Putting a TV aerial socket on a tiled wall

[Alan Braggins]

I need to put a TV aerial socket/faceplate on a tiled kitchen wall. If it lines up neatly with nearby switches and sockets, it won't line up neatly with tile boundaries. The tiles are new enough that I could probably find replacements for any damaged in the process, but I haven't actually checked yet. (It's my mother-in-law's kitchen, and I didn't do the the (patterned) tiles.)

I have tile drills. I have (somewhere, I hope) a carbide grit jigsaw blade for tile cutting. I have a Bosch PMF180E, but not (yet) a tile cutting blade for it.

Recommendations/suggestions?

(And then there's the fun of actually fishing a cable down to it.)

[John Rumm]

The oscilating tool with a carbide segment saw on it[1] will get you a nice neat square cut out of the tile in place on the wall with no risk of damage to surrounding tiles etc. Once through that, a SDS chisel and drill can do the box cutout.

Getting the wire to it is a different problem. On option for tiled walls is to chase the reverse side of the wall. and then pop through at the final position. I have done this a couple of times adding shaver sockets to fully tiled bathrooms.

[1] Picture half way down here:

[Dave Liquorice]

Yep a job designed for the PMF180. Though I got the impression the wall was plasterboard from the expression "fishing a cable down to it".

Presumably leaving a blank accessory plate where the cable dives through the wall so that others will know that the cable is there?

[Alan Braggins]

Yes. At least if it turns out it isn't, my next question is going to be about making good a hole mistakenly cut in a tiled wall that turns out to be unusable....

(Not really, because I was planning to check what's behind the nearby switches it wants to line up with first, and it could turn into a through hole instead anyway. In fact that might be a lot easier than the fishing, even if not as neat.)

[fred]

In article , Alan Braggins writes

Is it under a row of cabinets? If so then how about sticking a miniature surface mounted aerial socket on the underside of the cabinet? If it's in use then presumably the TV will hide the connection and if it's disconnected there's nothing to see.

[John Rumm]

Depends on how easy it is to see from one room to the next - where you have easy visibility of both sides, then the reverse is a "safe route" as such. If its a separate room - then yup leave a blanking plate, or do the cable drop near a corner.

[John Rumm]

If you can get a matching tile, then take out the whole tile and replace. Carbide saw to take out the grout lines, carbide rasp to flatten any remaining glue.

[Alan Braggins]

That might well be the way to go. Thanks. (The lead won't actually be entirely hidden in use, but it wasn't going to be with the faceplate either.)

[Bill]

In message , fred writes

I was just going to suggest that! I fitted a hinge down TV beneath a cabinet and brought all the cabling down from the ceiling inside the unit inside trunking. It looked rather neat and tidy, even if I do say so myself!!!