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How to Hide Wire on Brick

When wire is run outside of a wall system it must be protected from mechanical damage. This is done by installing the wire inside of conduit that keeps it away from people's hands. Conduit is a metal or plastic pipe designed to carry wires and is fastened to the surface of the brick. The best way to hide the conduit is to paint it to match the brick's color avoiding drawing your eye to the different-colored wire.

Things You'll Need

  • Measuring tape
  • EMT conduit
  • EMT bender
  • Conduit supports
  • Drill
  • Drill bit
  • Masonry screws
  • Fish tape
  • Paint (matching brick color)
  • Paint brush
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Instructions

    • 1

      Decide on a path for the conduit to run between the electrical source and the destination. The path must be made of straight sections without 90 degree turns. The total run cannot have more than 360 degrees of total corners to facilitate running the wires through it.

    • 2

      Draw the conduit's path on paper and measure the straight sections on the wall with a measuring tape. Mark these lengths on the paper with the number of degrees of each corner.

    • 3

      Measure from the start of the EMT conduit to the center of the first corner. Mark this location and the number of degrees of the bend on the pipe. Repeat this process to mark each corner on the pipe.

    • 4

      Place the EMT conduit in the conduit bender aligning the center of the bend with the arm of the bending tool. Lay the pipe on the ground with the bender's arm facing upward. Press down on the handle with both hands until the pipe is the correct angle. Repeat this process to bend all the conduit's corners.

    • 5

      Paint the conduit and conduit supports with a paint color that matches the brick wall. Allow the paint to dry overnight.

    • 6

      Place the conduit on the wall and secure with conduit supports approximately every 3 feet. Conduit supports are fastened by pre-drilling a hole with a drill bit that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the screws, then tightening the screws to the wall with a screwdriver.

    • 7

      Feed the fish tape into the end of the conduit and keep pushing until the fish tape comes out the other end. Secure the end of the wire to the fish tape using electrician's tape and pull the fish back through the conduit.