My floor is concrete but it would be the best place to channel the cables. Is this the same as channeling in the wall or are there other considerations? (No underfloor heating)

Secondly, is there any hollow skirting that is not plastic?

[TobyAnscombe]

Yep, Homebase do skirting that has a nice gap to allow cables to pass through. I'm off to go and buy a load tonight!

Comes as pine but can be stained or painted to suit. 5" or 6"

I've just had a wooden floor layed so am doing the cable runs at the moment.

[Sonic67]

You can put cables through concrete but its hard work though. You need a Kango or similar to channel out the concrete. Stick a chisel bit in the end and chase out the route. We used to put the cables inside a flexible hollow tubing similar to a water hose material only bigger. You can also use trunking or plastic conduit. I’d advise some kind of protection as I think the concrete can attack the cable insulation.

http://www.hometoys.com/htinews/oct0...rlon/bruno.htm

Test the cable for continuity/insulation resistance etc before sticking the fresh concrete over. Nothing worse than finding out the cable needs to come out again.

Also don’t lay speaker cable right next to mains cable. Keep cables at different voltages separate.

[davehk]

The wiring regs mean that you cannot run mains cables behind skirting unless the sockets themselves are also on the skirting or you use earthed steel conduit.

Concealed mains cables must be protected by earthed steel conduit unless they are running horizontally or vertically in line with a visible socket, switch etc., or within 150mm of a corner between two walls or a wall and the ceiling (NOT the floor). These are the permitted zones.

Note that the metal capping you can buy to put over chased in cables does not provide sufficient protection for cables outside the zones.

See here for more info: http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Book/4.4.1.htm