Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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How To Run A New Cable Wire

One thing we were excited about doing differently in this house vs. the last one is having a TV in our master bedroom.

Cable 1 Before

And while we did briefly have a TV in our last master, we never hooked it up to a DVD player or bothered to get a second cable box. Heck, I’m not sure it even got plugged in.

Cable 2 Old Room

We’ve never been gung ho about having a bedroom TV (and we realize it can be a hot topic) but as two people who struggle to snap out of blog mode at night, we thought it would help fight the temptation to work on our laptops (which happens all the time downstairs on the sofa) if we were snuggled in bed instead. So we took the plunge and ordered two set top boxes for this house. One step closer to living the dream, y’all.

Cable 4 TV In Place

Except, once again, we didn’t get the bedroom one hooked up. In order for our alarm system to work, we needed a phone line which led to a pre-move installation of cable/phone/internet, but before moving in all of our furniture we weren’t sure where we wanted the Verizon guy to put the new cable jack in the wall upstairs. So he convinced me I could easily do it myself whenever I was ready and off he went, leaving me wondering if he was persuasive or just lazy. Either way, we had another non-working bedroom TV on our hands (well, until we hooked up the Blu-ray player for the occasional weekend movie).

Cable 3 Instagram Blu Ray

I’ve never done any sort of wiring through walls, so I was pretty unsure how this would all turn out. The basic goal being to snake a cable from an existing splitter in the attic, down through the wall and out a new hole in the bedroom. Between the basic instructions from the cable guy and a few YouTube videos I felt brave enough to start drilling a few holes in our attic. But first I had to figure out where. So I followed a visible electrical wire in the attic to help me pinpoint where the wall was amidst all that insulation (the wall I was looking for runs parallel to the joists).

Cable 5 Following Wire In Attic

I also knew I was at the right place because (after some digging) I found the phone line that also connects to a jack in our bedroom. Seeing where both of these wires were threaded through the attic floor gave me confidence that I would be making a hole in the right piece of wood.

Cable 6 Following Phone Line

I was having trouble translating my measurements from the bedroom to the attic. For some reason I couldn’t wrap my head around adjusting for measuring against drywall in one space and an exposed rafter in another. So instead I used other fixed reference points to figure out where I should drill. For instance, I knew where the phone jack was in the bedroom and could see where its wire snaked through in the attic. So, here went nothing.

Cable 7 Drilling Hole

Meanwhile, in the bedroom I used a jab saw to make a small hole where I wanted my wire to come out. Crossing my fingers the whole time that this was more-or-less below the hole I’d just drilled overhead.

Cable 8 Jab Saw

In order to connect my “dots,” I bought this set of glow rods from Home Depot. They’re basically flexible fiberglass poles (almost fishing rod-ish) that are stiff enough to poke through insulation, but bendable enough to snake around corners. Oh, and they glow in the dark since, well, it’s dark between your walls and glowing makes them easier to spot.

Cable 9 Glow Rods

So here you can see me jabbing the long glow rod in through the top of the attic. It took a little bit of effort to jab it through the insulation in the wall, but it wasn’t long before I felt it hit the bottom.

Cable 10 Glow Rod In Hole

This is the part where I should have gone downstairs to see the rod glowing nicely through that hole in the drywall. Nope. Didn’t happen that way. My “measurements” were off enough that my holes were just barely on opposite sides of the same stud. Oops. So rather than create more drywall to be patched, I drilled a couple more holes upstairs in the attic…

Cable 12 Multiple Holes

…til I found one that did this. It was a glorious moment, I’ll have you know.

Cable 11 Glow Rod Coming Out

Of course in my haste to thread my glow rod through the wall, I forgot to actually attach the coaxial cable to it. Oops again. So I pulled it back out, taped the cable to it (I’m sure there’s a more professional way to do this) and snaked it back through to its destination.

Cable 13 Cable Taped To Rod

After untaping things, I pulled the glow rod all the way out leaving the cable ready to be attached in place. To do so, I used this simple wall plate that I picked up a Home Depot. The coaxial cable screwed into the backside just like it would connect to a cable box, and then I screwed the plate directly to the drywall. I figure there’s a more polished way of doing this, but this was already an upgrade from the cable-poking-up-through-a-random-floorboard that I’m used to (that’s been the setup in every home and apartment we’ve ever had).

