View Full Version : Need some help fishing cables.


maxse
12-25-07, 06:48 PM
Hi guys, I really need your help.
I have just bought a a plasma TV and speakers and mounted everything on the wall in the bedroom. What I didn't think about were all the wires! I have an HDMI cable 3 speakercables all running down the nice white wall lol.

So I need some help in how I can just drill some holes on the bottom of the wall and pull the cables out that way... I have never done this before so I really need some help. Which tools am I going to need for this job, and how hard would it be to do this?

Basically I want to drill a hole next to each speaker push the speker wire into the wall; then have another hole in the wall near the floor to pull the speaker wire out and then some kind of molding probably to have along the floor to run to the reciever... And the same for the HDMI cable.

I really appreciate any help you guys can provide because I have really never done this before and am not sure how this can be done. Thanks in advance.

longtimelurker
12-25-07, 08:42 PM
if you really want to do it cleanly (ie, no holes)...you can do it by removing the molding, drilling a small (1/2 inch) hole, then another 1/2 inch hole in the wall at the other exit point....you make a noose out of some stiff wire like picture hanging wire (the steel thread stuff, not solid) then fish that into the wall and try to get the loop to open up in the cavity, then you and the fish tape up from the bottom, hoping the enter that loop and pull the noose tight, then you can pull it out through the bottm and you have your steel wire in the wall and can now pull...

sometimes it takes 2 minutes, sometimes 2 hours.

longtimelurker
12-25-07, 08:43 PM
by the way....if you want to do it a little messier, you can cut a bigger hole (hand sized) behind the molding and just feed the wire or a string with a weight or magnet throught the top and catch it at the bottom (with your hand or another magnet)....

dnddwilson
12-25-07, 09:30 PM
Drill your 1/2" hole (or less) behind the TV and speakers.

Pull the baseboard moulding off of the wall.
Be sure to use a razor knife to cut the caulk between the baseboard and drywall first.

Use a prybar to move the baseboard away from the drywall. (it really helps here if you pry against a stud instead of an unsupported piece of wallboard)

Cut a slit behind the baseboard, directly below each of your speaker holes. A 1/2" or so slit should work.

Drop weighted line (mason's string or similar) down the 1/2" (or less) hole.

Fish the weighted line out from behind the baseboard with a bent coat hanger.

Use the string to pull your speaker/HDMI cables up to their locations.

Replace baseboard and caulk and paint as needed.

maxse
12-26-07, 02:26 AM
guys thank you so much. Unfortunately I am doing this at my parents' place and I am leaving back home soon so I dont have a lot of time to tinker with it.

Im not sure I want to pry the molding off in case I crack it or something. Also I am not sure what a baseboard is because I never did any construction like this (baseboard=molding?). The floor is also carpeted...

What I am having trouble understanding is what kind of string do I need to get? A friend told me to go to Home Depot and get something call a snake to put down the wall?

Also in order not to mess with the molding can I just drill a hole above it and just insert a gromet or something into it? Or perhaps some kind of wall plate since one of the cables is a large DVI-HDMI cable.

Also the rear speakers are mounted on a wall which is the outer wall of the house (meaning that if I drill too far I can hit the siding). Is it a good idea to try to fish the cable along this wall or should I just get a white stick tube or something? Reason is that perhaps the insulation would make things difficult and I would need about a 12' snake.

Any other advice/tips on how to do this neatly with parts from home depot?