Can You Leave Phone Wires In Wall

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Using a Apartment Embrace Plate

About everybody has a cell phone these days, and you likely don't demand a landline unless you're running or business out of your abode.^[one] Unfortunately, the odds are high that there are a few unused phone jacks built into the walls of your home. If you lot don't plan on getting a landline, there's really no need to keep these unsightly fixtures visible. Covering an onetime phone jack is simple, and hiding or replacing the jack can really contribute to a neater-looking room.

1
Put a piece of article of furniture in front of the jack to hide it easily. You can reorient your room so that a sofa or desk is sitting against the wall with the telephone jack, or become a small end table to identify in front of information technology. This is the simplest style to comprehend up an unused telephone jack.
- This is the easiest option if your phone jack is near the floor.
- If the phone jack is college upwards on the wall, you may be able to place a tall bookshelf or armoire in front of it depending on which room the jack is in.
ii

Hang a painting or corkboard over the jack if it's at eye level. Hammer a nail or stick a thumbtack into the wall a few inches above the jack. Then, hang the canvass or corkboard from the tack or blast to cover up the jack. Most telephone jacks aren't flush with the wall, so be certain to use a canvas or corkboard with a hollow space behind information technology.^[2]

Tip: This isn't really an option if the jack is closer to the flooring. Even so, yous tin justify adding art on a lower portion of your wall if y'all create a gallery wall that is completely covered in art!

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3
Create a custom piece of fine art to hang over a bulky telephone jack. Get an old cigar box or hollow block of arts and crafts wood that is slightly bigger than your jack. Measure the dimension of the jack. Cut out a portion of the back of the box and slide it over the jack. Paint the box or attach pictures to information technology to catechumen the phone jack into a claw for a custom piece of fine art!^[3]
- This can be a really fun projection if you bask crafts and creating fine art. It does take a little longer than the other options in this method, though.
- Most art or arts and crafts stores accept a department filled with unpainted wood crafts, like hollowed out books, birdhouses, and minor models. This is where you'll detect a hollow block of wood that will piece of work for this.
4
Pigment over the jack if it's flush with the wall to camouflage it. Get a tin of paint that matches the color of your walls. Pour some of the paint into a pigment tray. Apply an angled brush to paint over the jack using smooth back-and-forth strokes. Continue painting over the jack until the color matches the rest of your wall.
- This won't hide the jack entirely, only it will make it less likely to stand out.
- If you don't take a leftover tin can of paint, pick up swatches from a local paint shop and do your best to discover a colour that matches your walls.

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1
Pry the cover off the faceplate with a screwdriver if no screws are visible. Inspect the faceplate for screws. If you lot don't see whatever, you need to remove the cover and then you tin can access the screws underneath information technology. Slide a flathead screwdriver betwixt the wall and faceplate and apply a pocket-size amount of pressure level to pop the cover off.^[iv]
- This is a best choice if you don't want to modify the fashion your room is set upwards or paint over anything. The flat cover plate is a much less conspicuous fixture than a phone jack, so it's a good way to blend it into your wall.
- If your jack is really one-time or someone previously painted over the border where the jack meets the wall, y'all may need to fissure the cover to remove information technology. To do this, tap the side of the cover gently with a hammer or screwdriver until it cracks and and so pull information technology off of the jack.
- A faceplate refers to any plastic or metal embrace used to hold an outlet, light switch, or electrical box in identify.
- Use a razor bract effectually the faceplate to cut the paint connection to ensure you don't do unnecessary damage to the paint.
ii
Purchase a flat cover plate that matches the spiral slots on the jack. Count the number of screws on the phone jack and note their location. Mensurate the distances between them and jot the dimensions down. Go to whatsoever hardware or structure supply store and buy a flat cover plate with identical screw slots. A flat cover plate is basically a flat piece of plastic or metal that is designed to encompass up unnecessary outlets or jacks.^[5]
- There are roughly v-half-dozen different patterns for faceplate screws, so y'all need to make certain that the embrace plate matches the screw pattern on the jack.
- Apartment cover plates typically come in biscuit, white, greyness, black, metal, or contumely.
three
Unscrew the jack'southward faceplate and pull it off of the wall past hand. Use a screwdriver to loosen the screws on the faceplate and remove them from the fixture. So, just lift the faceplate off. If the jack is really one-time or it sticks, slide a flathead screwdriver between the faceplate and the wall and pop it off. If there are wires attached to the faceplate, let information technology hang under your wall.^[6]
- Do not rip the faceplate off if the faceplate has wires fastened to it.
- If there are no wires, the landlord or previous homeowner disconnected the jack a long fourth dimension agone and removed the wires without replacing the fixture. You can skip to the final step in this section if this is the example.
4
Cut the wires off of the faceplate with condom-grip wire cutters. Get a pair of rubber-grip wire cutters and trim an insulated portion of the wires where they connect to the faceplate to remove it. Even when a phone line is live, there's very little electricity running through information technology and it won't shock you, so this is about as prophylactic as it gets when it comes to cut wires.^[vii]
- Even if you lot flip the excursion breaker, the telephone line volition still have a current since landlines use a separate source of power. If you aren't paying for a landline, the wires are already every bit dead as they can get.
Alarm: Practise non do this is if there's a thunderstorm outside or you take a pacemaker. A thunderstorm tin cause electrical wires to surge and daze you lot, and even a low volt of electricity may disrupt a pacemaker.
5
Cap the wires with wire nuts and wrap them in electrical tape. On each wire, stick a modest wire nut on pinnacle of the cut wire. Plow the wire nut clockwise while pressing down until yous won't turn information technology any further. And then, wrap each wire nut in enough electrical tape to secure it tightly to the wire information technology's fastened to.^[8]
- While it'due south probably safe to just tuck the wires inside the electrical box if they're dead, it'southward better to non take whatever chances.
- Wire nuts look like thimble-shaped pieces of plastic. They're used to safely end live wires, but they can be used to cap off expressionless wires also.
- You cannot use a different type of tape for this. Electrical record is specifically designed to foreclose wires from sparking and it won't ignite if this happens.
6

Stuff the wires inside the electrical box and attach your new embrace plate. Bend the wires into the box and then that they're not sticking out past the wall. Then, unpack your apartment comprehend plate and concur information technology over the electrical box then the screw slots on the box line upwardly with the screw slots on the cover plate. Screw the new embrace plate into identify to finish replacing the jack with a sleeker fixture.^[nine]

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If you want to remove the jack completely, you can fill the electric box with a sanding sponge after removing the faceplate and capping the wires. So, patch the wall with articulation compound before painting over it. This is a lot of work though, and leaving the phone jack where it is may be helpful in the time to come if you lot need to run new wires.^[10]

Never cutting wires if there's a thunderstorm going on exterior or you take a pacemaker. Lightning can crusade electrical systems to surge, and even a minor amount of electricity can disrupt a pacemaker or cause it to malfunction.^[11]

Things You'll Need

Nail
Painting or corkboard
Hollow craft wood
Utility knife
Pigment
Angle brush

Screwdriver
Flat cover plate
Wire nuts
Rubber-grip wirecutters
Electric tape

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