Cable 15 Attaching Plate

Oh, and of course I attached the other end of the cable to the splitter that was already in the attic. It had previously sent cable into the guest room for the previous owners, but I removed that hookup that popped up through the floor in there when we installed our new hardwood floors right before moving in.

Cable 14 Splitter

So in theory we were all set to watch cable in our room. Huzzah! But Verizon had other plans. I’ll spare you the details (it involved two trips to their store to swap out set top boxes while they struggled to get our system running due to a random glitch in our area). Instead, just enjoy these selfies I took whilst trying to capture how much I enjoyed talking to support for two hours on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

Cable 16 Selfies

But eventually all was good in TV land. Especially the part where we got the multi-room DVR service working. Now things that we record on the downstairs TV can be watched upstairs. Is this what it feels like to be king? I think so.

Cable 18 Hooked Up Far

Oh, and yes I realize it seems funny to go through all of this trouble and still not have the jack hidden behind the dresser. But since we eventually plan to get a wider piece for this spot (this skinny one looks kinda weird on that big wall to us) we figured it made more sense to put the cable jack near with the other outlet on the wall. Why spread out your eyesores when you can concentrate them in one spot that will eventually be covered?

Cable 17 Hooked Up

But I guess we could at least stand to get a white connector cable so it blends in a little more. Eh, maybe next weekend. For now I’m enjoying the fact that we dodged the $150 fee that Verizon charges for doing the job. All told, it was about $40 in materials and an hour or two of work (not counting those phone hours spent working out a random DVR glitch that was going on in our area) – but for my first foray into in-the-wall wiring work, I’d say it was a very satisfying project indeed.

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Comments

  2. Katie says

    This is definitely one of those projects that seems so intimidating that I’d be tempted to let a professional do it! But it’s great that you were able to DIY it. And congrats on the whole-house DVR. Living in the lap of luxury, you are! :)

    -Katie at AdventuringAtHome

    Reply

    • aaroohii says

      Ditto! not a word I would change, I felt the same when I saw John’s pic. My DH looks the same when he talks to support guys who put him on hold and surprisingly he gets that 5 o’clock shadow too!

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It actually wasn’t too bad. It felt kind of crazy just sawing a hole in the drywall of our bedroom, but after I got over that it was pretty smooth sailing.

      -John

  7. Karen F says

    Nice work, John! The multi-room DVR is a game changer, isn’t it? Also, you’re a mind reader, because just as I thought to myself “why didn’t he hide the wall plate behind the dresser?”
    you explained it!

    We need to do something similar in our house, except coming up from the basement to the first floor – I’m too scared to try it, but my Dad says it’s doable. We’ll see!

    Reply

  8. christy says

    Great job! Wiring still intimidates me. In my house, whenever we have cords showing, we buy a new plant. Hides the cords and adds life to the room!

    Reply

  9. Alex says

    Phew! Relieved to see there was a re-enactment in this Techie John Post! You give the people what they want.

    Nice update!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, we don’t miss the old plaster walls of our first house. Our second house was half plaster and half drywall, which made for a fun guess-which-one-this-will-be game!

      xo
      s

  12. Chelsea in Richmond says

    Wow. Ya’ll need more insulation in your attic! Mike Holmes from Holmes on Homes (love that show) would not approve haha.

    Reply

    • Elizabeth says

      Although, Mike Holmes does all of his work in frosty Canada and you’re in VA, so you might be right where you should be on the insulation. I would think there is a difference on how much you need but who knows!

  13. Brenda says

    I never knew that at the back of those wall mounts are a cable just like you plug in. Interesting! And very fancy. :)

    Reply

  14. Sara says

    John, I actually saw an episode of “ask this old house” where they taped the wire to be threaded to the fiberglass “glow sticks”, so you are in good company. Way to go!

    Reply

    • JustMe says

      I was coming here to say something similar. I used to install CAT5 and phone cable in a hospital. We used black electrical tape to fish through walls (though once used painters tape in a pinch in a room that was being reno’d). Nice job!

