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How to cover a old Foxtel outlet?

Hi Bunnings,

I'm repainting one of my bedrooms and would like to get rid of this old Foxtel Outlet.

I think there are 2 old coaxial cables here which you can see in the photo. Can you suggest what I could do with these 2 cables/outlets (can I just push and hide them behind the wall?).

Also what's the best way to patch up the hole? Do I need to reinforce it with a piece of cut-out plasterboard or is a Plasterboard Wall Patch strong enough for a hole this size?

Thanks in advance.

Ben.

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Jason

Welcome to Bunnings Workshop @bennib0i. We’re pleased to have you join the community.

Let me tag a couple of very helpful members in @Dave-1 and @R4addZ to see if they can share some advice for you.

Jason

Dave-1

Good Afternoon @bennib0i

A couple of question before you do anything 🙂

Do you know where the other end of the Foxtel/aerial cables go to?

I know my aerial has a booster box attached to strengthen the signal. So it may be an idea to check the other end before doing anything. And disconnecting it.

A second thing you could do is use the old cable as a draw wire to pull say a network cable in. Just depends on if you have access and how tight the run is.

If you are intending to push the old cable back into the wall I would tape the ends solidly with electrical tape (always cover cables even ones you dont expect to be carrying power) and then I would re-enforce the patch with a vertical piece of timber or plaster offcut glued behind the hole. Then a patch placed over the hole once the glue has gone off. Make sure the patch plaster is the same depth as the old plaster on the wall 🙂 I have run into a situation where my patch was thinner by a mm or so and had to smooth with plaster. Prob a rookie mistake.

Dave

R4addZ

Hi @bennib0i

Well the phone cable appears to already be cut so that takes us out of the need for a registered cabler (not that I think you would have bothered getting one in anyway but as I am a registered cabler I try to advise within the law. So there are no issues with pushing this back into the wall and plastering over it. There are no voltages applied to foxtel cables, all they carry is the signal it picks up from the dish and they are negligible.

I would cut 2 pieces of plaster board the size of the hole and screw them together making sure the one going on the outside can spin freely on the screw and that the screw is long enough then push the first one into the hole with glue on either end and spin it 90 degrees then spin the outer one the same then tighten the screw leave the glue to dry then slacken the screw and spin the outer one back 90 degrees and push it into the hole and tighten the screw backup and fill as required.

AlanM52

Hi @bennib0i,

I would just angle and shove the thing into the cavity and cover the cutout with a blank wall plate.

Cheers

bennib0i

Thanks everyone for your replies, they are immensely helpful.

I've electrical taped the foxtail connections and push them back into the wall.

And then they've followed the instructions on the Bunnings website and patch the walls up with timber backing, plasterboard cutout, joint type, and topping compound.

Here are some photos of the result. Thank you all.

MitchellMc

@bennib0i, you've done a fantastic job! From the photos, you really can’t even tell where the damage was. Well done and thanks for sharing your results.

Mitchell

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