How to get cables behind skirting?

[grommett]

Can anyone advise me how to get cables from under the floor boards to go behind the skirting board to a wall socket just above the skirting board? My electrician seemed to have no problem doing this with mains cable, but I now want to do the same with CAT5 cables.

Many thanks

 

[GaryMo]

Long SDS drill bit, if you're careful enough you won't prise the skirting board away from the wall.

 

[breezer]

drill a hole.

old wornout chiesel

either way you cant push a solid object through a solid object you need to make a channel first.

Or if you have done this and are asking how to get the cables through, shove a straitened coat hanger down with a hook shape on the end

 

[333rocky333]

He may also have drilled at an angle so the wires are beneath the floor of the room behind ,if there is one.

 

[grommett]

What I dont get is how to drill straight down, surely with the drill as close to the wall as possible, at best I will be drilling at an angle into the wall. This would be OK (as mentioned) if passing the cable from the adjacent room, but not when it is an outside wall.

 

[breezer]

you still drill at an angle, then use coathanger to pull cables through, you wont go outside since you are drilling close to the wall not at 90 degrees to it

 

[333rocky333]

If the drill is bendy at first you will be in the plaster, as it hits the harder brick it might possibly push the drill forward anyway and come through under the floor .

AS gary mo said it may prise off the skirting, so stick your boot against it.

Sometimes under the floor as there is no plaster the brick is about 15mm back and the drill will come through scraping the front of the brick.
.
If the floorboards go under the wall slightly you may also need to bore through that.

 

[Chri5]

I use a multi drill (safe on brick, plaster and wood) with a 20mm bit and 300mm long.

Aim for 10 deg off vertical in to wall and for a 6" skirting that should mean the hole appears below the floor line an inch or so in to the wall.

Depending on whats under the floor you will either have a clear route or need to chop an inch in to the brick to find the hole. Patience, care and a bit of luck all help.

Most older houses mount skirting on wooden blocks nailed in to the wall, make sure you don't drill near these fixing points otherwise you will pull the skirting away from the wall (even with a boot pushed against the skirting to attempt to prevent movement).

 

[ban-all-sheds]

 

[Chri5]

BAS unfortunately they cant get through wood.

I have a SDS skirting board chaser, the same one and although it does work, if the flooring extends behind the skirting it fouls the route and you end up using a drill.

Hence why I like and suggested a multi drill that does brick, plaster and wood.

 

[baz1968]

I use a metre long 12 mm drill bit which is flexible enough to drill straight down and keep the drill clear of the wall. Jam your foot against the skirting board to keep it from vibrating loose.