Co axial cable

[JamesAsus]

Can you put a co axial ariel cable under underlay??

I want it hidden really i dont fancy the idea of putting it above my skirting but at the same time i dont want to feel the wire under the carpet so is it ok/safe to put it under a carpet or underlay??

Im thinking in terms of fires etc

 

[Doug99]

If it is a bog standard TV aerial feed, then no problem as only low level RF is flowing down the cable. Some cables carry a small DC voltage (but low current) which could cause a problem if a carpet tack/nail was put through it.

 

[misterhelpful]

I always found that a cable under the carpet would cause a ridge so would cut a narrow strip off the edge of the underlay, right next to the grippers, to run it there, using some duct tape to hold it in place. This eliminated any bumps, kept the cables pretty much free of foot traffic, and made access easier if anything went wrong or needed moving.

 

[Deleted member 63160]

I always found that a cable under the carpet would cause a ridge so would cut a narrow strip off the edge of the underlay, right next to the grippers, to run it there, using some duct tape to hold it in place. This eliminated any bumps, kept the cables pretty much free of foot traffic, and made access easier if anything went wrong or needed moving.

Good advice. Seems obvious but if you need to ask this is the way to go.

 

[JamesAsus]

That is actually an excellent idea, do you think the carpet fitter would mind doing that as an extra, will duct tape stick ok to concrete??

Should i need to get access to the cable is it easy enough to put the carpet back down?

 

[misterhelpful]

That is actually an excellent idea, do you think the carpet fitter would mind doing that as an extra, will duct tape stick ok to concrete??

Should i need to get access to the cable is it easy enough to put the carpet back down?

I'm not sure many carpet fitters will want to spend time doing that because it can take a while, depending on how much cable you have to run.

In one customer's house I had to run coax for a Sky Magic Eye, under the carpet, through two large downstairs rooms and into a third. I used the above method with some cheap silver duct tape from Screwfix and, as far as I know, it's still there now. I've done it in loads of houses when people have asked me for help in getting TV to another room - just make sure to vacuum as much dust as possible from the floor and it should be fine.

Once your carpet is fitted, it is usually pretty easy to just pull back a little and refit if necessary.

 

[JamesAsus]

I'm not sure many carpet fitters will want to spend time doing that because it can take a while, depending on how much cable you have to run.

In one customer's house I had to run coax for a Sky Magic Eye, under the carpet, through two large downstairs rooms and into a third. I used the above method with some cheap silver duct tape from Screwfix and, as far as I know, it's still there now. I've done it in loads of houses when people have asked me for help in getting TV to another room - just make sure to vacuum as much dust as possible from the floor and it should be fine.

Once your carpet is fitted, it is usually pretty easy to just pull back a little and refit if necessary.

I will run the cable then, where the cable comes up from the carpet though will it prevent the carpet from gripping properly or will they just cut a small hole in the carpet around the wire?

 

[misterhelpful]

I will run the cable then, where the cable comes up from the carpet though will it prevent the carpet from gripping properly or will they just cut a small hole in the carpet around the wire?

You can have them cut a small nick, not even a hole, in the carpet (but you may need to cut a notch out of the gripper if it's already down) and it should be fine - no different to when a radiator pipe comes up through a floorboard. Personally, wherever possible, I would drill through the very bottom of the skirting and down through the top of it to feed the cable through that way. It can be more aesthetically pleasing to not have it coming up over the face of the skirting, but if it's hidden behind a tv stand it's not a big issue, and this method isn't always feasible with solid wall construction.

 

[JamesAsus]

Its hidden behind a sofa and tv stand so itll be fine.

Is it best to put the cable between the skirting and gripper or between the gripper and underlay?

Also is coaxial cable ok with 90degree bends as it isent a straight run.

Thanks for your help

 

[Lucid]

I generally favour running the cable on the room side of the gripper rod as opposed to the wall side. Partly this is to do with the practicalities of relaying the carpet; it's stretched from the centre of the room so any movement in the cable at this put is then blocked by the "dam" formed by the gripper rod. The other reason is to do with the bend radius (see below).

Don't put sharp bends in any coax cable. You'll knacker the cable and may even wipe out the signal at specific frequencies.

What you need is gentle curves. The bend radius for most coax cables is roughly 10x the cable's diameter. In round figures, WF100 is approx 7mm in diameter; this makes the minimum bend radius 70 mm (7cm / 2.75"). You probably know this, but the radius is the distance from the centre to the edge of a circle. 2x radius = diameter. For comparison purposes, a decent sized coffee mug has a diameter of 8cm (so radius of 4cm) and a tall sided cereal bowl might have a diameter of 20cm (r = 10cm). This is useful then as a guide to the curve of the cable when changing direction. A curve that fits around the edge of a cereal bowl is safe, but something tight enough to go round a coffee mug is too tight.

This bend radius idea is the second reason why I go with the inside edge of the gripper rod. There isn't enough space between the wall and gripper rod to accommodate an appropriate bend radius.

 

[misterhelpful]

Its hidden behind a sofa and tv stand so itll be fine.

Is it best to put the cable between the skirting and gripper or between the gripper and underlay?

Also is coaxial cable ok with 90degree bends as it isent a straight run.

Thanks for your help

No problem.

Cable goes between underlay and gripper, hence the narrow channel being cut that I mentioned previously. As well as there not being enough space between gripper and skirting to accommodate the cable, when the fitters use their stair tool to push the carpet down, it could damage the cable.

As stated, don't bend the cable at too sharp of an angle but I've bent them around curves far tighter than a coffee cup. (That's not saying it's the right way, though!) You can always cut a piece of underlay away from the corner, run the cable, and then trim the piece before taping it back in place.

 

[Sam Gangee]

I recommend WF65-1 cable. It's less than 5mm diameter but good enough for TV signals (unlike some of the "clothes line quality" cable sold by some DIY stores!) It also has a smaller bend radius than WF100 (50mm or 2").
See http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/cables_plugs.htm