Are you looking for how to hide TV cables in your wall? Using an in wall cable management system to hide your TV cables gives a nice clean look when you have your TV mounted on the wall. I’ve used a couple if in wall TV cable kits now. In this article I will be reviewing the CableClear TV Cable Kit.
If you’re in a hurry (or just curious!) –
✅ Check out the CableClear TV Cable Kit on Amazon
Table of contents
What is the Cable Clear kit?
The CableClear in wall TV cable kit is a system for hiding your wall mounted tv cables in the wall. If you have a wall mounted TV, and have the cables just dangling down the wall, then this is the kit for you. With this kit you can take those dangling wires and run them inside your wall instead. That way your TV looks like it’s just floating with the hidden cables safely in the wall.
Tools needed to install the tv cable kit
This in wall cable kit comes with an in-wall cable conduit tube for running your TV cables in, two plastic end pieces for the tube to connect to, a drill mounted drywall hole cutter, a plumb bob / weight, and a cap for helping to run the tube through your wall. It may sound like a pretty simple list of pieces, and it is! But they are exactly what you need to hide your tv cables in your wall.
To use this kit you will need an electric drill and a pencil or something to mark with. You will need a knife or scissors to trim the tube length. A stud finder is also really helpful when using this in wall cable kit.
Note that the CableClear DIY tv cable kit is intended to be used on drywall home walls. I am sure you can use it for other materials, but the tools provided are intended for use with drywall. If the wall where you are planning on installing this kit is not drywall, you should get professional assistance to install the kit for you.
Installing the CableClear in wall tv cable kit
The CableClear in wall tv cable kit was pretty easy to install. To start, make sure you’ve grabbed your materials. You’ll need a CableClear kit (make sure you grab the DIY version here). You’ll also need an electric drill and a pencil or something to mark with. Grabbing a stud finder can be helpful if you have one.
The CableClear tv cable kit is designed to be used on the inside of your house with drywall. So make sure that your wall where you are intending to use this kit is just plain drywall, and inside! You will not be able to install this kit over a false stone or brick wall. Anything that adds depth to the wall beyond the thickness of drywall will cause the kit to not mount properly. If your wall is not just basic drywall, you should seek professional assistance with installing this kit.
Start by deciding where you want the CableClear kit to begin and end. You will want the top part of it hidden by your TV. The bottom part you want near a power outlet and preferably behind some furniture. You will want the top and bottom to be vertically aligned – straight up and down. This helps when you go to feed your tv cords through the tube. Having your in wall tv cable kit straight up and down also makes it so you do not have to cut through a stud to run your tube.
Speaking of studs, once you have decided on a location for your CableClear kit, make sure there are not any studs there! You can use the stud finder for this, or just knock on your walls. To do this, move horizontally along the wall knocking. It should sound hollow and solid in some spots. Make sure that where you want the in wall tv cable kit sounds hollow.
Once you’ve found the ideal spot to start your kit to hide your tv cables, take the included plumb bob, string and thumb tack. Tack the end of the string to where you want your tube to start. Let the bob drop to the height where you want the tube to end. Mark this spot. By using the plumb bob and the thumb tack you can make sure that your start and endpoints are aligned up and down. Again, this helps with feeding the tv cords later and keeps you from having to cut through a stud. Grab your included wall tube and hold it up to these two locations. You want to make sure that there is enough tube to cover the distance plus four to six extra inches. If there is not enough tube to cover the distance, you are going to need to find a different stop and start point or purchase a CableClear extension kit for a longer tube. You can find the extension kit here.
Now that you have both holes marked, it’s time to start cutting! Mount the included cutting drill bit into your drill. Place the bit on the push pin hole for your top hole. Use the drill to cut slowly through the drywall. Once it’s completely through, remove the drywall chunk from your drill bit. Repeat for the bottom hole.
Once you have your two holes cut, it’s time to run your tube in the wall. Attach one end of the tube to one of the white plastic end pieces. Attach the other end to the white insulation nose cone. Tie your plumb bob securely to the nose cone. Drop the plumb bob into the top hole, and look for it to appear at the bottom hole. When the plumb bob appears, pull it through the bottom hole. Slowly feed the tube through the top hole, using the plumb bob and cord to guide it to the bottom hole. Press the springs on the top mounting plate and mount it flush against your wall.
To finish up, make sure that the tub has fed fully through the wall. Pull it gently through to take up any slack that is in the wall. Remove the nose cone from the tip of your tube. Unscrew and remove the white ring on the end of your tube. Trim the tube to only have four to six inches of it protruding from the wall. Reattach the white connector ring. Attach the second faceplate to the bottom of the tube. Depress the springs, and push the faceplate and tube back into the wall. Make sure the faceplate mounts snug against your wall.
