TV Wire Hiding Kit Builder
Answer four questions about your wall and get the parts list — both ways. The clean in-wall route, and the no-cutting surface route.
There are two ways to hide the cables behind a wall-mounted TV. Inside the wall gives an invisible finish and needs two cut-outs plus a UL-listed in-wall power kit — because a standard TV power cord must never be run inside a wall cavity. A paintable surface raceway needs no cutting at all, comes off cleanly, and is the right answer for renters and for masonry walls where fishing a cable is not possible. This builder gives you the complete parts list for whichever route fits your wall.
The rule that is not negotiable
Everything else on this page is a preference. This one is not: a standard TV power cord may not be run inside a wall. Ordinary appliance cord is not rated for enclosure in a cavity — it cannot shed heat, it is not fire-rated, and it will fail a home inspection when you sell. People do it anyway because the hole is already cut and the cord already reaches, and it is the single most common thing we find and have to undo.
The fix is a $35 part. An in-wall power kit installs a properly rated cable between two boxes: a real outlet behind the TV, and a plug at the bottom that goes into your existing outlet. Nothing about it requires touching mains wiring, which is why these kits are sold for DIY installation. Low-voltage cables — HDMI, ethernet, optical, speaker wire — have no such restriction and can run freely in the cavity.
How long a cable to actually buy
Never the length you measured. A cable pulled dead tight unseats itself when the mount moves, leaves nothing to work with if you need to re-dress it, and puts strain on the port. These are the lengths we would order for the four situations that cover most installs.
| Situation | Straight-line path | Buy | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| TV to a console directly below | 3 ft | 6 ft | Certified copper |
| TV to a cabinet beside it | 6 ft | 15 ft | Certified copper |
| TV above a fireplace to a side cabinet | 9.5 ft | 15 ft | Certified copper |
| TV to equipment in another part of the room | 15.3 ft | 25 ft | Optical fibre |
The jump to optical fibre past 15 feet is not marketing. Certified 48 Gbps copper is dependable at short lengths, but on long runs 4K120 and 8K start dropping out intermittently — a black flash every few minutes, or a mode that will not lock at all. Diagnosing that after the wall is closed up is miserable. Fibre does not have the problem, and the price difference has narrowed to almost nothing.
In-wall, step by step
- Find the studs and pick a bay clear of both. Check for wiring and pipes with a scanner that detects live AC — there is very often a switch leg running up the wall near a TV.
- Cut the top opening behind where the TV will sit, and the bottom opening behind the console. Both need to be in the same stud bay, or you are drilling through framing to get between them.
- Drop a fish tape from the top opening and pull it out at the bottom. In an older house expect a fire block partway down — that is what the fibreglass glow rods are for.
- Tape the cables to the tape and pull them up. Pull the power kit's in-wall cable first; it is the stiffest.
- Fit the boxes and plates. Brush plates for the low-voltage side, the kit's own boxes for power. Leave slack coiled in the cavity, not stretched.
- Hang the TV, connect, and check every source before you tidy. Re-opening a wall for a bad cable is avoidable.
When a raceway is the better answer
There is no shame in the surface route, and in several situations it is simply correct: you are renting, the wall is solid masonry, the TV may move within a year, or there is a structural reason not to cut. A paintable raceway painted in the wall colour reads as a shadow line from a few feet away.
Two things separate a raceway that looks deliberate from one that looks stuck on. Buy a kit with proper corners and joiners rather than plain channel, and buy more length than the run needs — the fittings eat more than you expect. Then prime and paint it before you stick it down, not after.
There is a fuller walkthrough of the surface method in our raceway guide , and the in-wall method in how to hide TV wires in the wall .
Frequently asked questions
Can you run a TV power cord inside the wall?
No. A standard TV power cord is appliance cord, and it is not rated to be enclosed in a wall cavity. Burying one is a fire risk and it will fail a home inspection. The correct solution is an in-wall power kit, sometimes called a power bridge: it installs a proper in-wall rated cable between two code-compliant boxes, with a normal outlet behind the TV and a plug that reaches an existing outlet below. Kits from Legrand and similar brands are UL listed for exactly this. Low-voltage cables — HDMI, ethernet, optical, speaker wire — are fine to run in the cavity.
What is the easiest way to hide TV wires without cutting the wall?
A paintable surface raceway. It is an adhesive channel that sticks to the wall, takes the cables inside it, and paints to match so it reads as a shadow line rather than a cable. It costs under twenty dollars, takes about twenty minutes, comes off cleanly, and it is the correct answer for renters, for masonry walls where fishing a cable is impossible, and for anyone who does not want to open a wall. The finish is not quite as invisible as in-wall, but it is far better than a bundle of cables hanging down.
How long an HDMI cable do I need for a wall-mounted TV?
Longer than the distance you measured. Add roughly 15 per cent for routing that is never as straight as the tape measure, a foot for each bend, and two feet of service loop behind the panel so the cable does not unseat when a full-motion mount swings out. A TV with a console directly below it typically needs 10 feet even though the straight-line drop is only three. Past about 15 feet, switch from copper to optical fibre HDMI — certified 48 Gbps copper starts dropping 4K120 and 8K intermittently on long runs, and that is the worst kind of fault to chase once the wall is closed up.
Can you hide wires on a brick or concrete wall?
Not the way you would on drywall. There is no cavity to fish a cable through, so the options are a surface raceway, or chasing a channel into the masonry with an angle grinder and filling over it, which is a plastering job as much as a mounting one. On a framed and drywalled chimney breast — common even where the fireplace itself is masonry — the normal in-wall route usually works. Check by tapping: a hollow sound means framing behind the surface.
What is a brush plate for?
It is the plate that turns a hole in the drywall into a finished detail. Cables pass through the bristles, which flex around them and close up the gap, so the cut-out looks deliberate rather than like damage. You need two, one behind the TV and one behind the equipment. Pair them with low-voltage mounting brackets — the open-backed rings that hold a plate in drywall without needing an electrical box.
Do I need an electrician to hide TV wires?
For a standard in-wall power kit, usually not: the kits are designed for DIY installation and neither end involves touching mains wiring — you are plugging into an existing outlet, not creating a circuit. If you want a new outlet installed behind the TV on its own circuit, that is electrical work and it needs an electrician. If you are unsure which you are doing, that uncertainty is itself the answer.
Rather not cut into the wall yourself?
Wire concealment is our most-requested add-on. Rated in-wall power, no visible cable, from $119 alongside a mounting job across Metro Atlanta, Miami and Los Angeles.
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