[lazarusr]

See here for my current set-up. As you can see, whilst the kit may be nice, it is a total mess - the wires.

Central to my plan to sort it out, is to wall mount the plasma (and chase in the necessary cables). This will free up space underneath the plasma for all the kit (in an Alphason AD3/105-PB). The only long cables to deal with then will be for the subwoofer and rear effect speakers.

Although this is a very small project compared to some of the amazing home cinema rooms in this forum, I am not one might call a natural DIY-er. I am, however, adamant that I want to do it all myself.

I hope to use this thread to feedback on my progress and seek advice as well.

I have a stud-partition wall. It is however, an external wall. I plan to remove the plasterboard where the bracket is to be fixed and fit some horizontal wooden studs to the breeze blocks behind. In addition, having a biggish hole, will help with chasing cable.

I would be greatful for some advice on choice of wall-brackets (my plasma is a Panasonic TH-37PX60B). If have found a bewildering choice available. Does anyone have any comments on these (or any others):

http://www.rs100.co.uk/product_info...._id=625&page=2
http://www.chaseavdirect.co.uk/ccp6/...D-Screens.html
http://www.chaseavdirect.co.uk/ccp6/...l-Bracket.html
http://www.m-formonline.co.uk/index....hk=1&Itemid=26
http://www.bracketsrus.co.uk/cart.ph...ct_detail&p=64
http://www.bracketsrus.co.uk/cart.ph...ct_detail&p=92
http://www.allcam.biz/catalog/produc...roducts_id=546

Thanks

[lazarusr]

I have decided to got with the PLB105M because it is height adjustable. This will give me greater flexibility if I choose to upgrade the screen at a later date.

Looks like I will be starting work on this over the bank holiday weekend.

[lazarusr]

Have started working on this and I am now the proud owner of a hole in my wall.

In the process of doing this work, I have discovered that when the sky guy came to install the dish a couple of years back, he drilled through the wall within a hair's breadth of a mains cable.

Although you can't see it in the picture, he had actually shaved off some of the outer insulation on the mains cable, but the inner insulation still seems OK. Good to know that you can rely on the professionals to do a proper job, .

This mains cable is a source of another disappointment as it is in fact a spur coming off the nearby socket. This means that I can't now use that socket to create a spur for powering the plasma screen. I am going to have to wire a FCU into the ring main. Why the builders were running spurs in a new build house I don't know. Those pesky professionals again.

Hey ho!:

[fredd500]

Holy Sh1*. I am sure its against building regs to run mains cable horizontally anyway - should be vertically from the floor up I thought - perhaps someone could correct me if I am wrong?

[lazarusr]

Originally Posted by fredd500

Holy Sh1*. I am sure its against building regs to run mains cable horizontally

Strictly speaking I think it is only against building regs if the builder in question gets found out.

I think this sort of thing is fairly common in new build houses. The ring main does indeed go up and down. The horizontal spur feeds some halogen lamps in the fire place. I think this was added as an after-thought when it was decided that what was later to be the house I bought would be the show home. In order to get this done in time the builders took a short cut...

[lazarusr]

I have done a bit more work on this today. I have installed an unswitched 13 amp socket (which is fed from an FCU which I have added to the ring main). I have also chased in a cable for an aerial socket. Both of these will be located behind the screen (obviously).

I have also fixed one of the two pieces of timber to the wall. I had planned to put some resin-like substance that I found at B&Q in with the rawlplugs to make the timber extra secure. However, it seems very secure with just conventional rawlplugs and screws, so I am going to skip this step.

I am rather pleased with the solution for the HDMI and audio cables. At either end of some mini trunking I have placed single 25mm pattress boxes. I have used a Dremel to make a large slot in the box which is just the right size to accommodate the trunking.

Sadly, I have to work on Monday, so I wont be able to do any more on this until next weekend.

[jolly]

Originally Posted by fredd500

Holy Sh1*. I am sure its against building regs to run mains cable horizontally anyway - should be vertically from the floor up I thought - perhaps someone could correct me if I am wrong?

Strictly speaking it is against BR, but as said before it happens a lot

In my last house i cut straight through a spur which run diagonally across my wall whilst chasing out for speaker wire

This in turn blow the main fuse, so had to get the electricity board out to change

[vex]

I though it was that Horizontal and Vertical were OK but diagonal is a definite No No.

V

[fredd500]

I would be interested to know for definite whether horizontal cabling was permitted - I am working on the missus to allow us to ditch the 'feature electric' fireplace in favour of a wall mounted TV and running some cabling horizontally for new sockets would definitely be easier than ripping up the floorboards...

I know my old man has done it plenty, especially in the kitchen where he stuck a load of new sockets over the work-top. He's not a qualified sparky, more of a competent diy'er, but I doubt he has read the building regs.

The sockets were installed prior to part P btw - I know kitchens are 'special locations' under part P now so can't be touched by competent diy'ers.

[lazarusr]

As I understand it, the only actual requirement under the building regs, in relation to electrical work is as follows:

Reasonable provision shall be made in the design and installation of electrical installations in order to protect persons operating, maintaining or altering the installations from fire or injury.

This is in addition to the general requirment that all work shall be carried out with adequate and proper materials and in a workmanlike manner.

The difficulty comes where the work needs to be approved by the local authority. Such approval is not required to add light fittings and switches to an existing circuit or to add socket outlets and fused spurs to an existing ring or radial circuit unless the work is in a kitchen or special location (basically where water is involved) or to a special installation (various odd things, none of which are likely to involve home cinemas).

What many people consider to be part building regs are in fact approved documents issued by the relevant Secretary of State. They are said to be for guidance only. Clearly, where there is a requirement to submit plans to the local authority, it would be difficult to get approval for something which is not in accordance with the approved documents. However, for work which is exempt from involving the local authority, what one does and does not have to do is more of a judgement call.

The relevant approved document can be found here. This in turn makes reference to various BS and similar standards and regs.

The rules about wiring are summarised in the diagram on page 37. But in essence, if I understand it properly, vex is correct. Wires can run horizontally or vertically in an imaginary channel the same width as the wiring accessory. Accordingly, diagonal is the no-no.

It follows, therefore, that the sky man who drilled the hole where he did was a Muppet and there was nothing wrong with what the house builders did. Although, I still think it ought not to have been necessary to have a spur in a new build house.

[lazarusr]

BTW, I think the builders may have done something a bit naughty. They cannot have gone in a horizontal straight line from the 13A socket to the FCU because the ventilation brick is in the way. In the photo you can see that the wire is running at a slight angle. However, it was the fact that it was at an angle that saved it from being drilled out, because the sky guy drilled directly in line with the 13A socket.

[boodle]

yeh as lazarusr says, it doesnt quite go horizontal to the next socket. but saying that i think the zone in which you shouldnt drill into etc is the width of the socket in question vertically, and the height of the socket horizontally.

basically, the sky engineer has been a bit naughty there, you should never drill above below or to the sides of a socket, you never know where the wires have been run!

[boodle]

oh, and keep up the work, looks like a nice neat little project here.

[MarkP80]

basically, the sky engineer has been a bit naughty there, you should never drill above below or to the sides of a socket, you never know where the wires have been run!

- If he'd taken the front of the socket off, I suspect he'd have seen exactly which direction it was fed from!

I am, however, adamant that I want to do it all myself.

- Good for you mate! Plenty of good advice on this forum if you need it.

MarkP

[boodle]

Originally Posted by MarkP80

- If he'd taken the front of the socket off, I suspect he'd have seen exactly which direction it was fed from!

MarkP

if he saw it came from the left of the socket, why did he then fit it to the left of the socket!

me thinks he didnt look

[lazarusr]

Managed to get a bit more work done this weekend. Put in the second strip of timber. Also repositioned the satellite cable to somewhere more convenient (encountering more dodgy mains cable on the way).

Finally applied plaster to the whole thing.

Looks a bit of a dog's breakfast at the moment, but I am reasonably confident it will all sand down OK.

BTW, I used some of this to fill a a few big holes and hold the trunking in place.

It sort of worked, but created an awful mess, so I can't really recommend it.

Also, have placed a 13 A mains socket in the loft ready for a powered distribution amp for the televisions elsewhere in the house.

Next weekend will be sanding and applying primer/sealant.

[jolly]

What plaster did you use?

[lazarusr]

Originally Posted by jolly

What plaster did you use?

I used this.

It was the only ready mix stocked by my local B&Q and I didn't have the confidence to mix plaster myself.

It produces quite a rough finish and seems very friable, but hopefully it will be alright when it is sanded and sealed.

[jolly]

Originally Posted by lazarusr

I used this.

It was the only ready mix stocked by my local B&Q and I didn't have the confidence to mix plaster myself.

It produces quite a rough finish and seems very friable, but hopefully it will be alright when it is sanded and sealed.

It looks in the photo more like a backing coat, but i see it is not

[lazarusr]

Originally Posted by jolly

It looks in the photo more like a backing coat

Good grief! I hope it isn't!

[jolly]

Looking at the link you sent it isn't, its a one coat plaster

Never been a fan off them myself

[lazarusr]

Haven't managed to get that much done. I have sanded the plaster down and applied a coat of primer/sealer. Although you can't tell from the photos there is a reasonable finish.

I have also put in the fixing points for the bracket. I am using 8 of these to secure it the wall.

I have also taken a couple of blank plates from the same chrome range as the wiring accessories in the room and drilled 25 mm holes in them for the exit points for the cables from the screen. Here is one with a rubber grommet in place.

Next job is to paint the wall.

[jolly]

Plaster looks to off sanded down well

[lazarusr]

Painting in progress... with the help of a little elf...

Painting now finished and the bracket is in place.

Here is the rear wall, with QED Qudos Micro cable chased in and fixing screws for the rear speakers.

The cable comes out under the skirting board. The cable is to be run round the edge of the room under the carpet. I plan to do something similar with a micro subwoofer cable.

[jolly]

Looking good

[lazarusr]

Would you beleive it, but having done so well so far I have hit a ridiculously silly problem.

In order to accomodate the rear speakers I have had to move the brass hook for a tie-back for one of the curtains one inch to the left. Whilst drilling a hole for the rawlplug I hit some very slight resistance and then the mains RCD tripped out. I assume I have drilled through a mains cable. (The drill was a cordless battery job, so it wasn't the cause.)

What a cable was doing running where I was drilling I do not know. It certainly isn't in a zone approved in the guidance to Part P.

I reset the RCD and everything appears to be working OK. Save to say I have not screwed a metal hook into this hole.

I have filled the hole up with polyfilla. I can't think what else to do other than opening up the hole side of the wall to see what is going on in there.

[_Chronic_]

You've just given me the answer to my cable exit problem! I was going to use those gates with brushes but they are about £45 each!

Thanks

[lazarusr]

Managed to do a whole load of work over the last few days and finished it off.

Here is the screen up on the wall mount.

And a close up of one of the cable exit points.

And finally a picture of the screen connected to the sky HD box to prove it genuinely works.

I used D-line trunking to run the mains cable to the sub-woofer. The interconnect for the sub-woofer is QED MSR-SW which is small enough to run under the carpet with the rear speaker cables.

And the final result with everything set up.

I had all the cables made to order, but got the measurements wrong for one of them (which you can see curled up under the stand). A little annoying, but it is only visible from floor level, which is not my usual viewing position.

Pretty pleased with the overall result. Not a big project compared with others in this forum. Nevertheless, for a DIY novice, I am pleased to have done it all myself.

[inzaman]

Originally Posted by lazarusr

Pretty pleased with the overall result. Not a big project compared with others in this forum. Nevertheless, for a DIY novice, I am pleased to have done it all myself.

Looks great, congratulations

[albriscoe]

If all you got wrong was a cable length then I wouldn`t worry too much about that.

looks like a very nice tidy result to me mate so well done

Allan