How To Hide Cables In Vinyl Siding
Warning
Old vinyl siding may be brittle and more likely to crack. if your siding is more than 15 years old, consider a different method of hiding cables or take the risk of damaging the siding.
Vinyl siding helps cut the time and expense of maintaining your home's exterior but the siding can also be used to conceal certain types of cable. For example, coaxial cable for satellite or cable television service can be hidden under vinyl siding for a cleaner appearance. Additionally, the cable is less likely to be damaged by the elements or yanked by curious children. Use a fish tape tool to guide the cable behind the vinyl siding.
Step 1
Pull up gently on the lower lip of the vinyl siding where you wish to hide the cable. The vinyl should flex enough to create a gap approximately 1/2 inch between the siding and the exterior wall.
Step 2
Insert the hooked tip of the fish tape into the gap and push the tip a few inches behind the siding before releasing the vinyl material.
Step 3
Extend the fish tape tool through the gap between the wall and the vinyl siding, moving in the desired direction along the wall. By sliding the fish tape 6 inches at a time and keeping track of the number of times you extend the tape, you'll be able to calculate how far the fish tape has moved behind the siding.
Step 4
Flex the vinyl siding covering the fish tape tool to grab the hook at the end of the tool.
Step 5
Attach one end of the cable to the hook in the fish tape. Recruit a friend to hold the gap open in the bottom of the siding where you attach the cable to the tape.
Step 6
Pull the fish tape gently back in the direction where it was first inserted behind the vinyl siding while your helper feeds the cable behind the siding at the other end.
Step 7
Remove the fish tape and the cable end from behind the siding at the starting point. Detach the cable from the fish tape.