Cable TV in Room w/o outlet
- Thread starter lostman
- Start date
LITNIN HORN
1,000+ Posts
Where is your den in relation to the cable company's box? Another option might be to run it exterior...if it is close by and you can figure out a way to conceal the cable.
Also, you might look into AT&T U-verse, which uses your phone line as opposed to cable...this is assuming you have a phone line in your den. I have no opinion on this service, but a couple of my friends have it and like it.
NickDanger
2,500+ Posts
ATT doesn't use MY phone line. Regular coax for the U-verse.
First, interior wall or exterior wall? If it's an exterior wall, you're either better off running the cable outside (insulation and everything else) or choosing an interior wall where you're unlikely to have insulation, but will have some sort of fireblock (chemical and/or physical).
In a 1987 house there's a decent chance you have 2x4 physical fireblocks between the studs. You can contact your builder (if they're still in business) or just run a stud-finder up the wall in a few spots to see if it hits on anything. Depending on your builder, its possible that you have chemical fireblocks instead of, or in addition to, physical fireblocks.
If you have chemical fireblocks only, you can go to any electronic supply store (Altex is one example) and they'll have the drill bits necessary to drill down from the attic and snake the cable, as well as the fireblock chemical to seal everything back up after you've finished the cable install (or they should be able to tell you where to get it--Home Depot or Lowe's carry some kinds, but may not have the tools you need to block/seal between floors).
If you decide to drill down from the attic, your biggest difficulty will be blocking/sealing the hole between the 1st and 2nd floors. One of my friends decided to run his ethernet and audio cable down from the attic and chose to go through closets so that he could cut a big hole in the drywall and have easier access for drilling and blocking/sealing between floors. You can buy paintable panels (Home Depot and Lowe's carry them) to cover access holes like that and then always have access if you need it. Since it's in a closet, you rarely notice it (and when you do, it looks like it belongs there).
If you have physical fireblocks, it's not worth it to drill down from the attic, because it will be nearly impossible to seal/block without cutting holes in the wall. And if you choose not to seal/block, you'll probably violate the fire code and (if you ever want sell) disclose that the walls aren't properly fireblocked, which I'm 99% sure will prevent any sale because the house will become uninsurable.
Best of luck! It's a tedious project, but it's worth it if you don't want a cable strung along the outside of your house AND if in the future you want to add multi-room music and/or video and/or a home computer network.
In a 1987 house there's a decent chance you have 2x4 physical fireblocks between the studs. You can contact your builder (if they're still in business) or just run a stud-finder up the wall in a few spots to see if it hits on anything. Depending on your builder, its possible that you have chemical fireblocks instead of, or in addition to, physical fireblocks.
If you have chemical fireblocks only, you can go to any electronic supply store (Altex is one example) and they'll have the drill bits necessary to drill down from the attic and snake the cable, as well as the fireblock chemical to seal everything back up after you've finished the cable install (or they should be able to tell you where to get it--Home Depot or Lowe's carry some kinds, but may not have the tools you need to block/seal between floors).
If you decide to drill down from the attic, your biggest difficulty will be blocking/sealing the hole between the 1st and 2nd floors. One of my friends decided to run his ethernet and audio cable down from the attic and chose to go through closets so that he could cut a big hole in the drywall and have easier access for drilling and blocking/sealing between floors. You can buy paintable panels (Home Depot and Lowe's carry them) to cover access holes like that and then always have access if you need it. Since it's in a closet, you rarely notice it (and when you do, it looks like it belongs there).
If you have physical fireblocks, it's not worth it to drill down from the attic, because it will be nearly impossible to seal/block without cutting holes in the wall. And if you choose not to seal/block, you'll probably violate the fire code and (if you ever want sell) disclose that the walls aren't properly fireblocked, which I'm 99% sure will prevent any sale because the house will become uninsurable.
Best of luck! It's a tedious project, but it's worth it if you don't want a cable strung along the outside of your house AND if in the future you want to add multi-room music and/or video and/or a home computer network.
My pleasure, ma'am. If you decide to go through the closets and want to install the access panels, just do a search for "drywall access doors" or "drywall access panels." Some are spring-loaded and other sturdier ones are mounted to your studs. Plumbers use them a lot to leave access to pipes open. Plumbersurplus.com carries a nice variety of sizes, types and styles.
A few more tips: keep the size of your drill, including battery (if you use a cordless), and the bit angle in mind when locating and cutting out your drywall. Some city building codes require 90 degrees (+/- margin of error) from horizontal when making an opening between floors, others have no requirement, and others are somewhere in-between. If you're using a cordless drill, make sure the dimensions of your drill don't make it impossible to meet the opening angle (if one is required).
Best of luck!
A few more tips: keep the size of your drill, including battery (if you use a cordless), and the bit angle in mind when locating and cutting out your drywall. Some city building codes require 90 degrees (+/- margin of error) from horizontal when making an opening between floors, others have no requirement, and others are somewhere in-between. If you're using a cordless drill, make sure the dimensions of your drill don't make it impossible to meet the opening angle (if one is required).
Best of luck!
UnBiased Horn
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