How to cut a small hole in plasterboard?

[Goose]

I want to run an ethernet cable through a wall but I have no experience at all of this kind of DIY work. I'm hesitant to just start cutting in to it with a stanley knife because I dont actually know if there's a frame of some sort or electrical wiring in the wall that I might damage. Also, if i make a complete hash of it i'll have to pay someone to repair it.

Any advice would be most welcome.

Thanks

 

[Shelster]

Is the cable going to run up and down the wall or side to side? Either way you will hit internal barriers against the route, be these noggins in an up down way or the actual studs if going side to side.

Without knowing the full route is a bit difficult to comment on further, but plaster board is easy to cut into with very little pressure and fear of going to deep through the back side of it and the holes / cuts can easily be repaired and skimmed over

 

[bloodiedathame]

Well I'd drill a hole rather than cut.

If you're near light switches or sockets then chances are you're near a cable. You're unlikely to be near a pipe unless it's an external wall. You can buy a wire/pipe finder tool if you're super paranoid. http://www.amazon.co.uk/BLACK-DECKER-BDS200-Pipe-Detector/dp/B000FDXF8Q

In terms of hitting wood etc, if you tap the plasterboard wall, you'll be able to hear where the plasterboard is supported.

I'd pilot a small hole first, say 2/3mm, then use a drill bit slightly larger than the ethernet connector so that it would fit through.

Are you going all the way through the other side, or running cables around the house?

 

[Mark M]

Watch out for plastic heating pipes if you are in a new build!

 

[Goose]

Thanks for the advice. I made a little floorplan to better illustrate what i want to do.

Spoiler

Basically i'm just gonna run the cable along the skirting and through the wall, not the most elegant solution but seems like the cheapest/easiest way.

 

[bloodiedathame]

What's the bit top middle? Doors? Going a long way round to route the cable...

 

[Shelster]

Going on the plan, I reckon you willbe fine jjst drilling a single hole as close to the top of the skirting and back wall as possible. WIll only need to be just greater diameter than cable and then you can poke it through.

 

[Goose]

What's the bit top middle? Doors? Going a long way round to route the cable...

Yeah thats the doors I'm routing the long way because most of it will be hidden behind various bits of furniture. If i go the other way it'll have to go around the door frames which will be much more noticeable.

Going on the plan, I reckon you willbe fine jjst drilling a single hole as close to the top of the skirting and back wall as possible. WIll only need to be just greater diameter than cable and then you can poke it through.

Thanks. Although both sides of the wall will be hidden is there anything i can put in the holes to make it look neater? Like some sort small circular backbox-type-thing (if such a thing even exists)

 

[cheesyboy]

Thanks. Although both sides of the wall will be hidden is there anything i can put in the holes to make it look neater? Like some sort small circular backbox-type-thing (if such a thing even exists)

"cable grommet"

 

[Shelster]

These

 

[thenewoc]

The safest way is to get someone qualified in to do it.

Assuming the wall is a hollow plasterboard stud wall.

If I were doing it and I wasn't sure what was behind the plasterboard then I'd gently cut a square hole out about the size of a pair of electrical sockets. You should check that there aren't any electrical sockets of any kind on a horizontal or vertical plane in line with where you want to cut, on either side of that wall before making a hole of any kind, if there is I would recommend you seek professional services to carry it out. That way you'll be able to see what's behind that section. The key is not to put the plasterboard saw too far into the wall but just enough to go through the thickness of plasterboard. If there's nothing in the way you can then drill through the other side. Then refit the square of plasterboard you've cut out by fitting a small piece of flattish wood across the hole from the inside by tying some sting to the piece of wood to hold it firm whilst drilling a pilot hole through the plasterboard into the wood either side of the opening. Secure with screws through the plasterboard into that piece of wood, then remove the string and then drill some pilot holes through the square piece of plasterboard into the piece of wood bridging the hole. Once done and the screws are tightened so the heads are just below the level of the rest of the wall, a little red oxide primer on the screw heads and then once dry some filler over the screw heads and the square cut line. Rub the filler down with a sanding block once dry and then roller over some matching emulsion and you ought not be able to see where you've been except for the drilled hole passing through the wall.

