[funperro]

I recently removed some inset shelves from the wall in order to mount a plasma TV. The problem is that I've got cables that I need to conceal, and I'm looking for ideas for a clean way to do it. Normally, I'd just drill into the drywall and run it through and down the hollow space in the wall. Then I'd drill another hole and have the cables out behind a piece of furniture (you can see the piece of furniture in one of the pics below). In this case, the wall is actually brick. In the first pic, all of the yellowish painted surfaces are brick covered with a little plaster. So far, the best idea I came up with is to use one of those cable concealers that are about two inches wide (kind of like a wide cable raceway)... that you mount on the surface of the wall. This would butt up flush against the center lower edge of the wood trim on the bottom of the shelving frame. I'd caulk the edges of the plastic concealer piece and then paint over it blend with the wall. This would not be perfect but would do the job... but the problem would still be that the wires need to go over the ledge then curve down and into the plastic piece... which wouldn't look good. To fix this, I'm thinking about:


* Drilling straight up into the wood. But that wouldn't be ideal since I'd need a pretty big hole to get the cable ends through.... then I'd need to patch it and refinish it and hope it has the same texture as the white wood. Then, after all that, I'd still see the cable right below the TV in that 1" gap that you can see.


or


* Making a big notch in the wood that can hold the cables.. then I'd fill in the wood and refinish it. I'd still see an inch of cables in the back... which I guess I could cover with a small piece of the plastic concealer.


Bot of these solutions seem like a big pain in the butt. Any thoughts or ideas for easier or better solutions?


Thanks!


You can see the pics in these links below:

http://postimage.org/image/2xhqvcgsk
http://postimage.org/image/2xi43n8qs
http://postimage.org/image/2xixvbhms
http://postimage.org/image/2xiw7s550


or attachments:

 

[olyteddy]



Quote:
Any thoughts or ideas for easier or better solutions?

Next time post your pictures as attachments? I for one don't like leaving a site to look at pictures and then having to close all those links. Why do you want to run the cables up the middle? Placing them to the side seems like they'd be less noticeable.

 

[MrBobb]

I gather the equipment that those cables connect to is right under?


Build a faux wall under the shelving, paint it the same color as the wall, or same color as the wood to your taste, now everything is concealed.

 

[funperro]



Quote:
Originally Posted by MrBobb /forum/post/20772716


I gather the equipment that those cables connect to is right under?


Build a faux wall under the shelving, paint it the same color as the wall, or same color as the wood to your taste, now everything is concealed.

Yeah, the equipment will be right underneath the TV (check the second pic posted.. you can see the media cabinet where the gear is stored).


So a faux wall would basically stick out and wouldn't be even with the left and right side of the white wood frame where the TV is, correct? Seems like it would be a big eyesore, no? Maybe I just don't quite understand your suggestion...

 

[funperro]



Quote:
Originally Posted by olyteddy /forum/post/20772577


Next time post your pictures as attachments? I for one don't like leaving a site to look at pictures and then having to close all those links. Why do you want to run the cables up the middle? Placing them to the side seems like they'd be less noticeable.

Edited to put attachments in. But really... is it THAT hard to close the windows? Ha!


Anyway, thanks for your response. Sure, I can bring the cables over to the side, but it is still not as clean as I'd like. I'd still have a bundle of big black cables wrapping outside of that white wood frame and then down to the media furniture piece where the gear is stored. You know what I mean?


Thanks...

 

[Tarrega]

What's on the other side of the wall ( I note the door to the right of the tv in the second picture)? Is there any way you could go out through the wall behind the TV and back through behind your media center? Or, since it's brick, is it an exterior wall?

 

[funperro]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarrega /forum/post/20772831


What's on the other side of the wall ( I note the door to the right of the tv in the second picture)? Is there any way you could go out through the wall behind the TV and back through behind your media center? Or, since it's brick, is it an exterior wall?

Thanks for your reply. The room shown in the pics was added on after the house was built. The wall with the brick was the original exterior wall... now it is an inside wall. Behind that wall are the stairs going to the upper level of the house. I checked the location from directly behind the TV and it would be a few feet above the floorboards of the stairs... in other words, visible if I were to drill all the way through.

 

[schan1269]

 http://www.amazon.com/Level-Mount-EZ...2345089&sr=1-5


You can paint that stuff to match.

 

[Neurorad]

I bet there is open space ( filled with insulation, I hope) between the exterior brick and the drywall of the stairs behind. Like most exterior brick walls.

 

[MrBobb]



Quote:
Originally Posted by funperro /forum/post/20772794


So a faux wall would basically stick out and wouldn't be even with the left and right side of the white wood frame where the TV is, correct? Seems like it would be a big eyesore, no? Maybe I just don't quite understand your suggestion...

Will be flushed with the shelf's bottom, yes will stick out a little from the left and right, but u will have move to the side the notice it, think of it like a fireplace without the hole.


Seeing your wooden stand, I assume you want to keep it that way, you can always build a thin, just a couple of inches deep, bookshelf all around the existing woodwork and stain it, then that way everything matches.

 

[olyteddy]



Quote:
Originally Posted by funperro /forum/post/20772807


Edited to put attachments in. But really... is it THAT hard to close the windows? Ha!


Anyway, thanks for your response. Sure, I can bring the cables over to the side, but it is still not as clean as I'd like. I'd still have a bundle of big black cables wrapping outside of that white wood frame and then down to the media furniture piece where the gear is stored. You know what I mean?


Thanks...

Yes, but you could then send them through white Wire Molding and it would be visually a lot less distracting lined up with the side than dropping straight down the middle.

 

[Neurorad]



Quote:
Originally Posted by funperro /forum/post/20772859


Thanks for your reply. The room shown in the pics was added on after the house was built. The wall with the brick was the original exterior wall... now it is an inside wall. Behind that wall are the stairs going to the upper level of the house. I checked the location from directly behind the TV and it would be a few feet above the floorboards of the stairs... in other words, visible if I were to drill all the way through.

Don't drill all the way through.


Knock on the stair wall - is it hollow?


Were furring strips or studs used? If those stairs were always there, then probably studs. Do you have any exposed exterior walls - basement, attic, crawlspace - where you can see the construction of the wall?


My 'all brick' house has a normal stud wall behind the brick.


A bonus is that you won't have to worry about the vapor barrier, since it's now an interior wall.

 

[Neurorad]

BTW, what is under those stairs? Closet?