I'm going to mount my 47" LCD above my fireplace. I'm not looking for arguments against this decision. I'm looking for wiring solutions. The diagram below should help explain the situation.
_________________________________________________
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | p | | m | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | ################# | | |
| | | ## ## | | |
| | | ## ## | | |
| P| | ## ## m | |P C |
|_____|_____|____##_____________##____|_____|_____|
- | = stud
- # = fireplace brick
- P = existing power outlet
- C = existing cable outlet
- p = new power outlet
- m = new media outlet
Essentially, there is an existing power outlet on either side of the fireplace and a cable outlet on the far right side of the fireplace. I'm intending to put my non-TV media equipment on the right side of the wall and the television above the fireplace. This means I need two things above the fireplace: power and HDMI. I don't want to just run an HDMI cable in the wall. I'd prefer to have some sort of conduit to simplify replacing the cable or having a second (with one of these on each end: http://amzn.to/xYaxMn). I only need to drill through two studs that are 6" apart above the right side of the fireplace in order to access the vertical space where I want the other end. For the power, I need to drill through two 6"-spaced studs above the left-side of the fireplace, but then another 2 full-height studs.
There are a couple of caveats:
- This is an externally facing wall, which means there's insulation. I'm assuming this will make things more difficult.
- I'd like to refrain from cutting more holes in the wall than is necessary for the outlets (to reduce drywall damage/repair).
I've considered a couple of options:
Cut the openings for the outlets above the fireplace, and use a flexible drill bit to drill through the studs above the fireplace. This minimizes dry-wall damage, but how difficult is this with insulation in the wall, how can I feed the conduit through those holes, and how would I drill through the full-height studs on the left for power?
Cut a wide section of dry-wall (4" high?) from the desired media outlet to the right until reaching the gap above the desired lower outlet. This results in some dry-wall damage, but would allow more control for drilling holes in the studs and running conduit. This still doesn't solve the problem of getting through the full-height stud for the power. For the power, I would need to extend the cut-out two studs further.
What should I do?
