Hide The Cable (Chimney Breast Edition)

ergonomics · 19 Dec 2016 at 10:59

Hi chaps,

Just need some other eyes on my predicament of TV cables on the chimney breast in my living room. I need a neat way of hiding them in the breast. Ideally i'd drill a route and feed up enough power to get a 3-way behind the screen so I can power the TV, soundbar and TV lighting right there.

I have a wall socket to the right of the chimney breast (at the skirting behind the chair) that can provide power.

As I see it.. I have two options. Drill directly behind the TV.. and then drill from the fireplace upwards. Feed the cable through.. and run it around the skirting to the right of the chimney breast to the socket.

Or.. Drill bottom right of the TV into that void (if the void is big enough? 1930s maisonette.. not sure if it's one or two brick thick.. or if that would actually be a void?) and drill a hole on the right of the chimney breast that would go straight to the socket.

Both trips involve some cable/rods and magnets to try and create a pull through.. but either way I can't be sure what's behind there and whether it is just air or not.

Any advice?

Cheers

FishFluff · 19 Dec 2016 at 11:04

I have something very similar to your setup. What I did was have a builder install some shelves in the space where the fire would usually go with a false back. The false back had some holes for cables to come through. He then fitted a pretty large pipe that runs from the back of the telly to the back of the shelving unit that all the cables neatly fit through.

I can post some pics when I get home tonight if you're not sure what I mean!

~Divine~Wind~ · 19 Dec 2016 at 11:09

hole cutter...

One behind TV
One at top of fireplace as you said

I simply ran a section of pipe and then glued and filled in place.
Makes it dead easy to drop more cable through should I need.

Shelves in the bottom will help

I ran skirting right across the front and added a shelf at the very top of skirting.
Created a flase floor, plug socket and all power cables under there

Nikumba · 19 Dec 2016 at 13:25

I did something similar, I have shelves with the amp, xbox, centre speaker etc, in the back I have power and data fed from the kitchen, then we dripped from the chimney breast into the chimney and pulled the cables down that way.

DampCat · 19 Dec 2016 at 14:35

Are you ever putting a fire in there? You could get a nice little cupboard or unit to hide all the plugs. Drop the cables straight into the top of it.

ergonomics · 19 Dec 2016 at 15:20

DampCat said:
Are you ever putting a fire in there? You could get a nice little cupboard or unit to hide all the plugs. Drop the cables straight into the top of it.

No intention of having a fire there. Creating some shelves there sound like a smart idea to hide the hold and gubbins.. but getting the power round the skirting to the socket in the alcove in the right would be the eye-sore :eek:

Nikumba · 19 Dec 2016 at 15:24

ergonomics said:
No intention of having a fire there. Creating some shelves there sound like a smart idea to hide the hold and gubbins.. but getting the power round the skirting to the socket in the alcove in the right would be the eye-sore

I would probally drill from the top of the skirting board through into the chimney breast then run the cables up the inside if that makes sense

Kimbie

ergonomics · 19 Dec 2016 at 16:32

Nikumba said:
I would probally drill from the top of the skirting board through into the chimney breast then run the cables up the inside if that makes sense

Kimbie

Above the skirting to the right of the breast? Then up and through to behind the TV? I'm convinced once I make a hole like that i'll find out there isn't a void in that breast and it's full of crap.. making manoeuvring cables rather.. impossible :eek:

Nikumba · 19 Dec 2016 at 17:11

A chimney breast should be solid I would have thought due to the weight and size of it. I know mine was solid, had to use a bloody long drill lol

But if the hole is not perfect just shove some plastic pipe through the hole as well

Kimbie

FishFluff · 19 Dec 2016 at 17:26

Here's what mine looks like:

I've since taken the panels out and flipped them so that the cable hole is at the bottom. Not sure what I was thinking at the time!

There's a double plug socket behind each shelf (put in by the builder) and the speaker cables go to the amp through a hole in the fire surround.

a1ex2001 · 21 Dec 2016 at 07:43

If you have no intention to use the fireplace take this opportunity to drop your to to a sensible height!

ergonomics · 26 Jan 2017 at 17:13

A late follow-up for anyone that finds this thread amongst their search for something similar. I came across a few when googling around before coming here. I was set on drilling in and down and dropping a cable through to the fireplace. I had an access hole on the chimney breast in the bedroom and after looking in there, decided it could turn into a giant ballache to do that as there wasn't really a void in the chimney breast (at least not in the bedroom one).

So i thought about using the fireplace as an access hole that I could cover up when needed.. and investigate how i can route the cable through.. possibly over through to the side and then create a run to the socket.

Then I figured... ah what the hell.. let's just get a 1metre long drill bit for my SDS and go straight from A to B..

picture sharing

So I took careful aim and went for it. It crumbled a bit around the entry and exit point so I used some filler and started painting - it's drying in the picture. Apart from a bump where the cable ends are.. it's not a dogs dinner.

The bit was 16x1000mm and I got some 15mm plastic piping from B and Q for a couple of quid to just rod straight down and thread the cable through. I tried using fish wire but it needed something dead straight like pipe to actually go all the way through.

The 'in' is covered by the TV and the 'out' is covered by the cabinet next to the breast. I've got a 4-way power cable going up to power the TV, soundbar and some new lights.

Gimpymoo · 27 Jan 2017 at 10:02

Gets the job done.

1m drill bit - LOL

uchuff · 27 Jan 2017 at 10:32

Good aim.

Did similar on ours, although in a much shorter, larger diameter hole but kept it horizontal.

https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=29533448&postcount=20

Russinating · 27 Jan 2017 at 10:33

Mine, very similar:

One plinth and one shelf to hold all the boxes, hole behind TV and above fireplace and I've used some 42mm waste pipe as the pipe to run cables through as it's flexible and can be widened/secured at either end.

Felix · 27 Jan 2017 at 11:39

Did you guys install a vent in the chimneys? How do you ensure there is air flow to stop condensation forming?

ergonomics · 28 Jan 2017 at 16:58

Felix said:
Did you guys install a vent in the chimneys? How do you ensure there is air flow to stop condensation forming?

In my case, the channel is angle down. The plastic pipe is there to protect the cables and should keep any moisture from the breast out. On the off-chance there is some condensation developing in the pipe.. mavity will take over and it'll 'go with the flow' with the downward sloping pipe and come out that end.

jamestplunkett · 18 Feb 2023 at 21:09

Thanks everyone for this thread. I had a similar challenge and found it really helpful.

See below for pics of my final setup. I used a 22mm masonry drill bit c.30cm long to get through the brickwork at the top. At the bottom the wall was just plasterboard and chipboard over the old fireplace so I used a shorter 32mm drill. Once I had the holes drilled I dropped a piece of string through the top hole with a weight attached to the end (I used a spare part from a ratchet kit as the weight). I assume it would get snagged partway down and wouldn't work but to my surprise I was able to hook it back through the bottom hole, and then tie the TV cable to the string to pull it through. (The TV is a Samsung Frame so it usefully only has one thin cable. I guess for other TVs you might need to drill bigger holes.)

Images below. (Sorry I forgot to rotate them!)

Raumarik · 18 Feb 2023 at 22:07

Very tidy also I like that little sideboard, classy

Hide The Cable (Chimney Breast Edition)

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