  15. Kelsey says

    My husband is an electrician and we use those tape things for everything, including installing our cable! I think the most creative use was literally fishing for keys out of his jeep. So funny.
    He also refuses to ever let a cable company run wires on our house because he thinks they do “a shotty job”, so instead, I get to be the assistant telling him if he is down the right hole! :)

    Reply

    • S says

      My husband is also an electrician. He also will not let anyone do anything having to do with wires in our home. lol

      When fishing wires through walls, what he would have done is this: poke the glowing thing (although ours do not glow, that’s pretty cool!) from attic into basement, fish it through the hole in the bedroom wall, then tape the wire to the bottom of the snake, then pull the snake back up into the attic, bringing the wire with it, then untape it and connect it.

      Somehow, when he does this, it usually involves me on one end and him on the other, and lots of yelling.

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha! There was a decent amount of yelling in our case too. Lots of “do you see it?!” “what?!” “do you see it?!” “no!” “what?!”

      xo
      s

    • Rachel says

      “I get to be the assistant telling him if he is down the right hole”
      That’s what she said.
      (sorry, couldn’t resist)
      *blush*

  16. jen says

    great job. im afraid of projects that include running things through walls. random question about your dresser…how did you decide on the colors? Is it a straight paint chip from top to bottom? Did you skip colors on a paint chip? Or did you just look at a bunch of paint colors and decide what looks best. I am in the process of deciding on colors to make a gradient dresser myself, I finally found an awesome one a craigslist. Anyway I have a million paint ships taped to the wall trying to decide which color scheme works best, and I was curious how you decided. Thanks guys!!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We just followed one paint chip from top to bottom. Look for one that seems to have a nice range (some go quickly from dark to light while others creep a bit more, so for so many dressers it’s nice to have a more subtle gradient).

      xo
      s

  17. Vickie M says

    Glow in the dark cable threading rods …. now that’s a game changer! How have I never heard of those before???? My husband and I just always used a flashlight and a stiff wire. Ohhh, how much simpler life will now be.

    Reply

  19. Ellen says

    I don’t know if this works for you, but I’ve had success painting cables and cords the same color as the wall.

    Reply

  20. Jordan@the2seasons says

    Wow way to go! I have been using plants to cover up some cords for our tv so if the outlet is bothering you throw down a house plant. Plus it is good for the air quality. Now keeping them alive is another story.

    Reply

  22. Sarah says

    Nice job! I helped out some friends by hanging out at their house while they got their surround-sound speakers hardwired. (They were both stuck at work & the company needed an adult present for the install). I’ll let you know that the “pros” also had to make multiple holes to get the cables on the right side of the studs and taped the cables to the rods just like you did, so you’re definitely in good company.
    Sarah

    Reply

  23. Angela says

    Great job. We are almost finish having our new home built and after spending a fortune on conduits (so we don’t see wires)and cable jacks for all 4 bedrooms plus the living room and basement we find out cable is all wireless in our new area. (Ontario, Canada)

    Reply

  24. Manda Wolf says

    Awesome. I wanted a TV in our bedroom but I was so exhausted when I had some family come over to help drywall I just went with it instead of taking the extra hour to pull the wire to the correct place. Gah. Hindsight, I would have done it, but at that point in time I was so over it.

    Manda @ Our Wolf Den

    Reply

  25. Mary | Lemon Grove Avenue says

    Moving on up! ;) I think my least favorite part about moving into a new house, is calling to get the cable/internet installed – always takes way longer than it should, costs more than it should, the list goes on!

    Reply

    • Jill says

      Ha! My favorite version of my husband is Pick Me Up From Work Alex.

      I feel like a teenager when this hot boy pulls up for me or is waiting for me his shiny car. It’s like my own personal end of a movie every single time.

    • heather says

      Haha I like this “favorite version” game! My favorite version of my husband is the “I Have A Real LL Bean Boyfriend” version. The other night I came home and he had run the dishes, taken the laundry off the line, and then started hanging doors in the addition.

      What the whhhaaaat! Holla. I love “Build Me A House” husband, but the laundry and dishes threw me for a loop. A loop I LOVE.

      (Reference: http://yourllbeanboyfriend.tumblr.com/)

  27. Theresa says

    Yep, the fiberglass, glowy thing helps… I was my husband’s handy assistant yelling through the floor (Lucky Dave was on his back in the dusty crawl space) when I had found the cable. In the end we had all new wiring and cable. Now we just need the new fangled DVR and we’ll be living large.

