[Napoleon88]

Boy, I wish I'd seen this section of the forum before I started

I am a total beginner to the whole AV scene. I have moderate DIY skills and a few tools. I've seen a few of the threads on here and I'm sure my tale will be a source of humour amongst the high-end guys, but I thought it was worth posting regardless. There are also some questions at the end of the post.

I recently bought a 37" Hannspree XV37 (excellent value at £489 delivered with 5yr guarantee) and wall mounted it. My house is a 3yr old semi, so the internal walls are plasterboard stud partitions.

Pic of the TV working before mounting.

To start, I cut out a piece of cardboard the same size as the screen and tacked it to the wall to check if it was a comfortable height for viewing. From the attached pictures (poor quality), it might be considered quite high for some people, however I am a serious sloucher and I lie on my suite, so it was ideal for me.

Mounting the TV was easy enough, it was just a case of locating the vertical studs (easy enough due to the ****** nail popping in the walls ). I then attached the LCD mount to the wall using four heavy bolt headed self tappers (maybe 4" long?). These were screwed in using a drill with a socket attached. To check the integrity of the mount, I hung my full weight from the mount and not a jot of movement.

One of the reasons I wish I'd seen this section of the forum is because I couldn't find a solution to bringing the cables back out of the wall tidily. I visited an electrical wholesaler to ask advice, but they were pretty useless. Since finding this section, I've noticed a few pics of brilliant installs that have some of the type of component I was looking for that I was "advised" didn't exist

So, to bring my two cables back out at the bottom, I purchased a single blank socket face plate and dry-lining box. Checking the height and position of the existing sockets, I cut a slot in the plasterboard at the appropriate place using a stanley knife. I then had to cut the back of the socket box to allow the SCART lead plug to fit through. I then drilled a hole in the centre of the box to pass the power cable through. This left the problem of how to get the SCART lead out of the box in a neat fashion. Being that the cable is some 13mm thick and that I cannot remove the plug from it, this represented a problem. It's not ideal, but what I did was as follows. I took the faceplate and cut away a small semi-circle using a junior hack-saw. As the faceplate is made of what appears to be bakelite, this requires caution and patience. I then used a circular file to shape the notch and remove sharp edges, trial fitting the cable/box/faceplate periodically until I was happy with the job. Not ideal, but less than £5 total price.

This is a pic of the finished article:

Then I had to run the power and SCART cable down behind the plasterboard and out through the bottom of the wall. Much to my amusement () there was a horizontal "dwang" or "noggin" between the TV and the bottom of the wall where had cut the square hole for my socket box. So, I had to cut another slot in the plasterboard where the dwang was. I cut a section about four inches wide by eight inches high (carefully, so it could be reused for filling the hole), which once opened, allowed me to get a small saw in to cut out a piece of the dwang that would allow the SCART cable plug to pass through once the wall was sealed up again. I then had to replace the plaster section, which I did by using some scrap pieces of timber to add strength to the repair. Then it was a simple job to screw in some plasterboard screws, burying the heads and replace the cut-out section, again burying the heads. I then sanded the edge down and used filler to smooth the seam. A wee bit of sanding and a lick of paint and the job's a good'un. (The wall is due to be repainted in full shortly).

This is a diagram (again, aspologies for the quality) of the dwang (noggin) cut/repair:

Now for my questions.

This is my TV on the wall of my gaff:

1) You'll see that my desk (with laptop) is on the left of an internal door which leads to my kitchen. The TV is wall mounted to the right of that door. Soon, I will purchase a new PC which I'd like to connect to the LCD, so I can browse the net from my suite, with a remote keyboard. What kind of cable do I need to get to do that and by what method would you suggest to route the cable so it is completely hidden from view? My thinking is the best way would be to remove the skirting boards/door facings and run the cable that way, however, by my loose calculations, that will require some 15 metres of cable. Any suggestions please? (stud partition walls)


2) I'd also at some point like to add a surround sound system. It will not be a mega expensive thing and I'm not interested in blowing my eardrums apart, however, again, I'd like to completely hide the cabling. The good (maybe?) thing is that for the rear speakers, I don't need to cross an internal door in order to route the cables. Again, do you think it is best to remove the skirting to run them? (stud partition walls)


3) I've (today) purchased a sideboard to go on the wall under the TV, where I intend to put my Sky box, my DVD player (non-existant a.t.m.) and any surround components I may in future purchase. However, i checked earlier and the Sky box remote wouldn't function with the box behind cardboard, never mind wood. I spoke to my Sky engineer (local lad, brill guy) who sold me a wee magic eye thing, which I can add to the system easily and it will sort that problem out. However, if I buy other stuff, I assume the same problem will exist (ie the new components remotes will not function without the door of the sideboard being open. That kinda negates the point of hiding everything away. Is their a simple solution to this problem please?



Any comments appreciated, as long as they aren't too unkind

[newstuart]

http://www.home-control.co.uk/produc...eb2207448d339a


I believe alot of people use something like this to get around the problem with the remote control while equipment is behind doors. I used one in my old house with good results .

Nice install by the way, very tidy

[louishm]

give yourself a pat on the back mate. Nice clean install.

enjoy



paul

[Franco50]

Nicely done mate. I have the Hannspree 32" and am considering wall fixing to a stud wall as well. You made a neat job of the faceplate and I'm pleased to see someone at last using that good old Scottish term 'dwang' instead of all this noggin nonsense.

[Napoleon88]

Originally Posted by Franco50

Nicely done mate. I have the Hannspree 32" and am considering wall fixing to a stud wall as well. You made a neat job of the faceplate and I'm pleased to see someone at last using that good old Scottish term 'dwang' instead of all this noggin nonsense.

