Home Automation - Where to hide the cable wire???

Hi -

Haven't posted in this forum...hope its the right place.

Electrician put the cable outlet in the NW corner of our den. We have the TV in the SW corner..and currently have the wire running across the floor along the base trim....right over the fireplace slate flooring. I want to come up with a good way to 'hide' this cable.

I was thinking about drilling a hole in the floor at the outlet - dropping it down below the floor - running it across - and then drilling back up into the den behind the TV. Unfortunately I have berber carpet - and so I'm concerned about drilling causing a 'run' in the fabric. Will I be OK with this plan? Special tool I should use?

I am sure someone might suggest just moving the cable outlet....I would say that I am a complete novice, and might well botch up any drywall repair/cutting. Also have no electrical experience, but I guess that doesn't apply here......

Any other suggestions?

Thank you

Two suggestions:

1. If both corners are accessible from outside, just pull the cable outside and reroute through the proper wall.

2. Conceal the cable in a surface-mount channel. Check Rockler at www.rockler.com for these item #'s: 13665, 19217, 19225, 70904. They are black plastic, but should be able to paint them to match trim.

#1 will require drilling new hole through exterior of house. If you have brick/block house it will be more difficult. Also have to be careful there are no electrical outlets in the area you drill for obvious reasons. My house is block and the cables for for sat-tv I ran through holes I drilled (very carefully) in the aluminum window frames. If you have to remove the cable end to reroute it, there are a couple of types of very user-friendly twist-on replacement connectors on the market. Check Radio Shack or your local home center. Good luck.

If your room is over a basement or crawlspace, just run a cable from the cable outlet down the wall through the floor behind the carpet tack strip, over to where you want it under the floor and then up behind the carpet tack strip there.
There should be about 3/8" gap between the tack strip and the wall.
Carefully pull the edge of the carpet up with needle-nose pliers (do NOT pull it loose from the tack strip), drill a hole through the floor behind the tack strip below the outlet and pull the cable attached to the outlet down through it and over to the hole where you want it. You won't be hurting the carpet at all. Just push the edge back down behind the tack strip around the cable.
Add a connector to the end of the cable behind the TV, and you should be in business.
Good Luck!
Mike

An additional 2 cents: Good idea to make a recon of the area in the crawlspace where you will be drilling into; don't want any nasty surprises.

I like the idea of accessing the area between the tack strip and the wall - but I have this base trim moulding that probably covers it. Do I have to remove this molding to be able to pull up the carpet with the needlenose?

Thanks -

No. The tack strip should be about 3/8" in front of the baseboard, and you can drill the gap between it and the baseboard. Shouldn't have to deal with the baseboard at all.
Just have to carefully pull back the edge of the carpet and look.
Good advice by the tow guy to check underneath before you drill. You don't want to drill into an electrical line, pipe or beam.
Good Luck!
Mike