HIDING WIRES IN WALLS?!

[TheMessenger]

Hi guys,

I'm soon to be moving into my new place and I'm thinking now is the best time to mount the tv on the wall and hide the wires inside the wall as mess can be made before the new carpets are laid. There is an ariel socket and a double power socket about 5.5' from the ground so this is ideal to hide the tv power cable and the ariel behind the tv once its been mounted. About 15'' up from the skirting board is a single socket which again is ideal so I can plug in a multi socket plug to plug in my blu ray player, xbox etc and these wires will also be hidden as I'm having a small unit on the floor where the xbox etc will sit.

The only thing is, I will be needing about 3 to 4 HDMI cables going from the tv to the media units (blu ray player etc) and I want these to be hidden in the wall. I want the job to be done properly so I'm thinking do I get a plasterer to channel out a run so that the cables can be put into the wall then plastered over (he might have to plaster the whole wall so that the channel cant be seen) or do I cut a channel myself, put the wires in and fill the channel will filler, let it dry and then sand it down ready for painting???

Please give me your thoughts guys...really unsure what to do. I'd rather get it right first time than to mess about trying over and over again.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

You can chase a channel out for you HDMI cables, I would personally have these in some kind of containment that will allow for them to be replaced if ever damaged. Conduit/Trunking. But remember the cables will need enough free space so you can pull through with the connectors on.
You must also be aware that electrical mains cable can only be routed with other cables, if those cables are insulation at level equal to or higher than that of 230V.
Also mains cables must be installed in prescribed safe zones or mechanically protected and any chases within the walls must comply to building regulations.

The depths of chases are 1/6th of depth of wall or leaf for horizontal chase and 1/3rd for vertical chases.

 

[TheMessenger]

Hi there, the mains cable will be connected into the socket which is behind where the tv will go so the mains cable will not be chased into the wall, just the hdmi leads. I will put the leads into the some trunking and then into the wall afterwich ill piut the plaster over.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

That sounds a good option, either trunking or conduit, you can get oval shaped conduit that allows for extra cable space and the depths of the chase will not need to be as deep.
I would fix conduit/trunking first then route lead/cable through, test they are working correctly before you plaster over.