Good luck with the wall mounting mate. Compared to many of the high-end installs in this forum, its a skoosh, however, that doesn't mean you shouldn't think it through thoroughly first. I wish I'd done a couple of things a little differently, however, no tragedy. Take your time, measure twice, cut once, etc




BTW, can anyone answer any of my questions please?

[Franco50]

I've just got everything sitting on an Oppli unit just now but am keen to have a go at wall mounting/cable hiding sometime this summer if I can my lazy ar$e into gear. If I do get my finger out and do it I shall post some pics here.

mincecfc sorry, forgot to ask you - have you had any problems with interference as you have the power lead and scart lead coming down the wall so close together. I know a lot of people prefer to keep signal/power cables apart for this reason. I was also just about ask where your RF cable was but just noticed your post says you have a Sky box so that'll teach me to read the post carefully before asking dumbass questions!

[Napoleon88]

Originally Posted by Franco50

I've just got everything sitting on an Oppli unit just now but am keen to have a go at wall mounting/cable hiding sometime this summer if I can my lazy ar$e into gear. If I do get my finger out and do it I shall post some pics here.

mincecfc sorry, forgot to ask you - have you had any problems with interference as you have the power lead and scart lead coming down the wall so close together. I know a lot of people prefer to keep signal/power cables apart for this reason. I was also just about ask where your RF cable was but just noticed your post says you have a Sky box so that'll teach me to read the post carefully before asking dumbass questions!

No interference that I've noticed Franco.

I kinda knew about keeping cables apart as far as ICE was concerned, but wasn't aware of it for TVs. I suppose it makes sense right enough, but I do think some people get a wee bit excited by these things - just because you can see it on an occilliscope, doesn't mean you'll see it watching The Simpsons

[Napoleon88]

Well, my sideboard arrived and I've put my Sky box and modem etc inside it, well chuffed with the finished room (well, to a point; still to get surround sound and new PC connected to LCD).

A couple of really ****** pics:

Still no answers to my question in the first post?


EDIT: No smart comments about the bare light bulb in pic 1 please, she who must be obeyed desires a £229 light fitting

Certainly looks like a neat install with minimum fuss. Just reference your comments about surround sound systems, there are various ways of doing this but if your installing a typical 5 channel system with active sub, there are some nice wall plates available for the amplifier location on this page below.
http://www.nexxia.co.uk/Wall_plate_C...all_plates.htm

These have the five speaker pairs in a 4mm socket which will accept any banana plug. They do require soldering on the back but it is fairly straight forward. If using an active sub then there is a plate with the phono socket there as well. Normal audio cable is available for this, different from speaker cable.

For PC the screen connection, then most screens do have VGA input these days, so it might be best to use this if available. Snag is long VGA cables are difficult to find, usually up to 10m you can get. Once burried in the wall or behind the skirting, there are VGA wall plates available with either solder connections or with a socket on the reverse that accepts a VGA male plug.
http://www.nexxia.co.uk/Wall_plate_C...all_plates.htm

Hope this helps, further advice always available.

[Franco50]

mincecfc - something I forgot to ask earlier, I take it that once the TV is on the wall you can still get to all the inputs on the back easily (Scart, power, HDMI etc), just in case you ever need to change a cable. I have the 32" Hannspree so not sure if the layout of rear sockets is the same.

[Napoleon88]

Originally Posted by Franco50

mincecfc - something I forgot to ask earlier, I take it that once the TV is on the wall you can still get to all the inputs on the back easily (Scart, power, HDMI etc), just in case you ever need to change a cable. I have the 32" Hannspree so not sure if the layout of rear sockets is the same.

They aren't super easy, but provided you don't have hands like Pat Jennings (look him up ) you can get to everything.

My specific wall mount allows you to tilt the tv up if you release a couple of locking bolts.

[Napoleon88]

Originally Posted by Simon at Nexxia

Certainly looks like...

Thanks very much for the detailed reply Simon, I'll have a good look and read about this when I get a chance and can concentrate on it.

Hope it's not too late but long VGA cables are available from CPC. Make sure you don't forget to run audio from the PC - this will not be on the VGA cable!

[windie]

If you look around you can get a 15m vga cable with the sound cable built in. Bought one from Ebay myself, it was late last year and cost about £20 with delivery. Works very well

I searched for vga cable with audio

No problem, let me know when you ready if you need further advice.

Regards

Simon

[Franco50]

Originally Posted by mincecfc

They aren't super easy, but provided you don't have hands like Pat Jennings (look him up ) you can get to everything.

Don't worry, I'm old enough to remember Pat Jennings - great 'keeper! He was able to pick up a football by grabbing it with one hand if I recall.

[thfccambs]

mincecfc,

looks good mate,do you have a link to the fixings you used?
Im looking to do mine at the weekend and im cacking myself.

If you can get hold of 'toggler' fixings they'll be perfect.

- dan

[Steve1951]

Dan

I think you mean spring toggles not "toggler" however I may be mistaken.

Personally I wouldnt use toggles I always consider them for use in suspending from a ceiling ie light fittings if you cannot find a joist or cannot get above.

I always use reddidriva (see screwfix) for plasterboard,this is not just DIY professionally too (electrician).

Question about the instal (which looks great) were from and how did you pick up the 240v and how do you isolate it if needed?

Regards

Steve

[Steve1951]

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...11923&ts=78732

Link for reddidriva

[Steve1951]

http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;js...gles&x=15&y=12

Link for toggles

[cloudcity]

You have done a superb job there. A nice use of an awkward space I would say. Well done.