ok.. what would you guys do?

[Fulthrotl]

the sordid details:

i've gotta hang a flatscreen over a fireplace
the fireplace is slump stone over cinderblock. it's crumbly

it's covered by 5/8" lath horizontally, on 2' centers, attached with liquid nails,
ramset pins, and spit. with 1/2" drywall on top of that.

i was able to get some anchors to hold in the slump stone. it's not a heavy
flat screen. maybe 35=40 pounds.

i've cut a piece of #12 mild steel for backing, and put two single gang rings
under the bracket, horizontally.

here's the problem... there's only half an inch behind the rings, and i can't
break away the slump stone to make a hole.. the whole thing will come apart.
i have to get a hdmi cable, and power to the two rings. here is my hack
solution.....

i'm going to use a 12' long molded power cable, with a computer plug on the
end, to plug directly into the tv. no outlet behind the tv. i can snoodle both
cables across the 5' to the equipment.

i can go horizontally across the wall, and drop into the equipment area.
getting up into the attic would be a nightmare. horizontal furring, crown
molding, etc.

putting a power cord behind drywall isn't my happy choice, but i'm out of options.

any suggestions? see attached picture for details. there are no sharp edges,
burrs, or hazards to either cable in the wall. just a 5/8" void.


thanks....

randy

 

[nhfire77]

You wouldn't be the first one to do it. The cable will be against brick for 5 feet? The only hazard would be the owner nailing into it, but unlikely.

OR change the mount to:

Of course it wont be perfectly flat but you could then seek an actual box for NM back there, and you wont have to tilt it down either to get it in there in a j box.

 

[ishium 80439]

I've snoodled before but it had nothing to do with cables to a TV

I actually think the comp cable is a pretty clever idea.

It may not be code compliant but I personally would not lose any sleep over it.

 

[wireguru]

I um know this guy, who had used boat cable (looks like romex, but all 3 conductors are insulated, and stranded) with a marinco female IEC on the TV end, and either a male cord cap, or box+flanged inlet on the supply end. Figure something made to be buried in a wall is better than a 18awg vinyl cord.

 

[Fulthrotl]

I um know this guy, who had used boat cable (looks like romex, but all 3 conductors are insulated, and stranded) with a marinco female IEC on the TV end, and either a male cord cap, or box+flanged inlet on the supply end. Figure something made to be buried in a wall is better than a 18awg vinyl cord.

yeah, i'd use simtra cable if i could find it, without having to buy a whole
roll of the stuff. 3c#14 has thwn stranded inside it, and is almost a buck a
foot.... i can't throw $250 on this for a 20' piece of wire.... it's newporsche
beach, but still.....

 

[wireguru]

what about a piece of tray cable?

 

[ibew441dc]

any suggestions? see attached picture for details. there are no sharp edges,
burrs, or hazards to either cable in the wall. just a 5/8" void.


thanks....

randy

Considered WireMold? You can get pretty creative with the stuff.....???

 

[LarryFine]

I installed a large plasma TV on a pivot mount over the fireplace for my sister. Her fireplace/chimney is solid brick (and no mantle), painted white, about 6' wide and about 2' deep, and inside the house, i.e., on an interior wall.

There are built-in upper shelves and lower cabinets on each side of the brick, and I stacked the AV equipment on the right-side cabinet. But, she wanted the wires from the stack to the TV to not be visible with solid brick.

So, I bought an SDS-Max bit for my Bosch, 1.75" x 36" long. I measured inside and outside the fireplace to make sure I'd miss the clay flue liner, and drilled at an angle from behind the TV to the back of the right side of the brick.

I made an intersecting hole in the side from the shelving, cleaned and vacuumed it all out, and pulled a length of 1.5" LV (meaning orange) smurf tube through the tunnel. With the TV flat to the wall, you can't see an inch of wire.



So, my question is: what's behind the brick in your situation? I've made plenty of holes for boxes in solid masonry. The tricky part is getting the cabling there. Also, what is slump stone?

 

[wireguru]

slump stone is the architectural scourge of southern california. A plague that spread from the late 70s through the early 90s. Its this awful tan brick and block with one side kind of bulged out.

 

[jrannis]

If you are looking for someone here to give you "permission" to install a cord behind Sheetrock, I don't think it will happen on this forum. We rag the Geek Squad about their installations too much.

I have used a very shallow, metal, one gang box for a similar application with success:
http://www.hubbellonline.com/wiring/raco_bell/pdf/a39.pdf

Seems like you could fish a piece of MC cable in the mortar joint.