 

[booyaka]

are both rooms carpeted? Can you run a flat cat5 cable under the carpets out the door and back in the door in the next room??

Seems a long route and drilling a wall for a bit of cable

 

[Goose]

These

Thanks a bunch.

The safest way is to get someone qualified in to do it.

Assuming the wall is a hollow plasterboard stud wall.

If I were doing it and I wasn't sure what was behind the plasterboard then I'd gently cut a square hole out about the size of a pair of electrical sockets. You should check that there aren't any electrical sockets of any kind on a horizontal or vertical plane in line with where you want to cut, on either side of that wall before making a hole of any kind, if there is I would recommend you seek professional services to carry it out. That way you'll be able to see what's behind that section. The key is not to put the plasterboard saw too far into the wall but just enough to go through the thickness of plasterboard. If there's nothing in the way you can then drill through the other side. Then refit the square of plasterboard you've cut out by fitting a small piece of flattish wood across the hole from the inside by tying some sting to the piece of wood to hold it firm whilst drilling a pilot hole through the plasterboard into the wood either side of the opening. Secure with screws through the plasterboard into that piece of wood, then remove the string and then drill some pilot holes through the square piece of plasterboard into the piece of wood bridging the hole. Once done and the screws are tightened so the heads are just below the level of the rest of the wall, a little red oxide primer on the screw heads and then once dry some filler over the screw heads and the square cut line. Rub the filler down with a sanding block once dry and then roller over some matching emulsion and you ought not be able to see where you've been except for the drilled hole passing through the wall.

Thanks for that dude, really appreciate it. Any idea how much this kind of thing would cost to have done by a pro?

are both rooms carpeted? Can you run a flat cat5 cable under the carpets out the door and back in the door in the next room??

Seems a long route and drilling a wall for a bit of cable

Unfortunately both rooms are carpeted with seagrass (weird stuff) and once it comes up it doesn't go back down. It's a real pain.

 

[LiGhTfasT]

Might be worth seeing if you can tuck the cable under the skirting, sometimes there is just enough gap to hide the cable in the void.

 

[Twirlywoos]

plasterboard is easy to repair as I found out as I did exactly the same thing. Everyone's circumstance will be different but I cut about a half metre rectangle shaped hole which was enough to drill into the studs and have enough access to bring the cables through.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18687164&highlight=startername_Twirlywoos

 

[bloodiedathame]

I'd probably pop a hole through at the top of the door to take it shortest distance and hide it with trunking.

 

[thenewoc]

Thanks a bunch.



Thanks for that dude, really appreciate it. Any idea how much this kind of thing would cost to have done by a pro?



Unfortunately both rooms are carpeted with seagrass (weird stuff) and once it comes up it doesn't go back down. It's a real pain.

That's difficult to answer as a pro may have certain tools that test to see if there's any metal in the wall where you want the hole. If you have radiators then check if these have metal pipes coming out the wall to them or are they plastic pipes? If they're plastic then it's safer to follow a process similar to what I outlined as you don't really want to chance just putting a hole through, not knowing whats in the middle of the wall. If a pro has the test equipment and doesn't detect any wires or metal pipe work then I'd guess they'd just drill a hole straight through without having to do the extra work to tidy up the plaster work. Test and a hole is probably half an hours work, the longer process is probably closer to half a day.

If your going to crimp the Ethernet cable ends yourself you can also use some cable grommets like Sky use to pass coaxial cable through walls, that way you get a neater hole that's reinforced around the edges rather than a bare hole in plaster board showing.

Check if the wall is hollow, if it is then don't put the hole too close to the corner of the room or the floor as they most likely have stud work in those areas behind the plaster board unless its an older house with solid / block work type partition walls in which case it's a long masonry drill to go straight through once satisfied that there's no cable or pipes where you want the hole.