How to Hide TV Wires in a San Antonio Home
After mounting TVs in homes across San Antonio, New Braunfels, Boerne, and Bulverde for over two decades, the question we hear most often isn't about the TV itself. It's about the wires. Nobody wants a beautiful 85-inch display on the wall with a bundle of cables hanging down to the floor. The good news is that there are several solid ways to handle this — and the right approach depends on your specific home and how clean you want the final result to look.
Option 1: In-Wall Cable Concealment
This is the cleanest solution and the one we recommend most often. We run the cables inside the wall itself, so there's nothing visible at all — just the TV on the wall and a clean surface below it. The power cable runs through a recessed outlet kit that keeps everything up to code, and the HDMI and other signal cables route through a low-voltage bracket to a media cabinet or equipment shelf below.
The main thing to know about in-wall work is that it depends on your wall construction. Standard drywall over wood studs is straightforward. Concrete or brick walls — which you'll find in some older San Antonio homes and commercial spaces — require a different approach. We've done both, and neither is a dealbreaker, but the process and cost are different.
If you have a two-story home and the TV is on an exterior wall, there may be a fire block in the wall cavity that requires a workaround. This is common in newer construction around New Braunfels and Bulverde. It's not a big deal, but it's worth knowing upfront so there are no surprises during the install.
Option 2: Raceway Cable Management
If you don't want to cut into the wall — or if the wall construction makes it impractical — a surface-mounted raceway is a clean alternative. These are paintable plastic channels that run along the wall and cover the cables completely. Done well, they're barely noticeable. Done poorly, they look like an afterthought.
The difference is in the details: matching the paint color exactly, using corner pieces that turn cleanly, and routing the raceway along baseboards or crown molding where it naturally blends in. We've seen plenty of DIY raceway installs that look worse than just leaving the cables exposed. When it's done right, most people don't notice it at all.
Option 3: Furniture and Media Cabinet Routing
If you have a media console or built-in cabinetry below the TV, running cables through or behind the furniture is often the simplest option. This works especially well when the TV is mounted directly above a cabinet that houses your receiver, streaming devices, and other equipment. The cables drop straight down behind the cabinet and stay hidden without any wall work at all.
The limitation here is that it only works cleanly if the cabinet is positioned directly below the TV and flush against the wall. If there's a gap, or if the TV is offset from the furniture, you'll end up with visible cable runs that defeat the purpose.
What About the Power Cable?
This is where a lot of DIY installs fall short. You can hide the HDMI cable easily enough, but the power cable is a different story because you can't legally run a standard power cord inside a wall. The right solution is a recessed outlet kit — a dual-outlet system where one outlet goes behind the TV and the other goes inside the wall cavity below, connected by an internal power extension. It looks like a standard outlet, it's code-compliant, and it means the TV's power cable is completely hidden.
We install these on almost every TV mount job. It's a small addition that makes a significant difference in the finished look.
Fireplace Walls Are a Special Case
If the TV is mounted above a fireplace, in-wall cable routing is more complicated because of the firebox and the heat that rises through that wall cavity. We typically use a combination of in-wall routing above the firebox and surface-mounted raceway along the side of the fireplace to get cables down to the equipment. It takes more planning, but the result is still clean.
Getting It Done Right
The biggest mistake homeowners make is assuming this is a simple DIY project. Running cables in walls involves cutting drywall, fishing wire through insulation, working around studs and fire blocks, and patching everything back to a clean finish. When it goes wrong, it's a much bigger repair than the original job. We've re-done plenty of installs where someone started the project themselves and got stuck halfway through.
If you're in San Antonio, New Braunfels, Boerne, Bulverde, or the surrounding area and want a TV mount with clean wire concealment, see our TV mounting and installation services or give us a call for a free quote. We'll take a look at your space and tell you exactly what approach makes sense.