Hi,
I have no choice but to wall mount my 42" plasma. I'm having an electrician bring power up behind unit, so power cables showing won't be a problem. The problem is I have 2 thick hdmi cables and rg6 cable that I need to hide. What I'm thinking about is digging a channel in the sheetrock wide/deep enough for the cables, stapling them so they don't move and then hiding the channel with spackle.

Is this safe? The hdmi cables are in-wall rated, but can I actually bury them in spackel. don't want to violate fire codes and definately don't want to start a fire.
thanks for your advice.

gene

Hi,
What I'm thinking about is digging a channel in the sheetrock wide/deep enough for the cables, stapling them so they don't move and then hiding the channel with spackle.

The hdmi cables are in-wall rated,

Is there a reason why you don't cut some neat holes, use some old work electrical boxes, fish the wires behind the drywall and fit nice looking plates over the holes?

A lot less work than trenching and patching.

the wall is cynder block and the sheetrock is mounted directly on it. The electician asked me not to make any holes since that can violate code as the cylinder block walls helps to make condo units more safe from a fire easily spreading
thanks,
Gene

OK then, Trench, patch, paint

i dont see why you couldnt do it. Ive done it before when i had no choice and it turned out fine. just make sure you secure the wires very well so they wont move after you finish.

the wall is cynder block and the sheetrock is mounted directly on it.


Actually I suspect that furring strips or more likely metal channel is is mounted on the cinder block wall and the drywall is attached to that. Depending on the channel used there will be a space between the drywall and the block wall. It might be about 1/2 inch. big enough to snake coax.

HOWEVER they might have put some foam insulation panels between the furring strips.

A small exploratory hole will answer these questions.

Yes, it would be incredibly unlikely that they'd add drywall directly onto cinder block (is that even possible?). I agree with the hole idea. However, you could also try a stud finder just to see if it picks anything up. If you get positive indications of "studs" every 12-16 inches, then you know there's some type of structure behind the drywall.

Has anyone done any outlets with this type of restriction?

I am planning a complete build with in-wall speakers and wiring, but it's on an external boundary wall (Drywall -> furring strips -> concrete block). Is there an elegant way to build out the area to be able to put outlets in a sort of "raised panel" type box thing perhaps made out of drywall? Or do I need to chisel away at the block until the pieces fit?

The block is an external wall of my house. I contemplated bringing the wall into the living room by about 3", but it's 11' high and 27' wide. And my wife gave me "the look" when I mentioned it.

I'm still searching around on this forum to find maybe an example of what other people did with the same situation. any direct links to threads or posts will be helpful if I'm not picking the right terms to search by.

OP, Sorry for the thread jacking. :D

There's no way (that I know of) that the drywall is directly on the cinder block. If an electrician is running your power on that wall, there must be space. At the very least there are furring strips. It must be the shallow boxes for the electrical unless the block was cut out. You should do some exploration and get it done right.

Is this an exterior wall???

yes. interior of an exterior wall. and I thought I mentioned the furring strips. It's not on the block. I resurrected a really old thread but I couldn't find any other threads on this issue through my searching.

Has anyone done any outlets with this type of restriction?

I am planning a complete build with in-wall speakers and wiring, but it's on an external boundary wall (Drywall -> furring strips -> concrete block). Is there an elegant way to build out the area to be able to put outlets in a sort of "raised panel" type box thing perhaps made out of drywall? Or do I need to chisel away at the block until the pieces fit?

The block is an external wall of my house. I contemplated bringing the wall into the living room by about 3", but it's 11' high and 27' wide. And my wife gave me "the look" when I mentioned it.

I'm still searching around on this forum to find maybe an example of what other people did with the same situation. any direct links to threads or posts will be helpful if I'm not picking the right terms to search by.

OP, Sorry for the thread jacking. :D

I think you're only option is a surface mounted box, painted out to match the adjacent wall. That is unless you want to fur out the wall a little more. Sounds like the wife has problems with this option though.

I think you're only option is a surface mounted box, painted out to match the adjacent wall. That is unless you want to fur out the wall a little more. Sounds like the wife has problems with this option though.
She does, but I may be able to convince her. I think it may be possible to frame out a 12' wide by 8' high section that will have enough clearance and still look good. I'll probably try to model it and see what it will look like if I get a chance. I don't really want to chisel into the block. So this May be one of the only options. Thanks for the tips.

Good News! I was able to talk the wife into extending the wall. Crisis averted (Aside from the added cost of bringing the wall forward a little under 3").

Thanks for the advice.