How to Hide Cords on Wall: Step-by-Step Guide

A wall-mounted TV with six cables dangling beneath it ruins the clean look you paid for. Figuring out how to hide cords on wall is one of the easiest weekend projects in the home-improvement playbook, and you can do it for under $40 with basic tools. The right method depends on whether you rent, own, or are willing to cut drywall. Once the cords are gone, the room looks instantly finished.

Choose Your Concealment Method First

There are three routes. Surface-mount raceways sit on top of the wall and get painted to match. In-wall recessed kits (like the Legrand CS2000 or DataComm Recessed Cable Plate) run cables through the drywall cavity. Fabric sleeves and zip-up cord organizers bundle cables together against the wall. Pick based on tenant status: raceways for rentals, recessed kits for owned homes, sleeves for temporary fixes.

If you have fire-rated walls, a shared wall with a neighbor, or exterior walls with insulation, raceways are the safer pick. Recessed kits require an open stud bay and compliance with low-voltage code.

Tools and Materials You Need

• Stud finder (Franklin Sensors ProSensor 710, about $50)
• Drywall saw or oscillating tool
• Level, pencil, tape measure
• Drill with 1/2-inch spade bit
• Fish tape or a weighted string
• Recessed cable plate kit ($25-$45) or paintable raceway ($15-$30)
• Paint matching the wall color

Pick up a stud finder that also detects live wires. Hitting a Romex cable with a saw is the fastest way to turn a 90-minute project into a $600 electrician call.

Step-by-Step: In-Wall Recessed Kit

1. Scan the wall and mark stud edges. Confirm no electrical, plumbing, or HVAC runs behind your target spots.
2. Position the upper plate 2-3 inches below the TV mount. Position the lower plate 4-6 inches above the baseboard, directly below the upper one.
3. Trace the cutout template and cut with a drywall saw. Go slow on the last inch to avoid over-cutting.
4. Feed HDMI, coax, and speaker wires through the upper opening. Use fish tape to pull them down to the lower opening.
5. Plug power into the included pass-through outlet (these kits include a code-compliant power relocation cable). Never run standard lamp-cord power through drywall.
6. Snap the plates in, screw to drywall, and reconnect your components.

Step-by-Step: Surface Raceway

Wiremold CordMate II and Legrand Wiremold are the two brands most hardware stores carry. Measure the distance from TV to outlet, add 10 percent for bends, and buy a kit that length. Peel the adhesive backing, press the base channel to the wall along a level line, snap cables inside, and click the cover on. Prime with a bonding primer, then topcoat with two coats of your wall paint. The raceway disappears into the wall once painted.

Hiding Cords Behind Furniture

For a console or credenza setup, a fabric cord sleeve (J Channel or neoprene zip-up, $12-$18 on Amazon) bundles four to six cables into a single dark tube. Anchor it to the back of the furniture with self-adhesive cable clips every 12 inches. This method takes 15 minutes and requires no drilling, which makes it perfect for apartments.

Power Cord Rules You Cannot Break

The National Electrical Code prohibits running standard appliance power cords inside wall cavities. Flat TV power cables sold at retail are NOT rated for in-wall use. The only compliant way to relocate power behind a mounted TV is a kit like the PowerBridge TWO-CK or Legrand In-Wall Power Kit. These include a proper 15-amp recessed outlet and a Romex-fed power relocation. Expect to pay $75-$120 for the kit.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Skipping the stud scan is the big one. Cutting a 2-inch hole into a hot wire or copper supply line turns a $30 project into a drywall and plumbing repair. Other avoidable errors: placing the lower plate too close to the baseboard (leaving no room for a plug), buying a raceway kit that is too short, and using household paint without primer (the raceway texture will show through).

Cost and Time Expectations

A raceway install runs $25-$50 in materials and takes about an hour including paint dry time. A recessed in-wall kit runs $75-$150 and takes 90 minutes to two hours for a first-timer. Hiring a TV mounter to do the cord concealment adds $100-$175 to a basic mount job. For most homeowners, the DIY route pays off on the first wall.

Final Inspection Checklist

Before you call it done, plug everything in and confirm the TV, soundbar, and streaming device all power on. Check that HDMI cables are seated (a half-inserted HDMI cable is the top post-install complaint). Sight down the raceway or plate at a shallow angle to spot any gaps. Touch up paint, and you are finished.

Picking the Right Cable Length

Measuring cables is where most DIYers get tripped up. Buy HDMI cables 2-3 feet longer than the straight-line distance from TV to source. The extra slack covers the downward run through the wall and the service loop behind the TV. A 55-inch TV mounted 36 inches off the floor, with the source on a console at 24 inches, typically needs a 6-foot HDMI – the 3-foot cable that came with your soundbar will not reach. Monoprice and Cable Matters both sell certified Premium High Speed HDMI cables in 6, 8, 10, and 15-foot lengths for $8-$20. For a 4K HDR signal, look for a cable rated for 18 Gbps; for 8K or 120Hz gaming, step up to Ultra High Speed rated at 48 Gbps.

Baseboard and Floor-Level Cord Management

When cords need to run along the floor (from a wall outlet to a lamp across the room), baseboard raceways are the cleanest option. Wiremold NM2 and Legrand NonMetallic Surface Raceway come in 5-foot sections that paint to match baseboard trim. For a quicker fix, CordMate flat cable covers lie directly on the floor and can be stepped on – they cost $10 for a 15-foot roll at Home Depot. Avoid taping cables to baseboards with painter’s tape; the adhesive pulls the paint off within a few months and leaves a sticky residue.