How to Snake TV Cable Through Walls

Running TV cvable behind a wall makes a cleaner installation.

Running TV cable through walls results in a cleaner, professional-looking installation compared to the sight of coaxial cable snaking along the baseboard and tacked in place with a staple gun, or extending up the side of a wall in plain view to connect with a flat-screen TV. Getting the cable through a wall or snaking a line behind a wall requires a fish tape, which is a coiled length of metal that becomes rigid when pulled from its housing. The fish tape can be guided behind the wall to install cable.

Things You'll Need

• Pencil
• Cordless drill with 1/2-inch drill bit
• Fish tape tool

Instructions

1. Shut off the electricity at the circuit breaker to the room where the cable will be installed.

2. Mark spots on the wall with a pencil where the cable will insert and emerge.

3. Drill a 1/2-inch diameter hole at each pencil mark.

4. Insert the end of the fish tape into one of the holes and slowly extend the tape into the wall, guiding it toward the second hole.

5. Pull the end of the fish tape out of the second hole and attach the end of a TV cable to the loop on the fish tape. The cable fits snugly in the loop on the end of the fish tape.

6. Push the end of the fish tape and cable back inside the hole, then gently pull the handle on the fish tape to drag the tape back toward the first hole, carrying the cable with it.

7. Pull the fish tape out of the hole and remove the end of the TV cable. Pull the TV cable far enough out of the wall that it cannot accidentally slip back inside the hole.

Tips & Warnings

• Measure the distance to ensure the cable is long enough before trying to route it through the wall.

• Run cable horizontally or vertically behind the wall for the shortest distance possible.

• Do not turn on the electricity to the room until the cable is installed and the fish tape has been removed from the wall.

References

• Family Education: How to Run TV Cable Through Walls