The best practice for hiding cables is to install them in the walls. Unfortunately, this is not always practical. In some situations the only plausible option is to hide the wires under carpeting.
Tips and Tools for Hiding Cables Under Carpet
To hide wires under carpet you will need the following tools:
- A pair of pliers or similar tool which can be used to pull the edge of the carpet up from the tack strip.
- A fish stick or fishing coil
- Electrical tape
To lift the carpet up, use your pliers to grip the edge the carpet and gently pull it up from the tack strip. Try to minimize the amount of carpet you pull up as much as possible.
Tape your wire to the fish stick or fishing coil. Fish sticks can be purchased at your local home improvement store and usually come in sets of 4 to 6 in a pack. They can be screwed together according to the size of the room with each stick usually measuring around 4 feet in length. Feed the stick and wire under the carpet until it hits the opposite wall. Finally, pull up the carpet on the other wall in the same fashion and gently pull the stick out along with the wire.
The most important thing to remember when hiding cables under carpet is that they cannot be too thick and you should never hide high voltage electrical wires under carpet. Wires such as Coax will leave a ridge in the carpet which will be noticeable when stepped on.
A number of cabling companies offer cables such as CAT5 and speaker wire which are designed to be placed under carpet. These cables are flatter than their standard counterparts which allow them to remain unnoticeable. These should be used whenever possible.
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