Tuesday, October 09, 2018

By John Voket While you may have extolled the virtues of elaborate, and sometimes costly, ways to mask unsightly bundle of cables leading to and from your home media or entertainment components, after all is said and done, it appears a couple of old school products could be among the best for masking and efficiently managing that messy pile of wires and cables - zip ties and peg board!

Eleanor Büsing at apartmenttherapy.com touts the microchip-like display of organization, from the desk of digital designer Russell Quinn. Quinn solved the common "too many wires" problem by screwing a pegboard to the back of his desk and using zip-ties to keep everything secure and ultra-ordered.

Melissa King at thebump.com similarly suggests replacing your entertainment center's fiberboard backing with a sheet of pegboard. Then she says to use tool hooks suspended on the back to hang cables and keep them off the floor.
Instructables.com outlines the basics for any half-savvy DIY-er ready to to tackle the project themselves.

You'll need your pre-measured and cut pegboard; drill, drill bits and screws; a saw and saw horses if you have to custom cut your pegboard; a dremel, miter or scroll saw to cut holes for cord bundles; a wood file; zip ties; and clamps.

Then follow these steps:

- Make a rough sketch or, better yet, take a few phone pics or video of the existing set-up (front and back) so you know where everything goes including close ups of which wires connect to each device.
- Disconnect all your equipment and place it to the side.

- Whether you can get your pegboard pre-cut, or you're cutting it yourself, measure the space where it has to fit twice (so you only need to cut once).

- Dry fit the cut pegboard to the rear of the entertainment center.

- Mark where you need holes and use the dremel, miter or scroll saw to cut holes to snake the cables through.

- Plan where the cables need to hang and gather them in an organized bundle.

- Slide a zip tie in one of the holes and back through a hole above the first one.

- Connect one device at a time.

Finally, wikihow.com reminds you to be sure the pegboard has plenty of space for airflow, so your electronics don’t overheat.

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