When we built the house, we knew just where the TV’s would
be going and could plan to hide the cables.
The TV in the living room has PVC pipes going from the top
of the mantle to the built-in bookcases next to it.
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| Living Room's In-Wall cord hider |
Mom’s TV cables had a straight tube from the top of the wall
to the bottom. An outlet was placed at each opening.
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| Mom's TV in wall cord hider |
Had I thought ahead, I would have done the same thing
upstairs in the playroom.
We had a small TV on a bookcase, but we upgraded the TV to
hang on the wall and put a console underneath. Problem was, I had cables. I bought
a cool kit that YoungHouseLove shared that was only $40 at HomeDepot. I liked
this one best because it created a plug up top, close to your TV and funneled
your component wires through a tube in the wall. So, you are plugging in the TV to the top plug and plugging in your components on the bottom plug and it's all connected. It even comes with the saw
attachment to put on your drill to get the perfect size hole.
I couldn’t find it in the store closest to me, so I went to
a different Home Depot. When I found it, it was in a different box than I was
expecting, so maybe it was at the other store and I just didn’t see it because
my eyes weren’t OPEN!
I was nervous about drilling holes in my beautiful, un-touched wall, but I went for it. I should have listened to my gut. I put the
kit all together and fed it through the hole and “thud.” It stopped. Something
was blocking the tubing from going all the way down. I put a flashlight in the
top hole and couldn’t see anything. But I also couldn’t see the light from the
flashlight in the other hole. 
I now had two large holes in my wall.
I then realized that the framers put these horizontal pieces
of wood between the studs.
I wouldn’t be able to use this kit. I’d have to make another
hole to reach the horizontal piece of wood and I didn’t want to do that. I then
packed up the kit and returned it.
I had the “joy” of patching these two massive holes.
Luckily, I saved the cutouts.
I retrieved my drywall joint compound to find that whoever
used it last didn’t put the lid on tight and it dried up. I then went to the
store to buy more. I went to an unfamiliar store and couldn’t find the drywall
so I finally asked someone to point me to the drywall compound. He sent me to
the paint aisle where there was spackling. I grabbed a super cool spackling,
but it was not right. I needed joint compound. This stuff was dry and wouldn’t
stick. I tried using tape, too. I ended up having to put the compound on the
edge of the cutout first and then pushed it into the wall.
And I used the drill bit to run in the center hole to be
able to keep the cutout from being pushed too far and fall into the wall. As I
“painted” the joint with compound, I had the drill bit tilted while in the hole
so that I had equal pressure on both side of the drywall.
I let the compound sit for a couple days before sanding. I
wanted to make sure it had a good bond. I then sanded and painted.
Luckily these holes are behind the TV and the furniture, but
it still bugs me that I did that to my wall.
Now I am back to having visible cords. Mom likes to
rearrange my house, so she put the keyboard on top of the console and it distracts
you from the cords. It’s also handy for the boys to be able to turn it on and
play it. I may not like how it looks, but it gets more use where it is right
now. (Not complaining, Mom).
I did take some electrical tape and used it every foot to
bunch the cords together. It looks better.
Still a good product I would recommend. It just didn’t work
in our situation. And for all those that are building a home, go ahead and plan
your TV placement and have your electrician build you some tunnels for your
cords!
Link to product HERE
