[AMc]

I'm looking for some help with making my set up tidier I'm also hoping to make it a bit more kid proof before our 3 month old daughter starts to get mobile and pulls at the wiring looped all around the room!

I have a fairly ordinary Edwardian/Victorian terrace house. like this....

Don't know why my image isn't working?


The 32" TV is sitting on an Oppli Ikea stand with the front 3 speakers TV, cable, amp, Tivo, DVD PS2 and kitchen sink
RR is the right rear and LR is left rear. They're small speakers mounted up on the wall .
The front room and dining room are connected by double doors there is a door into the hall (currently unused). There are two sofas arranged in a L. hence the speaker positioning.

The cable TV and aerial come in under the RR speaker.
The cable TV is running up the bay window and around the fireplace on the picture rail then down the wall behind the chimney along with a phone cable for Tivo.
The TV aerial and speaker cable for RR are running around the bay along the wall on the left, past the doorway and meets the speaker wire for LR. They all go behind the connecting door, over the top of the frame and down behind the TV.
P? indicates a possible projector which I would want to wall mount so I'd want to run a duct to that corner too I think.

I want to run the wiring for LR, RR, cable, telephone and aerial under the floor to behind the TV.
I don't want to damage the floor lifting and refitting as it's on show and has been done really nicely.
I had a very tentative go at prising up one board in a corner with a crowbar but it was very hard work and only the first set of nails came free the second set stayed put - I'm worried about splitting the boards and not being able to do anything but refinish the whole floor .

Underneath the room and the hall is a basement with plasterboard ceiling which runs full lenght up to half way across the bay (i.e. not accessible under the TV or RR )
Again I'd prefer not to trash the ceiling in here to route the cables but that might be a better option than ripping up a lot of floor boards upstairs.

So why am I posting ?

The floor boards run left to right as you look at this picture so I assume that the joists will run front to back?
I'm hoping to run one central conduit under the floor in front of the hearth and spurs across to LR and RR.

I'm hoping to do this in one weekend so I need to be prepared!

Does anyone have any great advice they'd like to share - I'm reasonably handy at DIY but I've never been fond of ripping and cutting things that are old and well done

First big question is how do I carefully lift the long original boards without damaging them?

Am I likely to find any real horrors under the floor that will put a stop to my plan entirely?

Thanks for taking the time to read my massive post!

[AMc]

Another go at the image link (looking like a newbie )

[taimur]

I successfully hid all my wires by removing the skirting boards, and cutting channels in the walls, rather than through the floor. Is this something that you could do?

[Stereo Steve]

Depending on the quality of finish you require in the basement, removing a bit of plasterboard is easier to do and less risky than trying to prise old boards, especially if they are pine as they may well split suddenly. You are right that the joists will run across the boards. In terms of obstructions, you may find the channels blocked with noggins although in an older house there are more likely to be 'X' shaped bracing between joists allowing cable to be easilly slid through.

So, I would think the best route is to try and lift a board behind the TV or see if you can prise a bit of skirting to gain access to the channels and then get access from the basement for the rest.

The alternative is to get a thin punch and knock the floorboard nails all the way into the joist, freeing the board. You may be able to free the old nail but if not, the new nail can go at a slight angle in the same hole, remembering to punch them down a little so as to leave no sharp points for your little one's hands and feet to catch.

Good luck.

[AMc]

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

Unfortunately the skirting board idea isn't practical because the TV is enclosed by a fireplace on one side and a door on the other.
I thought about tracing routes in the walls but I reckon that would be very messy!

I think I may have to lift a board at each end and go through from underneath for the main run - maybe use a duct on the ceiling of the basement to link to the two entry points?
I'm still going to have to pull up two or three boards but at least I won't need to disturb the whole floor.

[happychappy]

how about pushing the floorboards up from underneath once you have taken down the basement ceiling? if you do decide to go in from above once you have lifted a corner of a board try to slide a crowbar under the lifted board (lying across the other boards) to stop it springing back down and also to use as a point of leverage. good luck with the project and the baby!