AVS › AVS Forum › A/V Control & Automation › Tweaks and Do-It-Yourself › Ran into solid wood after cutting hole in drywall for a wall plate -- what now?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Ran into solid wood after cutting hole in drywall for a wall plate -- what now?

post #1 of 9
1/17/13 at 9:06pm
Thread Starter 
Hi, I'm a newbie to this forum and to home diy projects. I'm trying to run power and hdmi cables behind drywall and around the fireplace. I used stud finders to find the studs; however, after I removed the drywall for the wall plate, I ran into what seems like solid wood behind it. I really wasn't expecting this and have no idea what to do. I'm not sure if I should cut through or what. I only have a drill, so I'm not super jazzed about buying another tool to cut through the wood if it's not going to help.

Anyway, if anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears. Thanks in advance for any help.


Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #2 of 9
1/17/13 at 9:21pm
I'm guessing its either a cross stud or a solid piece of wood like 5ft wide x 5xft tall or something like that!! Should be able to cut it right out!! Is it gas or wood burning ?
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 9
1/17/13 at 9:25pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the reply!

It's wood burning...

Yeah, I'm thinking it's a solid piece of wood that runs part way up the wall. It's weird because the tv mount is mounted on studs. But according to the stud finder, the studs stop a bit beneath the mount. I assumed they were being connected by a horizontal stud. But maybe they're connected to this solid piece of wood.

I'm not sure if I should try cutting out the piece of wood or cutting a new hole higher up. I'm afraid that if I cut the wood out, there won't be enough room to fish the cables horizontally. But if I cut another hole higher, then I have to patch the drywall anyway, so I may as well rip out more drywall haha. Thoughts?
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 9
1/18/13 at 6:04am
Make a larger hole. You're going to have to repair anyway. Might as well make the existing hole such that you can see (or at least feel) what you need to do. You don't want to cut a hole only to discover that you have to cut more.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 9
1/18/13 at 7:50am
Thread Starter 
Yeah, since I'm going to have to repair drywall anyway, I'm just going to create another slot above the tv mount (where the studs appear to be more normally spaced). Then, I'll run the wires across and then down through the studs and one fire block. If I'm going to have to repair drywall either way, I may as well make running the wires more straight forward. Thanks for the advice.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 9
1/24/13 at 10:18pm
Fortunately your wall doesn't appear to be textured, so you can make just about any boo-boo, even major ones, totally disappear. Lucky you.

On the next project you do, you might want to use a hammer and a narrow gauge nail or needle to probe through the drywall along your proposed cut. You'll easily be able to detect wood vs. air this way - before it's too late.

Patching tiny little probe holes is way easier than doing a larger patch, particularly on textured walls where it can be difficult to match the texture well enough to make a repair non-obvious.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 9
1/25/13 at 8:52am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the tips on using a nail. I'll definitely keep it in mind next time around.

Also, I didn't realize that there wasn't texture until I had a couple of friends look at it. I ended up cutting a horizontal rectangle about 4' across through which to run the wires. Anchored the drywall back, taped the seams, applied a couple coats of joint compound, sanded it all down, put down a layer of primer and two layers of paint. Now, I can't even tell where the drywall was removed... pretty surprised and happy about the result.

Reply
Reply
post #8 of 9
1/25/13 at 11:41am
My guess is that's the header above the fireplace. It's carrying the load above around the fireplace opening. SO DONT CUT IT OUT! . Just go higher and you should be clear of it.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 9
1/25/13 at 1:02pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah, thanks. I went higher and around. Didn't feel comfortable cutting out solid wood right above the fireplace.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Tweaks and Do-It-Yourself

AVS Top Picks

AVS › AVS Forum › A/V Control & Automation › Tweaks and Do-It-Yourself › Ran into solid wood after cutting hole in drywall for a wall plate -- what now?