hiding wires effectively

woodstock

woodstock

Final Approach
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I got a home theater system about a month ago. A friend of mine is helping me put it together. it's put together but not "organized" yet - still wires in attractive places (i.e. attractive nuisance for my cats).

pulling up the carpet to hide the wires seems like a pain. I bought the white covers (with the slit up on side) from Home DEspot. also not so pretty but for now doing the job.

I don't want to use silver duct tape, but it occurred to me using some sort of tape to just hide it will mean the cats will pretty much ignore it. (also would be the easiest thing to do, and for the most part the wires are behind furniture anyway.)

any ideas on easy ways to hide speaker wires? maybe the most "attractive" spot is the jumble right behind the receiver. I bought a few cord covers (one is a velcro kinda thing, the other zips) but haven't tried it yet.
 
woodstock said:
I got a home theater system about a month ago. A friend of mine is helping me put it together. it's put together but not "organized" yet - still wires in attractive places (i.e. attractive nuisance for my cats).

pulling up the carpet to hide the wires seems like a pain. I bought the white covers (with the slit up on side) from Home DEspot. also not so pretty but for now doing the job.

I don't want to use silver duct tape, but it occurred to me using some sort of tape to just hide it will mean the cats will pretty much ignore it. (also would be the easiest thing to do, and for the most part the wires are behind furniture anyway.)

any ideas on easy ways to hide speaker wires? maybe the most "attractive" spot is the jumble right behind the receiver. I bought a few cord covers (one is a velcro kinda thing, the other zips) but haven't tried it yet.
Click to expand...

I once saw this stuff that keeps cats away from electric wires. It supposedly tastes nasty or pushes cats away with scents or something. We used it when my cat was a little kitty and tried to attack the christmas tree lights. It worked pretty good.

I can't remember the name of the stuff, but I bet a trip to Petsmart may yield positive results.
 
NickDBrennan said:
I once saw this stuff that keeps cats away from electric wires. It supposedly tastes nasty or pushes cats away with scents or something. We used it when my cat was a little kitty and tried to attack the christmas tree lights. It worked pretty good.

I can't remember the name of the stuff, but I bet a trip to Petsmart may yield positive results.
Click to expand...

Just take some tabasco and rub it on the wires. Your cats will only taste them one more time. My cat used to love to come and beg food from me. I let it have a tast of the tabasco and from that time on she no longer wnated my food and would run if I showed her the bottle. I have used the tabasco trick since that time on items that should not be tasted by kitties. It has worked flawlessly and is non-poisonous and is results in a fast learning curve.

Scott
 
Hi guys,

thanks. I am definitely doing that, haven't bought the stuff yet though. but I do want to hide the wires too because it's ugly having wires snaking around.

just now I got finished with using the velcro canvas cover thing, it works pretty well. essentially what it does is make ONE long black cord versus a ton of skinny wires all over - this was behind the receiver. a definite improvement.

I also spent the morning moving furniture. I am going to PAY for this tomorrow. I moved a huge bookshelf downstairs by myself - even with shelves out it was heavy. basically slid it down the stairs but there still is a lot of resistance (and back) involved because you don't want to just let it go and hit the tile at the bottom!

and books... and a chair. time for a nap. hahah
 
You have crown moulding or chair railing in that room?

If you have the Bose-type theater system (little speakers that mount up on the wall), securing it to the moulding might help. I guess it depends on the moulding, works in my house here.

With the right kind of "snake", you could possible run it under the edge of the carpet. You only have to pull up either end of the carpet - run the snake through, and pull the wires with the snake.

I've also found in some places enough space between the carpet and the baseboard that you can "press" the wires in and under the baseboard. Doesn't work everywhere, but might be worth checking.

IN one house, I drilled a couple of holes in the first floor and dropped the wires down into the basement and ran 'em that way.
 
woodstock said:
I got a home theater system about a month ago.

any ideas on easy ways to hide speaker wires? maybe the most "attractive" spot is the jumble right behind the receiver. I bought a few cord covers (one is a velcro kinda thing, the other zips) but haven't tried it yet.
Click to expand...

I finally bit the bullet and spent a day routing the wires inside the walls. Into the wall behind the receiver and up into the attic. Then down from the attic and out the wall behind the speaker.

A lot of work but is is much nicer with the wires completely hidden.
 
For component to component wiring behind the equipment: Use short cables that don't have to be bundled up too much. Use spiral wrap and cable clips and split tubing as desired. If you organize the wiring, you can elimination most of the mess. DO NOT forget to leave enough length to turn the equipment around to get behind it later. If you want critter proof in the out of sight places, 1/2" pvc pipe against the wall behind the furniture does an excellent job.

Speaker wire: Loose the extra 38ft of wire per speaker. Run it to where it's going and cut to length. Leave about 2ft of slack at the speaker itself (set the speaker on it) so you can move the speaker without unplugging anything while cleaning. You don't have to pull the carpet up 99.99999+% of the time. :no: Simply lay the wire along the wall and use a wide flat blade screwdriver to gently push the wire down between the carpet and wall. Do not use a hammer while doing this, just push gently and it'll go. You can do about 10 feet a minute and when you're done, the wire is completely gone. It pulls out later as easy as it goes in.

If you really want to use tape, clear 2" wide shipping box tape works great for holding the speaker wire up against the back of the speakers, down the entertainment center or other places of that nature. You could use it on baseboards and walls if you want. Peels right off when needed. You'll have to replace it every couple years though. Masking tape is horrible since it falls apart after about 2 months. Duct tape is very effective but it's just nasty for this purpose.
If you want to more put effort into the project, baseboards are now made with slots on the backside for wiring or you can get your tools out and make the slot yourself. There's always the run through the walls/floor option too.

This does not have to be expensive. Depending on the layout and what you want to do, $20 will do most if not all of the organizing and critter proofing. Go to home depot and wander around for an hour. Look at stuff for what it can be used for, not what it's designed for. Remember that wire critter proofing casing is not found in the electronics section, it's found in the plumbing section... :yes:
 
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