Having wires running down from behind a wall mounted TV into a wall outlet can be a bit of an eye sore. Luckily there are ways to eliminate those glaring wires so that your entertainment set up is much more aesthetically pleasing! We’ve made a DIY and Tutorial on how to move an electrical outlet behind a wall mounted TV, so keep reading below to see just how we did it!
Since many televisions are flat these days, it’s much more common to mount them to a wall. The problem, more often than not, is that the outlet is located close to the floor, leaving you with your power cords and other wires dangling and in constant view.
The bedrooms in our house have the outlets close to the floor, so when we mounted televisions in our kids rooms we were left with wires in plain view! If you’re anything like us, then you’re not a fan of these wires, not to mention it can be a safety concern if you do have kids. We decided to move (well, actually add) outlets behind the television in our kids bedrooms.
Let’s Get Started!
Here is a list of tools and supplies you will need, plus a few that will make the job a little easier.
- Tools Needed
- Drywall Saw
- Wire strippers
- Stud finder
- Pencil
- Electrical wire
- Electrical tape
- Steel Fish Tape
- Utility knife
- Small level
- Drill and bits
- Outlet box (old work in our case)
- Wall Outlet
- Outlet cover
- Flashlight (or another light source)
Decide The New Outlet Location
The first thing you’ll need to figure out is the location of your new outlet. We decided to put both of the new outlets directly above the outlet we were pulling the power from, which made it very simple to run the wires without having to drill any holes through the wall studs, which could be done as well if needed. After picking the location, use a pencil to mark the area that you will install the new (old work) electrical box.
Once you know where you want the new outlet box, use a stud finder near where your outlet will be placed and make a small mark where the stud is. Before you finalize the spot for the outlet box, be sure that you are an inch or two away from the stud (this will ensure you don’t cut your hole on top of the stud). Now you can make another small mark for where the edge of the outlet will land.
Outline The New Outlet
Using the last mark you made, hold the new box with the open side against the wall. Use a pencil to trace around the sides and top of the box so that you have a reference mark for its location. Next, use a small level and check that your outline is in fact level. If your lines are not level you can easily redraw them by holding the level against the wall and using it as a straight edge.
Now you can double check that your wall mount will not interfere with the box placement you have drawn, of course this only applies if you currently have a TV mounted to the wall. Push the mount and TV against the wall and make sure there is plenty of clearance for the new plugs.
Cutting The Hole
Before you start cutting out the hole for your outlet box, be careful to double check for any electrical wires that may be inside the wall cavity. Moving a few inches away from the stud that was located when laying out your hole will help avoid them. If there is ANY risk of cutting into your homes wires you should strongly consider flipping the breaker off to the area you will be working in.
Also, when using the drywall saw, or whatever you decide to use to cut out your hole, take extra care not to go too deep into your wall or you run the risk of stabbing, or cutting through, the wall directly behind it.
So you should have the area traced on your wall and you’re ready to start cutting it out. I would recommend using a drywall saw since it makes quick work of cutting out the hole. When I cut ours out, I started in the top left and cut right on the vertical line, then moved to the top right and cut the second vertical line, and for no particular reason I decided to cut the top and then bottom horizontal lines. As I finished the last part of the cut, I made sure to get ahold of the piece that was being removed so it didn’t fall into the wall cavity. Now is a good time to test fit the outlet box you are using.
Running The New Wires
You should be ready at this point to get your wires into the wall cavity and out both outlet boxes. The first step is to TURN OFF THE POWER to the outlet you are going to be tying into. Don’t risk anything here, flip the breaker off and make sure the outlet does not have power going to it. You can use an electrical outlet tester to ensure there is no electricity where you are working.
Remove the wall plate and receptacle once you are sure the power is turned off. When I ran the new wires into the wall cavity, I needed to open one of the holes in the back of each outlet box. One in the existing outlet box and one in the new outlet box. You’ll need to cut a piece of wire long enough to span the wall cavity from outlet to outlet and leave yourself plenty of extra wire if possible. I used the steel fish tape and ran it into the existing box, up through the wall, and out the top hole that was cut out.
Run the wire into the back of the new box and out the front of it. Now you can install the new box into the wall. Slide the box along the wires into the hole you cut and tighten the screws until they are firmly pulling the box against the drywall.
Connect The Outlets
With your new box installed and the new wires ran, you can connect the outlets. Start with the existing outlet, strip back the wires sheathing, be careful not to cut into any of the internal wires. Tear off the separation paper to get it out of the way. Now you will need to strip the hot wire (black) and neutral wire (white) so that you can hook them into the correct terminals. Read the back of the receptacle to make sure you hook the wires up correctly. (You can get more information on how to correctly wire an additional outlet, with a wiring diagram HERE!)
Now you can hook up the new receptacle. This will be done in a very similar way to the existing receptacle. Hooking the black wire to the hot side, the neutral wire to the neutral terminal, and the ground of course to the ground terminal. Before hooking the wires up, make sure you do not have too much extra wire. Having an excess of wire from the outlet will make it difficult to tuck them back into the box.
Once your wires are all hooked up you can install the receptacles into the boxes. Tighten up the top and bottom screws that hold the receptacle in place, put on the wall plates and this job is done!
The Project Is Complete
First and foremost take a moment to admire your work, not only is this project practical it’s also fairly simple with some basic construction knowledge. On top of that it’s very affordable!
The impact this project can make on a room is priceless, it’s an easy and effective way to hide unwanted dangling wires, with the added bonus of it being safer if you have children! The same concepts in this DIY/Tutorial can be used to hide other wires as well, from cable wires to HDMI cables. Just use whatever outlet/receptacle you need for your cable management and add a new box behind your TV and one behind your electronics devices. We will try to cover cable management in another blog.
Thanks for reading our DIY/Tutorial! We hope you got some great information and your project goes well. Feel free to reach out if we can help with anything and we hope to see you again! Good luck with all your future Home-Edits!
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