Stud-partitioned walls

[Mike Dodd]

Hi,

This is a really basic question, but I thought I'd check in here before making a prat of myself...

I have a projector, wall mounted on one of these wall-mounts for portable TV type affairs, up until now the cables have been free-hanging, dropping down and behind the sofa. (the PJ is a new addition, hence the so-far temporary installation).

The wall mount bracket is fixed securely to one of the rising timbers of the stud wall.

Now, what I have in mind is to bore a 1" hole at the height of the PJ, and again just above the skirting board, and drop the cabling down the inside of the wall.

Sounds good in theory, however, I cannot tell if the builders (oh, 8 year old "new-build" townhouse, if that's relevant) would use only vertical risers for the wall - my B&Q "You Can Do It" DIY book makes no suggestion of the use of horizonal beams within the wall, but I'd have guessed there could be some to provide rigidity within the wall?, which would bugger my plans up, and leave two large holes in the wall for subsequent repair.

So, to my question...

Is it common for stud partition walls in relatively new-build houses to have only vertical beams (apart from top/bottom, of course) thus allowing a vertical drop of a cable?

Any information, before I get drilling, gladly received.

Regards

Mike

[Lobster]

No, uncommon I'd say.

You ought to be able to tell where the horizontal members (noggins) are by tapping the wall; if not you can get electronic stud-detectors at B&Q etc (can't vouch for their usefulness though!).

Even assuming there are noggins, it's not that difficult or invasive to get round them; essentially you need to end up with a small hole in the plasterboard above and below the noggin so you can get a drill through the noggin. Afterwards the holes can be repaired pretty much invisibly, (providing you don't need to wallpaper the whole room again!)

Suggest you search the uk.d-i-y archives via google for the keyword 'noggin' - this topic comes up here regularly.

David

[Mike Dodd]

Bugger. I have now searched for the infamous "noggin", and found the advice alluded to above. My problem is that drilling a hole through the noggin might be rather more tortuous than you might expect - have you ever seen a component video cable with three moulded phono plugs attached :( Time to find a 2mm drill bit and go noggin hunting I think.

Thanks for the advice.

Mike

[Lobster]

Not a problem; feeding a cable like that isn't much different to doing the same with a bunch of 2.5mm mains cables, which is often necessary. Having localised your noggins, you want a spade drill bit like this (readily available at any diy shop):

you drill through the noggin at an angle, via the access holes you'll have made in the plasterboard.

Good luck David

[David Illingworth-Young]

...wondering how many references to Oliver Postgate you got. :+)

Graculus.

[Lobster]

That was why I specified a search within uk.d-i-y! :-) David

[Rob Morley]

Why not just cut out a strip of plasterboard across the noggin, saw/chisel a groove in the front, run the cable then patch the plasterboard?

Cut a couple of flaps in the wallpaper with a sharp knife, carefully peel the paper back, replace when you've finished butchering the wall?

[Ian Stirling]

Obtain a soldering iron, and some coax, make your own cabling up to length. Often cheaper too, and no problem with fixed connectors.

[John Rumm]

A Zircon triscanner pro will find the noggin for you (RS components), other "stud finders" are frequently as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike.

Use the spade bit to drill a serise of overlapping holes into the wall in a vertical line where the noggin is. Drill a half inch further into the wall that the depth of the plasterboard and you will have a channel ready to take your cable.

[Mike Dodd]

Cheers, a 8mm nut on the end of a piece of cotton, dropped down the cavity through a 10mm hole also found the noggin. Old technology, I know, but it did the trick.

I'm tempted to route out a rectangle of plasterboard just larger than the cable slot that I need , then remove the slot from the noggin using the spade bit and tidying up with a chisel, routing the cable, then replacing the plasterboard with suitable backing / screws, skimming and making good. Gonna wait for SWMBO to depart for distant shores, next week, before giving this a try as it's bound to attract "the look".

[BigWallop]

When you need to pass a noggin in a stud wall, don't remove the plasterboard completely from the front. All you need is a small slot that you can cut with a modelling knife, but only on three sides of the square, or oblong, that passes the noggin. You leave one edge intact so you can fold it back into place over the cable and hide it.

The top or bottom edge is the best to leave intact, and you can gently break the plasterboard after three sides are cut through. Check out the noggin a bit with a wood chisel to accept the cable, and then fold the plasterboard back into place and patch it up.

I've even used wood glue around the edges of the plasterboard to hold it in place tightly before skimming over with a wet mix of finishing plaster to hide it again. It makes the job a whole lot easier than having to try and patch an open hole in a plasterboard wall.

[Mike Dodd]

Ok, that took about 2 minutes to sink in - yes, good idea!, the plasterboard has a paper face front and back, doesn't it - and that forms the flap?, okay, sounds like a plan. Cutting with a modelling knife?, hmmm, time to search out the old scalpel, I'm surprised that it cuts, but I'll trust your experience on this (hey, it makes the job even easier). I suppose if you leave the top edge intact then the weight of the "patch" and the top-hinge holds itself in place and so little adhesive would be needed.

Now, to decide whether to bundle the cables through holes top and bottom, or to cunningly fashion two face plates, together with all required connectors (hmmm, mains might be a bugger)

Many thanks for the ideas!