Maximum Wire Management

Wires Wires Everywhere there are just so many wires!! I thought Wifi was suppose to make the wires go away? Oh wait I forgot, Wifi needs at least one cable to supply internet to the router. Oh, of course I also need power to the router, and the TV, and the game console, and the Apple TV, and the...well you get the point, we still have a lot of wires. I wanted to be able to manage the never ending onslaught of wires, but I also wanted it to look cool (I think kids today still say "cool"). So I started searching for game room set ups and stumbled on to a photo of a wire set up that looked like a circuit board and thought "yep, that's what I want". So I got to work drawing out my design and figuring out how to do it.

Patience....I needed lots of this!

Pencil and paper for design drawing

Level

Tape measure

Hack saw or strong wire cutters

Tape or string to create template onto the wall before adding actual components and wires

Wire management kits (I used Legrand Cordmate tubes and flat pieces) The length of the pieces you will need depend on the length of the wire runs in your set up.

Wire management corner pieces

Ethernet cables - 3ft, 10ft, & 25ft sizes (again depends on the length of your project) I used black to make them all uniform but any color you choose.

Black Paint

Painters tape for setting up the painted areas

TV wall mount (your choice, I used one that has swivel and tilt)

Power strip - find one that is mountable and has enough plugs for all of your components with extra room for more.

Any components you will be adding (game console, router, etc.)

I wanted a circuit board style so I had to do it so that no wires touched or crossed over each other. Start with the big parts first. Figure out where the TV & power strip will go and then add the other components based out how they will look as well as how long their power cords are in relation to the plugs. I went through several drawings before I settled on one I liked that worked.

I forgot the keep the original photo of my wall template, but this photo will help you see it.

step 1: Measure the components to be added, then mark the areas on the wall where the components will go. After marking with pencil, use the tape to outline each component area. (this helped me to visualize it better)

Step1.1: Using a pencil, draw where each wire will go to avoid crossing over another

Step 2: I brought out the string for this next step. I taped string to the areas for each component for each wire that would be needed (power, ethernet cable, HDMI cable etc.)

Step 3: Begin routing the strings from each component to where they will be attached (this will aid in getting the length of wires needed as well as wire management tube length)

Step 3.1: Using tape, tape each string to the pencil lines drawn for each wire.

Step 3.2: Label each string for the wire it represents and component it will attach to

Step 4: Measure the strings for each section (remember the goal is a circuit board so no "crossing the strings" get it, Ghost Busters?, anyway the goal is keeping the lines straight both horizontally and vertically for the most part). Write down the measurements on the your drawing of the set up.

Step 5: Wait a minute, these strings are touching!! Dang it time to start over. If you don't have this issue then move on to step 6.

Step 6: review your measurements and make sure they are written down, remember measure twice cut once (I however cut twice and sometimes 3 times).

You will need the wire management tubes, TV wall mount and power strip (if you don't already have it), Black paint, paint brush, Glue (I used super glue), ethernet cables (you should know the size now since you measured the strings), Beer if you are over your country's minimum age limit.

Measure the wire management tubes and cute to the lengths needed for each piece. I used some wider version for running multiple ethernet or power cables. I used the tubes for the longer cable runs. I used super glue to attach the smaller wires and create the 90 & 45 degree angles

The tubes are plastic and can be easily cut with a hack saw or even bigger wire cutters.

Paint the tubes to your desired design ( I used black but a copper color would have worked as well, its up to you)

Grab a beer and allow to dry.

Add each component to the are you had previously taped off. Some components have wall mounts, others may need to be created. I used metal brackets and thin pieces of wood which I then painted black. I purchased a 3D printer about a year after this project, would have been nice to have to create the wall mounts (hindsight).

Plug in the wires and begin routing them one at a time to their intended location. I used super glue to attach the smaller wire runs to the wall in the specific place to give me the 90 & 45 degree angles I wanted.

Use the wire management tubes for the longer cable runs. Most have an adhesive backing to attach them to the wall. Carefully attach the the wall to make sure they are level with your lines.

Using the painters tape, create an outline around each wire and tube. I used about 1/2 inch for the tubes and 1/4 inch or less for the smaller wires.

Paint the area with the wires and tubes black to make them look like flat straight lines.

As you can see from the photo above, I am not the best painter.

Lesson learned: Textured walls are difficult to make the lines look perfect.

Up until now this was a one person job, but mounting a big 70 in flat screen takes some help.

Grab a friend and attach the TV to the wall mounts.

Using some zip-ties or even the left over string secure the wires behind the TV. It really doesn't need look perfect behind here as long as they arent sticking out where you can see them.

As you can see from the photo, I attached them to the TV mount, but anywhere you want works.

Adjust the TV to suit your viewing location and begin turning on each component.

If all goes well they will come to life and you can grab a beer sit back and relax. Great Job!

I added LED lights behind the TV and created a couple of Alexa routines to run everything to add a bit of flair.

Enjoy and Have fun.