How to cut a small hole in plasterboard?

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

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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.
 
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) :)
 

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.
 
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