pipe is recommended. I've picked up some 30mm but might end up going to 40mm. I need to run three HDMI Cables, 1 co-ax and an extension lead cable (3m) through the channel.

Is there anyone who has done this that could share details or how they achieved it?

Where is the best place to put the hole on the chimney breast—I'm assuming above the soldier brick course at least? (and can this cause structural issues?)

Lastly any tips on actually drilling the hole would be massively welcome! Looks like I'll need to pick-up or hire an SDS drill and core bit. I can't seem to find a core bit thats 43/44/45mm diameter (the 40mm solvent weld pipe has an external diameter of 43mm I believe)

Any tips would be much appreciated!

signs · 7 Jan 2021 at 12:14

is heat coming from the fire ?

RushupEdge · 7 Jan 2021 at 12:24

Sorry should have clarified - it's a completely disused chimney breast. The only chimney breast in use is in the next room over which is a different flue/stack (though runs to the same chimney on the roof)

Semple · 7 Jan 2021 at 12:57

I would do it properly and faceplate everything rather than just run cables through some sort of conduit. I did power, coax and ethernet nice and easily, and i've seen hdmi faceplates you can get.

The bonus of doing it this way is that you don't need to use massive conduit in order to thread bulky cables through. Whilst ethernet and coax haven't and aren't ever going to change, power supplies to TVs have changed. I actually can't remember if my B9 has an 8-pin power cable, or a standard kettle lead. But that's not to say a future TV wouldn't have an external power brick, at which point you'd then be screwed as you'd never get a power brick through some conduit.

Mallers · 7 Jan 2021 at 13:49

Semple said:
I would do it properly and faceplate everything rather than just run cables through some sort of conduit. I did power, coax and ethernet nice and easily, and i've seen hdmi faceplates you can get.

The bonus of doing it this way is that you don't need to use massive conduit in order to thread bulky cables through. Whilst ethernet and coax haven't and aren't ever going to change, power supplies to TVs have changed. I actually can't remember if my B9 has an 8-pin power cable, or a standard kettle lead. But that's not to say a future TV wouldn't have an external power brick, at which point you'd then be screwed as you'd never get a power brick through some conduit.

Do you have a particular brand or source you recommend for hdmi faceplates? im looking at chasing a lot of cabling into walls and am in the market for faceplates for the tv, amp, ethernet ports etc

Semple · 7 Jan 2021 at 14:49

Mallers said:
Do you have a particular brand or source you recommend for hdmi faceplates? im looking at chasing a lot of cabling into walls and am in the market for faceplates for the tv, amp, ethernet ports etc

I can't unfortunately as i didn't need to install any. As i've only got one device connected to my TV, i opted for HDMIoverEthernet so i could keep it hidden away in the server rack.

Power and coax are very widely available, i think i got the coax faceplate from screwfix when i bought the socket faceplate.

Ethernet is also quite widely available, i think i got mine from the same place i'd bought my cat6 cabling from. But you should be able to find some decent ones on Amazon, which goes for HDMI faceplates as well.

lucid · 7 Jan 2021 at 16:06

Personally the.only thing I would face plate is the mains socket. Dealing with TV power leads - especially where they're captive - can be a pain if you haven't got the right gear. The rest of the leads I would just run through the conduit and then finish with a brush plate.

HDMI plugs, coax cables, Ethernet leads all sticking out of some faceplate are bulky and need bending at sharp angles to fit behind a slim mount wall bracket if you don't want the TV sticking out from the wall too far. Sharp bends for high bandwidth cables are a problem. It introduces signal loss.

Also, a HDMI wall plate might say it's Ultra spec'd, but every joint and connection reduces the total end-to-end bandwidth.

Finally, cheap unshielded coax wall plates are a weak spot for the radiated interference from HDMI cables and power bricks / SMPSs. You'll go mad with TV signal issues all for the sake of fitting a bad wall plate.

,

RushupEdge · 7 Jan 2021 at 17:02

lucid said:
Personally the.only thing I would face plate is the mains socket. Dealing with TV power leads - especially where they're captive - can be a pain if you haven't got the right gear. The rest of the leads I would just run through the conduit and then finish with a brush plate.

HDMI plugs, coax cables, Ethernet leads all sticking out of some faceplate are bulky and need bending at sharp angles to fit behind a slim mount wall bracket if you don't want the TV sticking out from the wall too far. Sharp bends for high bandwidth cables are a problem. It introduces signal loss.

Also, a HDMI wall plate might say it's Ultra spec'd, but every joint and connection reduces the total end-to-end bandwidth.

Finally, cheap unshielded coax wall plates are a weak spot for the radiated interference from HDMI cables and power bricks / SMPSs. You'll go mad with TV signal issues all for the sake of fitting a bad wall plate.

,

Yes, tbh I think I'd rather take my chances with a conduit for A/V cables incase the standards and bandwidth rates etc. do change. I know a few other people have gone down this route on the forum before. I can imagine trying to find a HDMI wall plate that actually does proper pass through is probably a bit of a pain too... it's bad enough trying to find Ultra High Speed cables at the moment, let alone a plate that can support that!

lucid · 7 Jan 2021 at 17:26

RushupEdge said:
Yes, tbh I think I'd rather take my chances with a conduit for A/V cables incase the standards and bandwidth rates etc. do change. I know a few other people have gone down this route on the forum before. I can imagine trying to find a HDMI wall plate that actually does proper pass through is probably a bit of a pain too... it's bad enough trying to find Ultra High Speed cables at the moment, let alone a plate that can support that!

I think you might have misunderstood. I think conduit is a very very good idea. Exactly for the reason you point out.

What I am saying is do not use wall plates for the final in-wall/on-wall termination. Unless you have a very specific* requirement for something behind a TV, wall plates are just vanity.

To recap then:
Conduit = good
Wall plate* = bad

RushupEdge · 7 Jan 2021 at 17:48

lucid said:
I think you might have misunderstood. I think conduit is a very very good idea. Exactly for the reason you point out.

What I am saying is do not use wall plates for the final in-wall/on-wall termination. Unless you have a very specific* requirement for something behind a TV, wall plates are just vanity.

To recap then:
Conduit = good
Wall plate* = bad

Oh sorry I misquoted earlier! Def agree with you, was more responding to Semple. Conduit is definitely the way forward!