How to Hide Cables on Your Wall Mounted TV

So let’s assume that you’ve just mounted your fine looking flat screen on the wall, but low and behold, there is a medusa of cords nightmarishly ensnaring themselves to the floor. You start to consider whether you’ve made a mistake upgrading from that primitive floor dwelling machinery that you once had. Well, don’t get your knickers in a knot.  Your wall mounted tv with no wires lies moments away. 

We’ll let you in on how to hide Tv cables from your wall mount. Still, if you haven’t physically mounted your Tv to the wall yet, check out our blog that lays out explicit instruction on how to tick that job off the list. 

Firstly, we gotta’ say, if you can’t be bothered doing this or you’re not exactly ‘handy’ with tools, wall mounted tv cable management solutions is one of Hang My Tv’s many services on offer.  Follow the link to give us a buzz.

Equipment Needed

We find that DIY cord hiding is best executed cleanly and practically with a cord hiding kit… it makes sense. We recommend the CE-TECH Cable Plate.

CE-TECH Cable Plate

You’ll need to purchase two cable plates; one that’s positioned at the top behind the Tv for the cables to go into the wall and another at a lower level for the cables to come out of the wall, essentially skipping the area that’s in plain sight. The CE-TECH Cable Plate will come with a stencil for your wall incision.

Stud Finder

A tool that identifies the safe spots to cut into. The stud finder is optional when you’ve got the knock-knock test, but it’s not exactly 100 % accurate. 

Tape Measure

Just because it’s always handy to have a tape measure. If it’s not apparent, you may need to measure the length of your cables to ensure you’re cutting the lower hole at the correct height. 

Drywall Cutter or Stanley Knife

This is to cut a hole in the wall for your cable plate. Use the stencil that comes with the cable plate to mark out your position.

Drill and Phillips Head Attachment

You’ll need a drill to attach the cable plate to the wall and a Phillips head drill bit to fit the screws.

A Wall Fishing Tool

This piece of equipment is to feed your cables through. You may not need a fish tape if there is a power source directly below the Tv because the cords will be super easy to find. If your lower cable plate is slightly left or right of the top cable plate, use the rod to feed the cables through.

Now that you are aware of the equipment needed to hide tv cables in the wall, you’ll probably need to run to the hardware store to grab something; we’ll wait…

ALRIGHT! You’re back and equipped with everything you need. Let’s jump into the step by step process. Once again, if understanding how to install tv wall mount and hiding cables is beyond your skill level, give us a call at Hang My Tv, and we’ll sort you out.  

How to Hide Tv Cables from your Wall Mount

1. Gather your Equipment

Have all your tools laid out nearby, so you don’t have to go running around like a headless chook every time you need something. 

2. Remove TV

Unless your Tv is on arms and you can get in behind it, you’ll need to remove it from the mount to create the holes for the cable plate. If you haven’t mounted your Tv yet, find out the details on how to get it done.

3. Find Studs

Place your stud finder on the wall vertically, moving it left to right; it should either beep or flash (depending on the model) when it finds a stud. Mark out where the studs are so you’re not cutting into them. If you’re using the ole knock-knock test, knock repetitively on a horizontal axis; when the knocks go from a deep hollow sound to a full high knock, you’ve found a stud. Once again, we recommend the stud finder for 100 % accuracy.

Do the same for the lower cable plate with your chosen method.

4. Draw Template

To hide tv cables in the wall, you need to cut a hole, and to cut a ‘neat’ hole, you need a template. Grab your stencil from the cable plate pack and draw your outline (avoiding your marked studs) for the top and bottom positions.

4. Making your Incision

You can either use a drywall cutter, although if you don’t have one and you’re not going to use one again, it’s not worth buying one. A sturdy Stanley knife will suffice. If you don’t have one of those, you should get one, especially if you’re starting to get into DIY chores. 

Cut around the template, take your time, stay on the line. It’s better to take an extra 10 minutes cutting carefully than half a day replastering your wall. Repeat the process for the lower marked position.

5. Attach Upper Cable Plate

If you’ve been meticulous, your cable plate should slot right in. Your cable plate will have a hole inside it for the cables to poke through. When installing the upper cable plate behind the Tv, ensure the hole is at the bottom of the plate because the cords are going down. When installing the lower cable plate near the power source, ensure the hole is at the top of the cable plate as the cords are going up.

Use a drill and a Phillips Head drill bit to tighten the screws on either side of the plate. Go really slow! Essentially, the screws tighten a vice that grips to the inside of the plaster, holding the cable plate firm to the wall. If you lack the tools and know-how, there’s no shame in getting us to do it for you! Contact Hang My TV for a free quote!

It’s easier to attach the lower cable plate once the cords are fed through, so let’s do that first.

6. Feeding the Cables Through

This step has a few variables on whether you will need to use a fishing tool. Here are said variables; 

• Are your cable plate holes in line vertically? If the answer is YES, you won’t need a fishing tape and you can skip the following two dot points.

• If you answered NO, that means your cable plate holes are out of line; this takes us to the next question. Are your hands small enough to fit in the cable plate hole, and can you reach the cords that are dangling? If the answer is YES, then skip the next dot point.

• If you answered NO, then you will need to use a fishing tool. With your fishing tape, fasten all cables to one end of the bendy rod. Insert the other end of the rod into the top hole and get a friend to receive it at the lower hole. Pull the rod through and the cables will follow; it’s as simple as that!

If you skipped the last dot point, you don’t need a wall fishing tool. Feed your cords through the cable plate, and be careful not to drop them. Once the cords are in, tape them to the wall so they can hang free while you sort out the lower cable plate.

7. Attach Lower Cable Plate

By now, all of your cords should be hanging out of the lower hole. Feed them through the roof of your last cable plate and repeat the attachment process mentioned in

If you had to dismount your TV, grab a friend to hold it while you connect the upper cables and proceed to slap it back in position. Connect the lower cables to the power source, and you should be good to go! 

If you’ve decided it’s a little out of your skill range after reading this article, check out Hang My Tv, we offer wall mounted tv cable management solutions and a range of other services that will make your life easier.

If you’ve decided this sounds like a piece of cake, well then, now you know how to hide Tv cables from your wall mount. Get it done, chuck on a flick or if you’re looking for a few movie suggestions, check out our blog on ‘Best family Movies from the 80s and 90s’. Happy watching!