Then maybe, something to think about....
Some people, usually not electricians, can patch drywall so good, you cant tell its there.

 

[Fulthrotl]

So, my question is: what's behind the brick in your situation? I've made plenty of holes for boxes in solid masonry. The tricky part is getting the cabling there. Also, what is slump stone?

slump stone is a face brick that looks lumpy. it is crumbly, and about as dated
as leg warmers and polyester leisure suits.

going thru the brick isn't necessary. i can fish the stuff behind the drywall...
no place for a j box was the problem, and i can deal with that, i was just
wondering if anyone here had a better solution than fishing a cord behind
the drywall..... for that matter, i can use a piece of romex, and put a cord
cap on it, or slam a device in the ring, and plate it, and say "good 'nuff".
or bend up some more #12 to make a thin pancake box behind the backing,
weld it to the backing, and build a tv mount for the space shuttle....

 

[Fulthrotl]

If you are looking for someone here to give you "permission" to install a cord behind Sheetrock, I don't think it will happen on this forum. We rag the Geek Squad about their installations too much.

Then maybe, something to think about....
Some people, usually not electricians, can patch drywall so good, you cant tell its there.

i wasn't looking for absolution, i was looking for a solution.

i have one of those drywall patcher's on tap.... he can make walls as smooth
as a car hood if that's what you want.....

appreciate all of your responses.... thanks....

 

[wireguru]

ack! dont put a cord cap on romex!!!!!!!!!!!! The terminals cant take solid wire. Marinco makes a female cord cap that is IEC and plugs right into the TV.

And boat cable looks like romex

 

[wireguru]

seriously though, what about a piece of tray cable? Can you run tray cable in a wall?

 

[Pullnwire]

Randy,
They have #12 boat cable and raw IEC cord ends at Orvacs in Fullerton. you could fish the boat cable and install the IEC end on it and walla! plug it right in.

Brett

 

[Fulthrotl]

Randy,
They have #12 boat cable and raw IEC cord ends at Orvacs in Fullerton. you could fish the boat cable and install the IEC end on it and walla! plug it right in.

Brett

thanks, brett... it's done. all over but the drywall sanding.... on to phase
two.... i've got a skeleton floating t bar ceiling cloud with expanded metal tiles,
so everything is visible above the ceiling, and i've got a bruck LV halogen
light to mount over a desk... and no way to support the box that won't look
uglier than a mud fence... time to make something custom.....

 

[Pullnwire]

thanks, brett... it's done. all over but the drywall sanding.... on to phase
two.... i've got a skeleton floating t bar ceiling cloud with expanded metal tiles,
so everything is visible above the ceiling, and i've got a bruck LV halogen
light to mount over a desk... and no way to support the box that won't look
uglier than a mud fence... time to make something custom.....

Are you working in an architects wet dream? Where do you come up with this stuff. I motion to change Randy's handle to Macgyver

 

[electricalperson]

i hate installing plasma screen tvs. i try not to do anything with them other than install power and lv cable i dont want to be responsible for destroying a 5000 dollar tv. what ever happened to people having tvs on tables?

 

[Fulthrotl]

A: Are you working in an architects wet dream?
B: Where do you come up with this stuff.
C: I motion to change Randy's handle to Macgyver

yes.
i make it up as i go.
i've been called a lot of things. so far, that isn't one of them.

theres no simple solution to this light thingie.... so i'm making a 2x2 panel out
of #14 stainless, with a 1/2" raised lip all the way around it. i'll cut out a hole
for the 1 gang box mounted above the pan, with a single gang ring looking
down. the lip of the pan will face down, so the ring will be flush with the
expanded mesh ceiling.

then i'll put 4 screws per side, locking the whole thing to the grid. i'll paint
the underside of the pan flat black, fit the whole thing together, and hang
the light.....

why stainless? two reasons.. my sheet metal guy does 95% stainless, so he
will have it on hand, and this 12 x 20 ceiling probably has $25k invested in it.
the expanded metal mesh looks, and acts, like titanium. it's not powder coated
steel, it's non magnetic anyway, i suspect stainless, with a tinting process to
make it match titanium. same with the grid. i saw the line item for the ceiling
panels, and wholesale was $5k.

i'll take pictures for show and tell when it's done... here's the light going over
the desk....

 

[Fulthrotl]

i'll take pictures for show and tell when it's done... here's the light going over
the desk....

well, the plan didn't survive contact with reality... it's gonna be a different light
from this one.... now, it looks like this one is going over my dining room table,
with 5 lamps on the track.....

however, here was the ceiling in question......