help with cable

[Mark Billington]

Hi i want to wall mount a tv in a bedroom and have the power cables hidden .

The house is a new build and the wall is internal, a stud which i presume has insulation inside.

I want to mount the tv in the centre of the wall .

Obviously i want to stay within any regulations .for insurance and building regs etc

I have a 2 gang socket in the lower left corner of the wall . and a light switch on the middle right side of the wall

What are my options ?

option 1. Can i drill hole in the wall behind the tv and i fit brush plates , then again at the bottom of the wall and run the tv's standard power cable ,kettle style along with the arial lead hdmi etc , will i need to run it through trunking ? I would channel top to botttom if needed .

option 2 .Or could i fit a socket behind the tv and run the cable down inside the wall then accross to the 2 gang socket , Is this what is known as a spur ?

Again would i need to use trunking ?

Are both option legal within reg's and am i allowed to do this ?

thank you


 

 

[Essex1]

Welcome.  

All regulations say that the person carrying out the work should be competent (electrically) to carry out the works.  Both options are fine on the face of it except option 2 will require some electrical knowledge and test equipment to ensure the work you have done is safe.  There is also the question on whether the existing circuits that you are altering have RCD protection which they almost certainly will need if you are installing them in a stud wall.  

 

[ProDave]

I mostly work on stud walls as that's how most houses up here are built.

Running a proper fixed cable and connecting a socket behind the tv is by far the neatest option.

But it's not as straightforward as you may think.  for a start, most stud walls will have a noggin running across about half way up. So that has to be exposed to drill through it.

Then the uprights are usually spaced either 400mm or 600mm apart.  If you are really lucky you will have a socket already in the same "compartment", but if not you must run a cable horizontally from the nearest socket at the same height as that socket, which will entail exposing the upright studs to drill through them.

So expect a lot of cutting squares of plasterboard out, drilling your holes, then fixing the plasterboard back and filling, sanding and painting to put it all right again.

 

[Murdoch]

One thing to consider is keeping the aerial and power cables "apart" - so its best not to put them in close proximity of each other

 

[Mark Billington]

So both options are ok within the regulations law etc ? As the house is only 1 year old i hope it has rcd protection on the sockets , if not can i get it easily  . I was sure i read something about that walls with insulation not allowing power cables etc , but wanted to check first.?

In a different room i have another tv that i want to wall mount however the wall dosent have any sockets  The wall is L shaped .There is a socket on the small part of the L , what are my options for this ?

 

[steptoe]

apart from the electrical side of things,

have you thought about how a stud wall is going to support the weight of a TV ?

 

[Essex1]

So both options are ok within the regulations law etc ? As the house is only 1 year old i hope it has rcd protection on the sockets , if not can i get it easily  . I was sure i read something about that walls with insulation not allowing power cables etc , but wanted to check first.?

In a different room i have another tv that i want to wall mount however the wall dosent have any sockets  The wall is L shaped .There is a socket on the small part of the L , what are my options for this ?

Both options seem to be ok if a competent electrical person does the work. If a novice does the work then that would be against the regulations and could put the occupiers of the house in danger from electric shock or fire. 

 

[ProDave]

apart from the electrical side of things,

have you thought about how a stud wall is going to support the weight of a TV ?

No problem.

Choose the sort of bracket that's wide, so it can be guaranteed to pick up fixings to at least one stud, preferably two. Avoid the brackets that only have a tiny narrow bit that screws to the wall.

 

[ProDave]

So both options are ok within the regulations law etc ? As the house is only 1 year old i hope it has rcd protection on the sockets , if not can i get it easily  . I was sure i read something about that walls with insulation not allowing power cables etc , but wanted to check first.?

In a different room i have another tv that i want to wall mount however the wall dosent have any sockets  The wall is L shaped .There is a socket on the small part of the L , what are my options for this ?

It gets tricky if you go round a corner onto a wall without any sockets. you have to keep cables in a safe zone, hence the reason for running a horizontal cable at the same height as the socket.

As soon as you go round the corner to a bare wall, there are no safe zones, so you might also need to add a low level socket to create the safe zone as well as the high level one behind the tv. Of course that means extending the ring not just fitting a spur.

It sounds like you have a typical new build where the builder has skimped on the number of sockets. It is probably best getting an electrician in to do it as he will know all the details of what you can and cannot do.

 

[steptoe]

No problem.

Choose the sort of bracket that's wide, so it can be guaranteed to pick up fixings to at least one stud, preferably two. Avoid the brackets that only have a tiny narrow bit that screws to the wall.

thats fine PD if that is where the client wants the tv, more often than not they have their own bracket and want the TV somewhere there is no upright.

 

[ProDave]

thats fine PD if that is where the client wants the tv, more often than not they have their own bracket and want the TV somewhere there is no upright.

Then tell them they have the wrong bracket.

This sort of thing is what I am on about http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal-TV-Mount-Slim-Wall-Bracket-fits-3D-Plasma-LCD-LED-VESA-26-32-42-55-/262061443501?var=&hash=item3d041449ad:m:mBjlBZCQvE_9gfqQAYIm6uw

Wide enough to find at lease one if not two studs to fix to.

 

[bluetobits]

Or..... Glue and screw a nice chamfered painted plywood board up first,  then fit bracket. 

 

[steptoe]

Or..... Glue and screw a nice chamfered painted plywood board up first,  then fit bracket. 

thats what I have done in the bedroom,

well, apart from the painted and chamfered bit, 

eggbox wall, no absolutely no chance of finding a stud anywhere there,,,,,,,

a nice bit of 1/2" ply from floor to ceiling, tv is in a corner so needed a bracket similar to this  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TV-Wall-Mount-Swivel-Bracket-For-Samsung-Plasma-50-inch-/110830886763?hash=item19ce091f6b:g:NXUAAOxyEjpRnOB8

 

[Mark Billington]

I havent purchased the bracket yet  so thanks for the info on that, rather than fitting any sockets , can i cut a hole out behind the tv and use a brush cover then run the tv power cable so it comes out at the bottom  with another brush cover , is this legal ? any things to worry about ?

 

[steptoe]

having a long enough cable might be something you want to check,

you may need to purchase another cable,

other than that, you are good to go.

 

[Mark Billington]

Thank you

yes will check the length of cable first

 

[thebight]

I reckon a spark would fit a socket for a few pound notes. DIY is understandable for jobs like this when the OP has a little competence, but surely in this instance it would be best to employ a spark and get it done right? Chances are your TV will be worth £300-£500, so what's an extra £40 or £50 to have the job done properly? If I was going to put holes in my wall to run a kettle lead, then I may as well put holes in my wall to run a spur off to a flush fitted socket.

Also, (little off topic) but I'm a little surprised a new build hasn't put a socket on the wall ready for this. We're in a 2-year old house and there was a socket in the living room and all bedrooms (and aerial too) about where you would typically hang a TV.

 

[Mark Billington]

It a shame i'm not allowed to fit the spur myself .

 

[binky]

with regards to insulation in walls, you can fit cables, but you need to rate the cable to avoid possible overheating, which in short generally means using 4mm rather than 2.5mm.

There's actually nothing stopping you doing the work, but as a new build unless you have  a cert from a registered electrican you could void any warranties, plus should you mss up and cause a fire, it is highly unlikley your insurance company would pay out. Bit of a doomsday scenario, but worth bearing in mind when you have invested in a large mortgage!

 

[thebight]

It a shame i'm not allowed to fit the spur myself .

Have you done anything like this before? (Wiring of sockets etc)