- \n
- Wire Fish Tape<\/strong> (or: Fish Tape, Wire Snake, Wall Snake, whatever the kids are calling it these days).<\/li>\n
- Two (2) Screwdrivers (a Phillips and a standard)<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Drywall Hand Saw<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Sharpie Marker<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Electrical Tape<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
![\"Drywall](\"http:\/\/krisbunda.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Drywall-Hand-Saw.jpg\" "\\"Drywall-Hand-Saw\\"")
<\/a>Drywall Hand Saw<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
![\"Wire](\"http:\/\/krisbunda.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Wire-Fish-Tape.jpg\" "\\"Wire-Fish-Tape\\"")
<\/a>Wire Fish Tape ex.1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
![\"Wire](\"http:\/\/krisbunda.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Wire-Fish-Tape-2.jpg\" "\\"Wire-Fish-Tape-2\\"")
<\/a>Wire Fish Tape ex.2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Now let’s talk about the hardware you’ll need:<\/strong><\/p>\n
- \n
- Two (2) Wall Plates<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Two (2) Existing Construction Gang Boxes<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Cables<\/strong> [in my case: two 15 ft. HDMI (1 for DirecTV, one for HTPC<\/a>), one RCA cable (goes from TV to surround sound receiver), one TV power cable (of course, this comes with the TV)]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Wondering where to buy this stuff? \u00a0I recommend\u00a0mycablemart.com<\/a>. \u00a0And no, they’re not paying me to write this. \u00a0I found the company through a Google search the week before Christmas, and bought a wall mount bracket, face plates, gang boxes, and 2 HDMI cables at a very competitive price. \u00a0I made this purchase late afternoon 2 days before Dec. 24th, and by the time I got home from the office the next day, the package was waiting for me in my garage. \u00a0That’s fast shipping during the hectic Holidays. \u00a0If you have a better place to shop for this stuff, by all means, leave a comment about it.<\/p>\n
![\"Pass](\"http:\/\/krisbunda.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Pass-Through-Wall-Plate.jpg\" "\\"Pass-Through-Wall-Plate\\"")
<\/a>Pass Through Wall Plate<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
![\"Single](\"http:\/\/krisbunda.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Single-Gang-Existing-Construction-Wall-Box-184x300.jpg\" "\\"Single-Gang-Existing-Construction-Wall-Box\\"")
<\/a>Existing Construction Wall Box (front view)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
![\"Single](\"http:\/\/krisbunda.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Single-Gang-Existing-Construction-Wall-Box-2-299x300.jpg\" "\\"Single-Gang-Existing-Construction-Wall-Box-2\\"")
<\/a>Single Gang Existing Construction Wall Box<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
So why did I buy the “Pass Through” face plate? \u00a0Because it seems like A\/V equipment is always changing the inputs\/outputs as the years fly by. \u00a0I didn’t want to pigeon hole myself into a limited set of i\/o ports. \u00a0With the pass through plate, I have the option of running different cables through the wall as needed (although I don’t plan on doing this often, as it’s a pain).<\/p>\n
That said, if you want something a little more customized and even more “finished” looking, check out these wall plates:<\/p>\n
![\"Audio](\"http:\/\/krisbunda.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Audio-Wall-Plate-204x300.jpg\" "\\"Audio-Wall-Plate\\"")
<\/a>Audio Wall Plate<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
![\"Keystone](\"http:\/\/krisbunda.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Keystone-Type-Wall-Plate.jpg\" "\\"Keystone-Type-Wall-Plate\\"")
<\/a>Keystone Type Wall Plate<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Installation:<\/strong><\/p>\n
- \n
- Get out the Sharpie, put the Single Gang Wall Box up to the wall, and trace the inside of it with your marker to get the general size of the rectangular hole you’re going to cut into your wall.<\/li>\n
- Do this twice–one down by the baseboard, and one up by the TV’s wall mount bracket. \u00a0Make sure these holes are directly in-line with each other, in the same stud bay. \u00a0Otherwise it will be difficult or impossible to run the cables.<\/li>\n
- Take your drywall hand saw and cut the rectangular holes out. \u00a0Just wiggle the saw in, no need to go any deeper than the drywall (say about 1\/2 inch). \u00a0After you cut the rectangular shape, see if the wall gang box fits. \u00a0It probably won’t, so do some fine tuning and shave away areas that need it.<\/li>\n
- Fit the wall gang boxes in the holes. \u00a0You don’t need to tighten them down yet.<\/li>\n
- Feed the wire fish\/snake wire through the top hole, down through the wall, and fish it out through the bottom hole. \u00a0This may be easier said than done, and it’s good to have a helper. \u00a0In my experience, the “wire fish” tool is necessary… we tried a wire clothes-hanger, and it wouldn’t work.<\/li>\n
- Now that you’ve got your fish wire hanging out the bottom hole, take your cables and tape them to the fish wire in a manner that makes them “aerodynamic” and not bulky. \u00a0Remember, you’re pulling all these wires through a wall with insulation, other wiring, or whatever is inside. \u00a0You need your cable bundle to be as sleek as possible to avoid getting caught on other stuff as you pull it up.<\/li>\n
- Now have your helper push the cables up from the bottom as you pull up your fish wire from the top.<\/li>\n
- Once you get the wires ran, make sure you really have all of them<\/span>. \u00a0I finished up the entire job before I realized I forgot the TV’s power cord!<\/li>\n
- Get your screwdrivers and turn the screws in the gang box so that the little “arms” squeeze tight against the back of the drywall.<\/li>\n
- Thread the cables through the openings in the pass through face plates (or plug them into a customized face plate if that’s what you bought).<\/li>\n
- Turn the screws on the face plates to attach them to the gang boxes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"Pass](\"http:\/\/krisbunda.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/IMG_0310-600x450.jpg\" "\\"Pass")
<\/a>Pass Through Face Plate<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
- Two (2) Existing Construction Gang Boxes<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Two (2) Screwdrivers (a Phillips and a standard)<\/strong><\/li>\n
![\"Flat](\"http:\/\/krisbunda.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/IMG_0307-600x450.jpg\" "\\"Flat-Screen-Wall-Mounted-Furniture\\"")
<\/a>