Need to run cables a long way around rooms, what's the bet way of hiding them?

Richdog

Richdog

Richdog

Caporegime
Joined
8 Sep 2005
Posts
27,713
Location
Utopia
To cut a short story shorter, I need to run a cable from a cable TV box in my bedroom, to my TV in my soon to be living room. X is the location of the box, Y is where I want to run it to. D are the doors.

I need to do this without the aid of an electrician, as it costs a fortune where I live.

Please see this magnificent little ASCII diagram for a birds eye view.

PS: I'm on the 3rd floor of a building, and it's a rented apartment not a house.

----------------
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
lllllllLiving roomllllll 4.05m
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
Dllllll4.30mlllllllllllllll
-------Y--------
----------------
Dllllllllll4.30mlllllllllll
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
lllllllllllBedroomllllllll 3.8m
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
llllllllllll4.30mlllllllllllll
-------------X--

My question: how do I hide the cable well enough in order to make it look unintrusive. In the bedroom, much of the cable will be hidden by wardrobes, but in the hallway and living room I need to make it blend in with my wood flooring and skirting boards as much as possible.

So, please give me a few idea on what is best to use... I'm a DIY tard. :)

Please note that swapping around the living room and bedroom is not an option, I had to do that in the first place for a specific reason.
 
Last edited:
MissChief said:
White cabling would be a start. You can use trunking as well if you want. Another option is home plugs. Cabling already hidden then. .:)
Click to expand...

What do you mean by home plugs? The only ones I know are the internet ones, and it's cable TV I need. :)

Regarding the white cabling... I guess I have the option of trunking and running it along the wood skirting, or fixing the wires above where the white will blend with the walls. Hmm...
 
Up the wall drill a hole take it through the floor space and drop it down into the other room but that's a lot of work.
 
tom_e said:
Up the wall drill a hole take it through the floor space and drop it down into the other room but that's a lot of work.
Click to expand...

Up and wall and down into the floorspace? Not even sure how that works, care to expand? :D

I guess I could theoretically drill all the way through the wall directly though to the other room and feed the cable though, then fix a co-axial faceplate...
 
I'm working on the assumption that the rooms are on the ground floor and there is another floor above them.
If you drill into the ceiling of the rooms then that'll give you access to the space under the floorboards in the room above you'd then pull the cable up into there take it across to the other room drill a hole in that ceiling and drop it down.
 
tom_e said:
I'm working on the assumption that the rooms are on the ground floor and there is another floor above them.
If you drill into the ceiling of the rooms then that'll give you access to the space under the floorboards in the room above you'd then pull the cable up into there take it across to the other room drill a hole in that ceiling and drop it down.
Click to expand...

I'm on the 3rd floor, and it's a rented apartment not a house. Sorry for not specifying that in in the first post... :)
 
Richdog said:
To cut a short story shorter, I need to run a cable from a cable TV box in my bedroom, to my TV in my soon to be living room.
Click to expand...

1) start by making the job easier for yourself. Choose a micro-sized TV coax rather than standard sized TV coax. It'll be easier to conceal, and will bend round tighter radii, and you'll not need such a big hole when drilling through the wall. See this link

2) Fixing it on the space where the skirting board meets the wall is an option. If done well it can look like the moulding of the skirting board, especially of the cable is white. But you do need to glue it which does take time if it is to look neat.

An alternative is a decorative trunking product called D-Line. It is self adhesive, it comes in various sizes and colours and profiles to suit the type of job being done. There's also a range of joints to make corners a doddle for the DIY ham-fisted.

3) to finish the job I wouldn't bother with a a socket faceplate. Just make sure the cable is long enough to connect directly to the TV.
 
Richdog said:
I guess I could theoretically drill all the way through the wall directly though to the other room and feed the cable though, then fix a co-axial faceplate...
Click to expand...
Are you allowed to dril holes in the walls or floors of your rented flat ??
 
Last edited:
lucid said:
1) start by making the job easier for yourself. Choose a micro-sized TV coax rather than standard sized TV coax. It'll be easier to conceal, and will bend round tighter radii, and you'll not need such a big hole when drilling through the wall. See this link

2) Fixing it on the space where the skirting board meets the wall is an option. If done well it can look like the moulding of the skirting board, especially of the cable is white. But you do need to glue it which does take time if it is to look neat.

An alternative is a decorative trunking product called D-Line. It is self adhesive, it comes in various sizes and colours and profiles to suit the type of job being done. There's also a range of joints to make corners a doddle for the DIY ham-fisted.

3) to finish the job I wouldn't bother with a a socket faceplate. Just make sure the cable is long enough to connect directly to the TV.
Click to expand...
Thanks man thats some awesome advice, and the D-Line stuff looks pretty dam awesome! Price isn't 'too' astronomical) from looking at Ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=dline cable&_sop=15

Still, if I drill through the wall then it should massively reduce the amount I need... maybe I'll need 5-6m and around 8 "corner joints". Not to mention I won't need to go out through doorframes into the hallway! Thanks man, you have just really put a hold on me getting an electrician in to do it, and it really doesn't look messy at all. :)
 
lucid said:
1) start by making the job easier for yourself. Choose a micro-sized TV coax rather than standard sized TV coax. It'll be easier to conceal, and will bend round tighter radii, and you'll not need such a big hole when drilling through the wall. See this link

2) Fixing it on the space where the skirting board meets the wall is an option. If done well it can look like the moulding of the skirting board, especially of the cable is white. But you do need to glue it which does take time if it is to look neat.

An alternative is a decorative trunking product called D-Line. It is self adhesive, it comes in various sizes and colours and profiles to suit the type of job being done. There's also a range of joints to make corners a doddle for the DIY ham-fisted.

3) to finish the job I wouldn't bother with a a socket faceplate. Just make sure the cable is long enough to connect directly to the TV.
Click to expand...

Top advice, can I add that keep any nail down cable clips to a minimum or do away with them except for a single one at any corners - keep the cable perfectly flat and glue down with a hot glue gun. Done neatly, looks very unobtrusive compared to a heavily nailed down cable with clips every foot. I've done this before with very thin white cable for surrounds and you can barely notice them.
 
Possibly a silly question, but does anyone with some acoustic knowledge know if (to a neighbour) it makes much difference having my main speakers on the far side of a room away from but pointing at a neighbours wall, or if it's just as bad having the main speakers and sub backing onto his wall but facing away from it?

bertles86 said:
http://www.d-line.co.uk/in-the-home.php
Click to expand...

Read thread fully befor eposting. :p
 
Richdog said:
Possibly a silly question, but does anyone with some acoustic knowledge know if (to a neighbour) it makes much difference having my main speakers on the far side of a room away from but pointing at a neighbours wall, or if it's just as bad having the main speakers and sub backing onto his wall but facing away from it?
Click to expand...
The speakers energise the room, so unless they are mounted directly to the party wall or you and your neighbours share the floorboards then it won't make a huge difference where the speakers are.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom