New project: wall mount with chasing in cables

[srfeo]

Hi there. I'm in the early planning to wall-mount an LCD TV and 5.1 speaker system in our sitting room (rectangular 5.8x3.5m). I think that this is a very simple job, but I've never done this before so I figured I'd ask some questions to the experts.

The room has been stripped of wallpaper and new engineered wooden flooring will be put in at a later date. The wall where the TV will be mounted is a plastered external brick wall.

Currently the room is storing DIY stuff while we finish the decoration in the rest of the house
Front of room:


Back of room:


I am planning on buying the following equipment
TV: Samsung 32/37/40" LCD - haven't decided which size yet
Mount: PLB105M Super Slim 30-55" LCD/Plasma TV Wall Mount or Allcam LM28 Slim 15" -30" LCD TV Wall Mount Bracket - haven't decided
AV amp: Onkyo 508 - only need 5.1
Speakers: Jamo - they look nice
DVD: Toshiba SD370E - until HTPC configured and more wife friendly
Mac Mini: HTPC for PVR, etc.

Plan:


I have been reading many of the other DIY project threads for inspiration and tips, but I already have a lot of questions. If anyone can help me along the way I would appreciate it - I promise lots of pictures of me destroying the room. I'm going to start after Christmas.

1) Can I run flat speaker cable for the rear speakers under the engineered wood floor that will be put in after I complete the room decoration? I think the cable is only about 2mm. I was thinking of running it directly from the front to the back walls (in a "V") and then chasing up the walls to the rear speakers.

2) Do I really need an SCART cable? I'm not from Europe so I really don't even know what SCART cables are used for. Without an SCART the cable channel in the front wall can be much smaller, no?

3) What is the best way to "chase out" the plaster walls? Someone suggested a drill and chisel. What about for the micro cable used for front and rear satellites? I only need a narrow/shallow channel.

4) What type of conduit would you suggest to protect the connection cables (HDMI/VGA/power/SVHS etc) and speaker cable? I think that it will be difficult to chase deep into the brick wall so I think that a drainpipe is out of the question. Also seems a bit overkill to put conduit for these wires?

5) Can I run an extra electrical socket as a horizontal spur from the existing socket (see the plan above)?

6) If I go with a slimline mount, I guess I will need to chase out some of the wall behind the LCD to allow me to connect the HDMI and VGA cables to the TV. Does anyone have any advice on these AllCam brackets?

Thanks very much!

Stephen

[Andy98765]

I done a similar setup in my new extension a few things of note.

1. You can NEVER have enough power sockets behind the main AV unit, I have 4
2. Run a ethernet cable x 2 for HTPC and possibly HDDVD etc
3. Run 2 sat cables for SKYHD/+
4. Fit single socket power behind TV
5. Fit TV cable behind TV
6. Fit TV cable behind AV unit.

Move front left and right speakers further apart and up the wall so they are either side of the TV.

If you have a SDS+ drill I used the following for channeling and cutting sockets. http://www.screwfix.com/prods/16606/...ng-Chisel-55mm
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/75026/...l-75mm-x-280mm these chisels really make light work of what you are trying to do, and the best bit is lack if dust.

OR put up a load or 2"x2" studding in a frame with good support for TV mount then plaster board over, now that is the easy solution.

All power should now be done by a qualified electrician.

[srfeo]

Andy, thanks for all the tips.

I'm probably going to run Ethernet over Power (homeplug) as my DSL runs up to a wiring closet in my home office via CAT5 through a plumbing conduit. It is not so easy to run cables in this house as all the walls are quite solid. I tested the homeplug and got about 40Mbps so that should be OK for streaming video or audio from my always-on server upstairs. This server is connected to the Internet and has freeview feed for the PVR.

Looking to get through the DIY stuff and into the HTPC stuff, as this is more my cup of tea.

As far as running the sat/cable/TV cables behind the AV unit, is there a 2-gang cover or panel that supports all three connections?

[Peter Galbavy]

I have not yet been brave enough to "fix" my room layout to chase cabling into my walls so I have gone with temporary mini-trunking. If my room layout and/or equipment doesn't change in the next year I will do that next.

However, I have just replaced my screen and gone for mounting much lower on other's advice - the screen centre at eye level when seated (about 100cm up for a normal sofa seat). By doing this I have had to place my centre above the screen (it's a 60" so is much bigger than the sizes you are aiming at). You should consider both this and any potential upgrade path for screens and speakers for the future especially if your cabling will be fixed in place.

[MarkP80]

Hi Stephen!

Speakers: Jamo - they look nice

- What they sound like is important too! Try and get a demo before you buy....

1) Can I run flat speaker cable for the rear speakers under the engineered wood

- I haven't tried this, but I have laid engineered flooring. I personally wouldn't do this. I'd think over time the cable would wear through. Better would be to put the cable under the fllorboards, and bring it out behind the skirting board.

2) Do I really need an SCART cable?

- You'll kick yourself if you don't put one in and then do need one! I put one in as my cable box needs one. It's not that much bigger than the rest.

3) What is the best way to "chase out" the plaster walls?

- You've had some good advice on this. I always cut two lines then chase out in between them, to keep the job neat. You can use a hand plasterboard saw, or maybe an angle grinder to do this. You can also get narrow chisels, have a look in Wickes if you have one local. I'd put the tv power in a different channel to the other cables to be sure of no interference.

4) What type of conduit would you suggest to protect the connection cables

- You only real need the conduit to protect the cables from damage when plastering, or if you think you'll need to pull new cables at a later date. Take care when filling and put in all the cables you'll need, then you can do without the conduit.

5) Can I run an extra electrical socket as a horizontal spur

- You could, but then you are restricted to a single two-gang socket on the spur, which isn't enough. Better to get the ring main extended from the existing socket to include your new sockets, then you can put two two-gangs there. Then, from one of these, run a spur up behind the tv.

6) If I go with a slimline mount, I guess I will need to chase out some of the wall behind the LCD

- Maybe, but not necessarily. Draw on the wall where the tv will go, and mark where the connections are. Put the mount on the back of the tv, and measure, to see how far from the wall it will be when installed. You should then get an idea if the cables will be ok. If you need to, you can then chase out locally where needed.

Hope that is of some assistance. Keep us updated on your progress!
Regards,
MarkP

[srfeo]

Thanks for all the tips so far. I'm currently making a cabling plan to order the cables, etc. I think that I'm going to start the channeling/chasing by hand with chisels and then see what happens. This will start in the New Year.

MarkP80, the floor in the main room is concrete with linoleum on top. I believe that the flooring guy is going to put some sort of underlay before putting down the floor. I was hoping to run the wire between the lino and underlay. I guess I could run wire around in the expansion gap under the skirting...

I think that I will stick with a spur for the electricity as the ring goes around under the wooden floor above and I would have to drop the "ring" down from the ceiling to extend it. From what I remember the kitchen installer added a new ring and was cursing the toughness of the walls as did my father-in-law when he was taking down a kitchen and bathroom wall.

[srfeo]

Can someone give me some advice on cable paths for the front speaker cables?

Here is a marked-up photo of my current plan to mount the TV into the wall.

Do you think that I should mount the speakers in a line below (looks better), or bring the side speakers up beside the screen (sounds better?)

How far apart should the left/right speakers be based on the physical constraints of my room?

I have the centre of the screen about 1.1 meters high which seems to be at eye level when sitting on the sofa.

I'm not sure how to chase the left/right speaker wire since the vertical power wires are in the way. Do you suggest that I run the wire below the power socket and then up to where they will be mounted?

Thanks for any suggestions!

[srfeo]

After two attempts to rent a wall chaser this week (first time dodgy transformer, second time bad motor on tool), I finally got to digging into the walls.

This is my first time doing such work, and at first the machine was was quite heavy and difficult to control. The walls of the house are really solid - the brick and the plaster.

I have a couple of questions if anyone can help me?

1) The rectangle that is circled in the picture has been dug out to make it easier to connect the cables to the TV. How would I go about sealing this off? It won't be seen behind the TV. Should I use plaster or just chisel into the brick and make it as smooth as possible? What about sealing with PVA?

2) I'm going to run the speaker cable in small oval plastic conduit. Any ideas how I can protect the cable where it exits the oval and comes out of the wall when plastering?

3) How can I fix the oval into the channels before plastering? Would "No More Nails" do it?

Thanks!

[MattBennett]

No more nails should do it ok. If it was me I would rather have it fastened into the wall properly though. Once the plaster is over it it wont go any where. Maybe a couple of screws and no more nails. When the plaster did my stair case he used board glue to fill holes. Sets really hard. I would use that for filling holes and maybe a skim coat of finishing plaster over the top. HTH

[srfeo]

Ooops, forgot (boring) picture of left rear speaker chase. (The flooring guy will box in the wire heading to the conservatory and the old skirting board).

[norfbech]

Is that parquet flooring? Shame you have to floor over that...what I'd so for some parquet flooring!
Good luck with the project.

[srfeo]

Actually, that is linoleum, everyone gets confused by it. My mom has seen the pictures and she and most other people think that we should keep it. My wife hates the herringbone pattern (we also have it in the conservatory), so it will be covered over with engineered wood. I cut some channels into the lino to run the rear speaker cable this morning. Time to get back to work...

[norfbech]

Ah...probably doesn't look like parquet 'in the flesh' then?!

Aside from parquet flooring engineered wood is where's it at these days.
Are you placing the speaker cables under the new floor? Wish I'd had the foresight when I put my floor down.

[srfeo]

Saturday: Finished chasing walls for backboxes, etc. Finished electricity. Cut channel in lino for rear speakers

Sunday: Cleaned/PVA channels, no-more-nails to fix oval. Tested speaker cables before running into wall. Realized that I didn't order enough cable for the front three speakers (to be able to move out the cabinet to clean behind). Didn't get to the plastering phase due to having to take down old ceiling coving and plastering over some plasterboard.

My wife still isn't convinced of the "cable disappearing act" that is going to take place. My TV comes today, hopefully all the measurements are OK.

[inzaman]

Originally Posted by srfeo

My wife still isn't convinced of the "cable disappearing act" that is going to take place.

Are they ever convinced

Its definitely coming along