Installing conduit behind existing wall for new tv

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josephhinvest

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#132239 14-Oct-2013 16:08

Has anyone had much luck installing conduit behind an existing gib board wall?
New very large wall mounted TV is imminent, I want tthe power and HDMI cable to be hidden.
Can it be done? The vertical distance would be approx. 1 - 1.5 metres, depending on studs and nogs and other stuff.
Is it ok to route a tv power cable through a conduit also?
Also might been a middle access hole for centre speaker cable to come out from.

Ideas?

Cheers,
Joseph

BlueShift

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#914883 14-Oct-2013 16:11

Short answer - Yes.
Long answer - you may want to consider getting a professional in. Its covered on some other threads, it involves specialised drilling gear.

RunningMan

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#914886 14-Oct-2013 16:11

If you can't easily bore through from the top or bottom, just cut holes in the gib, then patch, plaster and paint. It's fairly easy to do, and if it's hidden by the shiny new TV, you don't have to be that fussy with the finish if you have difficulty with it.

MikeSkyrme

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#914891 14-Oct-2013 16:18

RunningMan: If you can't easily bore through from the top or bottom, just cut holes in the gib, then patch, plaster and paint. It's fairly easy to do, and if it's hidden by the shiny new TV, you don't have to be that fussy with the finish if you have difficulty with it.

Agreed, this is probably more straight forward than fiddling with drills inside crawl spaces. You can also add additional nogs in the wall if required.

Michael Skyrme - Instrumentation & Controls

gundar

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#914902 14-Oct-2013 16:27

Having never done this before, I did this myself. I found miniture brush panel like wall plates. Drilled hole just behind TV and drilled hole near the floor to the right (TV is above fireplace). There was a stud between the two brush panels. I used a 60mm circular saw and drilled a hole directly into the stud, gib and all. The gib came off in one circular piece which I saved to patch later and I fed all likely required cables through, even ones I don't use now. I then replaced the circular gib cut out and painted up the place.

Looks fine. unless you know what to look for, the cutout is invisible and the brush panels are very tidy. The cables are bunched together in some of that plastic tube stuff that tidies them up under office desks and they all meet behind a small cabinet that houses the stereo and media center. Overall, teh cables are well hidden and I have many options if I ever get other equipment in the future.

My tips - sharp tools for tidy work. Label all cables before you pull then through the wall and don't paint up the place until all cables and connections are tested. Also, consider the colour of the wall behind the TV - I went for a burnt ochre - not too dark, reduces strain on eyes when watching big screen action and reflects no glare.

http://www.thecableconnection.com.au/Single-Brush-Wall-Plate-for-In-Wall-Cable-Management--Cable-Pass-through.html

josephhinvest

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#914909 14-Oct-2013 16:34

Thanks for quick replies. Yes I figure a pro would be able to do it. It's only a relatively short distance so with the correct tools it should be do-able. Can any westies recommend anyone?

Have considered, in passing, doing it myself but I think I just want to pay someone to do it well the first time. I'm a bit of a wood butcher.

Cheers.

RunningMan

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#914911 14-Oct-2013 16:37

josephhinvest: [snip] Have considered, in passing, doing it myself but I think I just want to pay someone to do it well the first time. I'm a bit of a wood butcher.

Go on, have a go!

josephhinvest

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#914912 14-Oct-2013 16:38

Gundar, thanks very much indeed. Those plates look just the ticket for keeping it all looking neat.
You idea sounds pretty good, I want to wall mount the centre speaker so that would potentially go in front of the holed bit of gib also making it invisible.

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josephhinvest

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#914914 14-Oct-2013 16:40

RunningMan:
josephhinvest: [snip] Have considered, in passing, doing it myself but I think I just want to pay someone to do it well the first time. I'm a bit of a wood butcher.

Go on, have a go!

Heh maybe I will. I am planning to ask my brother-in-law (builder with good tools!) to remove a square of gib and beef up the timber behind it for the TV bracket. I want to make sure the bracket is rock solid. From there it's probably not much more to drill holes etc.

RunningMan

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#914921 14-Oct-2013 16:46

josephhinvest:
RunningMan:
josephhinvest: [snip] Have considered, in passing, doing it myself but I think I just want to pay someone to do it well the first time. I'm a bit of a wood butcher.

Go on, have a go!

Heh maybe I will. I am planning to ask my brother-in-law (builder with good tools!) to remove a square of gib and beef up the timber behind it for the TV bracket. I want to make sure the bracket is rock solid. From there it's probably not much more to drill holes etc.

Joking aside, if you're removing some gib to install additional framing, that's the time to run your new cabling. Make sure you keep whatever you install separated from the existing wiring to any power outlets etc, and of course don't go plunging a saw or drill straight in to a wall without checking what is inside first.

B1GGLZ

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#914939 14-Oct-2013 17:08

josephhinvest:
Is it ok to route a tv power cable through a conduit also?
Ideas?

Cheers,
Joseph

You can route all the cables together but I would be inclined to put some separation between any power cables and signal cables to avoid possible interference.

josephhinvest

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#914944 14-Oct-2013 17:28

RunningMan:
josephhinvest:
RunningMan:
josephhinvest: [snip] Have considered, in passing, doing it myself but I think I just want to pay someone to do it well the first time. I'm a bit of a wood butcher.

Go on, have a go!

Heh maybe I will. I am planning to ask my brother-in-law (builder with good tools!) to remove a square of gib and beef up the timber behind it for the TV bracket. I want to make sure the bracket is rock solid. From there it's probably not much more to drill holes etc.

Joking aside, if you're removing some gib to install additional framing, that's the time to run your new cabling. Make sure you keep whatever you install separated from the existing wiring to any power outlets etc, and of course don't go plunging a saw or drill straight in to a wall without checking what is inside first.

Yes this is certainly true, would be a good time to do it. I need a sparky to install a new power point in convienent location, so hopefully can get it all done it one go.

SATTV

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#914948 14-Oct-2013 17:57

Some sparkys will install HDMI cables in walls for you.
You can not run the TV power cord through the call, you must have a power point installed behind the TV ( if you want the cable hidden )
I also would install a draw wire or two, just in case you need it a new cable for whatever in the future.

The easiest way to do it is to cut a piece of jib, put in the conduit & cables and patch it all up.

I know enough to be dangerous

tdgeek

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#914951 14-Oct-2013 18:31

The sparky can do it all, they are well used to running cables in walls they use long augers to drill the nogs and drop string down for pulling it through. Plus there is the fact that a pro did it, just get 3 over for a quote, ask for suggestions.

chevrolux

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#914983 14-Oct-2013 19:30

Come on maaate. Do it ya self!

25mm Spade bit with 300mm shaft and couple of 300mm extension should get you through the first dwang which is as far as you want to go for TV height probably.

Figure out where you want to drill. If it's tricky just pop a little 2mm hole through the GIB and poke up a thin bit of wire (strip a bit of Cat5e/Cat6 back and use that).
Start off by drilling two holes in the top plate. One hole is to continue drilling and the other is to put a torch down. I have a torch that sits nicely on top of a 25mm hole.
Then just add on the extensions and drill the first dwang.
Use a bit of builders string with a weight to drop a string down, cut out the flush box and boom.