How to Hide Electrical Wire

Eliminate tangled wire mess

An electrical wiring project to provide power to a special appliance, or add a light switch or outlet should not result in external wire affixed to walls or on floors. A home office, home entertainment system, or multi-room sound system can leave enough loose wires around the house to give it an industrial atmosphere. Follow the practices used by professional electric installers to conceal wiring. Hiding wires not only eliminates clutter, it also prevents electrical damages.

Things You'll Need

• Power drill
• Stud finder
• Flashlight
• Drywall saw
• Fish tape
• Pencil
• Wall boxes
• Solder
• Solder gun
• Cover plates
• Phillips screwdriver
• Slotted screwdriver
• Wire cutters

Instructions

1. Check local electrical codes for wire installation guidelines. Wiring must meet safety specifications for the voltage it carries, and to manage the heat it radiates. National codes specify 12 gauge for 120 volt household electrical wiring, and at least CL-3 for speaker wires in walls. Codes may also specify licensed electrical workers for any jobs involving the breaker panel.

2. Shut off the main power breaker switch in the breaker box before doing any work behind walls. Keep the box locked or marked with a warning sign to stop anyone from restoring household power.

3. Plan wire placement behind walls, in the attic and basement for running electrical power cables, or speaker wires. Check stud locations and search for obstructions behind walls with a stud finder. Drill through framing tops and shine a flashlight to look into walls for cables, water pipes, and other possible obstructions in potential wire locations. Change the planned wire route if obstructions are present.

4. Mark walls and ceilings for light boxes, wall boxes, and speakers. Wall boxes are the plastic or metal cases that contain light switches and receptacles within the walls. Light boxes are typically metal for housing the wire connections of overhead lights in ceilings. Use the cardboard or paper patterns that come inside the packaging with these boxes, and wall mountable speakers to trace the outlines on walls and ceilings with a pencil to mark the openings necessary for installing the boxes. Make sure the right or left edge of the outline lines up with the side of a wall stud or ceiling rafter. Cut along the marks with a drywall saw to make the openings for the boxes.

5. Feed wiring into the walls and up through the attic, or down through the basement to run it from room to room, or from wall to ceiling. Run a fish tape through the wall from the ceiling or basement to the wall box opening. Hook the wire, or cable onto the fish tape and pull up or down to bring the line into the attic or basement.

6. Mount wall and ceiling boxes by attaching one side to the framing with the hardware supplied in the package. Most electrical boxes have screw holes on the sides and come with wood screws for mounting. Tighten wood screws with a Phillips screwdriver.

7. Run wires along floor joists in the basement or rafters in the attic. Secure wire to the framing that runs parallel with plastic tie wraps, or staples. Codes may allow wire that runs perpendicular to rafters and floor joists to be affixed over or under the wood, or it may specify drilling through the boards for perpendicular runs. Cut wire lengths with wire cutters to leave 12 inches excess at ceiling and wall boxes.

8. Attach electrical wires to switches or outlets by stripping 1/2 inch of the insulation away with wire cutter blades, and wrapping bare wire ends around terminal screws in clockwise rotation. Tighten terminals firmly with a Phillips screwdriver. Use a solder gun and solder to connect speaker wire to jacks and electronic wire to volume controls.

9. Double check all wire connections. Put cover plates in place and secure the holding screws with a slotted screwdriver. Turn the main power back on at the breaker box.

Tips & Warnings

• Contain any wire that cannot be concealed behind walls by looping the excess into a neat bundle wrapping it with a twist tie. Eliminate tangled wire piles behind computers, stereos, and televisions by looping and tying each wire separately.

References

• Repair Home: Running wires
• Akamia on Crutchfield: How to hide the wires