    Reply

  28. Stephanie @ The Simplebees says

    He didn’t want to do it because it is called a “wallfish” (fishing wires between the walls) and takes more time than a simple hook up using an exterior wall or coming up through the floor. Many of the cable/internet companies use contractors (DirecTv and Comcast are especially bad about this) and they give incentives based on the amount of home they hook up. Some of them are paid on basically a mostly “commission” type payscale. Last I heard they didn’t get much for wallfish connections so many won’t do them OR they make up ridiculous reasons they cannot do them. (No idea on the inner workings of Verizon, we didn’t have them “back home” so I have no inside scoop.)

    ~Stephanie, who use to work in the industry.

    Reply

    • Tom M says

      VZ techs are salaried employees and don’t get commissions. However, this installation would take awhile and he may have several other customers to take care of that day.

      For wiring installations, it’s much better/cheaper to hire an electrician or DIY as you did.

      Also work in the industry.

  29. Laura says

    This gives me some confidence in doing this in my house. WE live in an old home, probably 1930s or 1940s… so there is sporadic cable installation throughout the house, but not in ANY bedroom! I might brave the trip into the scary attic and make this happen. If I find the splitter, we’re doing it. Thanks for this post… bookmarked NOW.

    Reply

  30. Sarah says

    Definitely read the *Flavor Flav asterick in Flav’s “voice”…maybe I watch too much TV in my bedroom…….

    I like that when John says something is relatively easy, he’s usually right. Too often I get wrapped up in an “easy” DIY project where the “instructor” has left out the difficult parts, tricking me. And I like that you guys continue to show the hiccups in a step/project and don’t “accidentally” omit them from your posts.

    Reply

  31. Karin says

    I love the ombre chest of drawers! So cool and creative. Bravo for tackling the cable and love your tutorials and detailed (humorous) commentary. Oh and John, love your new look! (Everybody always comments on how Sherry looks so pretty) My husband cannot carry a scruff look – purely a mustache kind of guy. He only looks like he forgot to shave for a few days, which he does on occasion lol. Am I a creeper? Sorry… but I love to compliment men on their style whether it’s a great tie color or choice, suit or something else because it’s usually all the ladies that get the compliments and I love to make a man beam, blush and look surprised once in a while. Cheers!

    Reply

  32. Marjorie says

    Hiya! I was looking at your pictures trying to decide if the insulation looked like kitty litter. I don’t think it does, but I want to pass this on anyway to you and your readers. “Kitty litter” insulation is a product called vermiculite (our attic, sadly, is full of it.) In some cases it can contain asbestos–back when asbestos siding was a thing and no one was the wiser. Best thing to do with an attic full of it is LEAVE IT ALONE and it will be harmless (again, like asbestos siding.) If you wish to have it removed, then research, research, research and stay safe. But your insulation looks papery to me: blown-in cellulose is safe and eco-friendly.

    Reply

  33. Rebecca says

    Anything related to cable is NEVER easy! My husband spent close to an hour on the phone with an ATT Uverse rep just to get our cable reset because it wasn’t working. She was from Texas (we’re in Ohio) and my husband learned all about the current weather in Texas and about the rep’s boyfriend and cat. Good time as I laughed just sitting there listening in.

    Reply

  34. Diana Buchanan says

    I can’t get over how awesome that dresser is!

    Also, I completely understand wanting to shift your attention from the laptop to the TV. People have mixed feelings about a TV in the bedroom, but at least this way you can watch a show together rather than working independently on your computers. Props for the electrical work too, John!

    By the way, I’m paying homage to Sherry’s love of ceramic animals and all things accessories today on my blog: http://fromragstonorthrich.blogspot.com/2013/07/its-little-things.html
    I hope I do you justice! :)

    Reply

  35. Christie Ann says

    Nice work! I’d love to add a connection to my guest room. This doesn’t seem nearly as daunting as I thought, especially with your glow in the dark tool. Still, it might be worth $150 to have someone from Verizon crawl through my attic and figure this out. We’ll see. :)

    Reply

  37. Noelle says

    Nice job! Even the pros make multiple holes sometimes… my husband always does the cable/data outlets. Our house has cable exactly where I want it in every room and data too. I know that being smart wired will be an added value when we eventually sell! Its really not as tough as it sounds. Even when I was 18 in college in my first apt, I was “installing” my own cable jacks. My cable company wouldn’t hook up an outlet because it was an apt and I rented, so I took matters into my own hands. Hooked up a splitter to the one existing outlet, made holes in the closet, fished a cable through the walls and ran along the baseboard in the bedroom closet, and tada! Had a cable in the bedroom. Of course I patched it up when I moved out. :) Had to do that in another apartment too, when the cable guy thought RUNNING IT ALONG THE FLOOR was installing cable in the bedroom!! Glow rods are great!