At this point you are done with installing your CableClear in wall tv cable kit. You’ll want to run your tv cables through the tube. You should be able to just feed the cables through the tube from the top to the bottom. If you are concerned with the cables getting stuck, you can use the plumb bob to help. Detach the plumb bob from the nose cone and feed that through first, tying the string to the cables to help pull them through. I recommend starting with cables that have thicker ends. Power plugs should go through first, since they will have a harder time fitting once HDMI and Ethernet cables have been ran through the tube.
Speaking of cables, you should run as many HDMI cables through the conduit as your TV will support, regardless of if you are using them or not. So if your tv can support three HDMI cables, run three HDMI cables in the wall. This makes it so that in the future if you add a new device you already have a cable run for it. You will not have to move the TV and run a new cable in the wall to use your new device.
Frequently Asked Questions about the CableClear kit
Why wall mount your TV?
We chose to wall mount our TV’s because they are on the large side, and we have little kids. With little (and even bigger kids) they are into everything. Having the TV just sitting on a console table in the living room worried me – what if the TV fell? We chose to mount our TV to the wall to make it more secure. If you have kids, teens, or rowdy dogs in your house – you know exactly what I’m talking about. Having the TV bolted to the wall is a lot more secure.
Another reason to wall mount your TV is because it makes it easier to watch. Your TV should be at your eye level to be most comfortable to watch. You shouldn’t have to tilt your head up or down to watch your TV. Mounting your TV to a wall allows you to decide what height it needs to be mounted at. You are not constrained by the height of your TV console stand.
Preferring the look of a wall mounted TV is another great reason to wall mount your TV. Sometimes, things don’t have to have a purpose. They can be done just because you prefer it. I tend to think that a wall mounted tv looks cleaner than having a TV sitting on a console. It also looks lighter because there is a break between the TV and the console.
Why use an in wall cable management system?
When we wall mounted the TV, we knew that we wanted a way to hide the TV cables in the wall. Some sort of in-wall cable management system that kept the cords in-wall was a must. Having the cables run down in front of the wall just does not look as attractive as a TV mounted on the wall with the cables hidden. This is what made us start looking at the Cable Clear kit in the first place. With this kit, you can easily hide your TV wires in-wall. You can find it on Amazon here.
This is the second TV that I have wall mounted and hidden the cables for. I chose to use a different cable solution for this TV, the CableClear kit (on Amazon here). With this second installation, I knew that I wanted to have a tube to hide the tv cables in the wall. Like the first installation, this TV was also hanging on an exterior wall. The tv cables would have to be pulled through insulation unless there was a tube in the wall for them to run through.
CableClear in Wall TV Cable Kit Review
Something that this in-wall TV cable kit has that the other kit lacked was the springs for holding the mounting plates to the wall. The other in wall cable kit that we have gaps at the bottom. I wanted to be sure that the new kit did not gap like the old one. No gap means that dirt, bugs, insulation and cold air are sealed out of the house. With it’s sprint mounted holding plates, the Cable Clear in wall tv cable kit secures firmly up against the wall to keep the house sealed up.
The tube to hide the tv cables in the wall was really nice. The tube flexes so that you can move it around items in the wall if you need to. I liked this tube to hide the tv cables in the wall much more than the other kit’s tube. The other kit had a firm tube that you had to feed into the wall. Having a flexible tube to hide the tv cables was really nice.
I really did not like using the plumb bob that came with the Cable Clear In-Wall TV Kit to run the tube through the wall. I ended up with a blister from pulling on the thread so hard. The other in-wall TV cable kit had a small plastic stick for helping feed the firmer tube through. This plastic stick and firmer tube worked a lot better. I did not end up blistered with the other kit.
Overall, I prefer the CableClear in-wall tv cable kit (Amazon) over the other one that I used. The Cable Clear kit is a lot cleaner looking when it is installed. I like that the kit has a tube for cables and that the mounting plates are snug against the wall. If you are going to use this cable kit, be sure to wear gloves when pulling the plumb bob line through the wall to avoid blistering.
Summary
If you are thinking about wall mounting your TV, or have already wall mounted your TV and are staring at TV cables, then I highly recommend getting an in wall cable management system. Using a in wall cable management system to hide the TV cables keeps them from being a distraction when you’re watching TV. It also helps the whole wall mounted TV look cleaner. Using a in wall cable management system can be pretty easy (depending on the kit you use – some are more ‘advanced’ than others). With the different kits we have used over the years to hide our tv cables, the ClearCable kit is our favorite.
Related Posts…
Not the tv management kit for you? Check out my review on the other TV cable hiding kit that I tried.
Looking for ways to cut the cords while you hide your cords? Check out my post about the Roku Express vs Roku Streaming Stick Plus.