#Power cord cover wall how to
#Power cord cover wall install
#Power cord cover wall Patch
#Power cord cover wall code

Unfortunately, that was NOT the case when I (somewhat) hastily jumped at this gorgeous navy console table while it was on sale last summer. Sometimes, I am really good about thinking through purchases and anticipating their domino effects once in place. So…we instead turned to some really easy, affordable and renter-friendly products to hide cords without drilling, and the results are fantastic! Let me show you!

#Power cord cover wall Patch

As renters, we don’t really want to tunnel through the walls just to hide our cords because that would be a fairly involved and significant patch job. The gorgeous navy console we picked worked wonders for the layout of the room, but it then left me with a horrible, unsightly mess of cords that were admittedly driving me crazy. The tighter layout meant we couldn’t use our beloved media cabinet to hold all of our speakers and components, so we had to instead find something with a much slimmer profile. One such situation in our current home is the narrow walkway leading from our kitchen into our family room. “A TV’s electrical cord could short out in a wall or in front of a wall and cause a fire generally speaking a claim would be paid if there’s a fire involved,” she said.One thing I’ve mentioned over and over is that with each new home, we have unique decor and organizational situations to figure out. Janet Ruiz, the group’s director of strategic communications, said that with the caveat that every insurance policy is different, in general a claim on fire damage will be paid up to the amount allowed in the policy. If you have a question, send it to with the subject line “Ask Wirecutter.”Ĭorrection: When we first published this piece, we said, “If the house has a fire and the insurance company finds that a power cord was improperly installed behind a wall, they could have a reason not to pay out on a claim.” I reached out to several insurance firms, who pointed me to the Insurance Information Institute, a nonprofit organization that provides information on the insurance industry as a whole. Questions have been lightly edited for clarity. Whether you’re a renter or homeowner, there are some electrical wiring red flags you can keep an eye out for-and a few key pitfalls to avoid.

#Power cord cover wall install

Here’s a video from PowerBridge on how you install it (with some ’80s graphics and music you might enjoy.)Ĭhris adds, “Make sure your cables are CL-rated for in-wall installation as well.”

#Power cord cover wall code

(You’ll want to confirm your local code to make sure you’re getting the right version.) “For a TV I use something like the PowerBridge TWO-CK Two Outlet with Cable Pass-Thru since that’s okay with fire code and lets you run the cables inside the wall.” Note that if you live in Chicago-Cook County, Illinois, or in New York City, PowerBridge offers a compliant metal junction box and metal-clad wire version. Chris Heinonen, our TV expert, recommends a kit that costs about $70 that you can install on your own. There are code-complaint ways to do this, though. If it pulls and catches a nail, now you have arcing and sparking,” he said.Īccording to research from the NFPA ( PDF), electrical distribution and lighting equipment (which includes cords) were the leading cause of fires in the living room and bedroom between 20. “You don’t want to have shorts in your wall.

We spoke to Christopher Coache, a senior electrical engineer at the National Fire Protection Association, who told us that regular power cords aren’t rated to go behind walls. A regular power cord behind a wall can overheat or get damaged where you can’t see it. It’s against code, and for good reason-it’s a fire hazard and against National Electrical Code. We don’t recommend that you put your Sonos or TV power cords behind your wall. Also, how approachable is adding a new electric socket? Thanks! -JJīefore we talk drywall, we should talk electrical safety.

#Power cord cover wall how to

I’m interested in drywall-specifically, how to hide cords inside drywall that come out near a plug (example: hiding cords from Sonos speakers or a TV).