    Reply

  39. Michelle Kersey says

    Great job! Smart move in drilling more holes in the attic than the wall!
    I’ve never had a TV in my bedroom (well, except for the college dorms where I didn’t have a living room) but I REALLY want a TV in my bedroom now. I went on vacation and stayed in a 5 room condo. There was a TV in all the bedrooms… which was awesome for when my daughter got up extra early (love that about vacations) and I was able to just put TV on in our room and not wake anyone else and I could get a little more rest snuggling with her. :)

    Reply

  41. Tara says

    I just gotta say, always be cautious in your attic! My dad went up into theirs a few years ago, and in a moment of boldness, slipped and put his foot through the ceiling. My mom was FURIOUS. It was kind of hilarious. But costly.

    Reply

  42. Shellie says

    So I had to stop in the middle of reading to come comment, since I know security is one of your guy’s #1 priority. Since you mentioned getting the phone line for your alarm, know that phone connection loss or tampering is the #1 way alarm’s malfunction. In case you don’t already have it (and of course I would want you to not tell the whole world if you do) consider a cellular backup unit. It is connected somewhere inside the house (usually the attic or a storage closet, which means there are no outside connections for someone to cut) and keeps a 24/7 much-less-likely-to-fail connection to your monitoring company. I don’t know about your specific alarm company, but many have no way of knowing that they are not receiving any signals from you until your keypad tells you it tried and failed. It is little extra peace of mind that is so worth the dollars, I think! Sorry for the buttinski there but my very very talkative alarm installer husband has filled me with endless knowledge of alarm systems and stories of angry customers calling to say their alarm went off and police weren’t called, all because their land line phone wasn’t communicating properly and they had no idea.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, we have battery backup and cell backup, but they also required a phone line for the install so they could all be activated with the system. It’s like Fort Knox up in here ;)

      xo
      s

  43. Kate B says

    My dad would always have me help him with jobs around the house when I was a kid I remember helping him fish wire through the wall but we just used a wire coat hanger and some electrical tape! I need to get that man a glow rod!

    Reply

  44. sarah @makingitmyhome.blogspot.com says

    My boyfriend is an electrician so it makes it a heck of a lot easier to get stuff like that done. One of his tricks for hiding wires and cables is to use something called wire mold. We’ve used it all around the house and it is spray paintable (if that’s even a word) so that it can be adapted to fit any room.

    Reply

  45. Kristi@chatfield court says

    Great tutorial. We just moved into a house 3 weeks ago and my husband went through the two hour phone call with Comcast too. We couldn’t get our tv cable to go on and she finally says…” oh, I need to reset it.” I think if my husband would have done a selfie, he would have been mouthing some nasty words. Lol

    Reply

  46. Lindsey says

    Ugh. Verizon, the bain of my existance. I’m SO CLOSE to figuring out how to do away with cable all together (a combo of netflix, hulu plus, apple TV, and a yearly NFL package would save me close to $100/month!) But there is a hitch – no Showtime. I don’t know that I can live without my Shameless, House of Lies, and Homeland…

    Reply

  47. Kerry says

    File this under “Things You Never Thought You’d Write:”

    “So here you can see me jabbing the long glow rod in through the top of the attic.”

    Reply

  48. April says

    Anything involving going in the attic in the summer time is the worst here. props to you!

    just put a basket full of extra blankets right there in the meantime to hide the wires. no one will know! we won’t tell. ;)

    Reply

  49. erin says

    so lucky you had it easier than us. I think the con is also living in a condo building. and the 2 electricians and 1 contractor that came in said it’d be complicated to have the cable wire rerouted from another wall to up where we want the tv. so we still have wires visible. trust me I’m annoyed about the whole scenario. hoping that when we paint the room, it’ll look a MILLION times better.

    Reply

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