"Lobster" wrote in message
news
Mike Dodd wrote:
Is it common for stud partition walls in relatively new-build houses to
have only vertical beams (apart from top/bottom, of course) thus allowing
a vertical drop of a cable?

No, uncommon I'd say.

You ought to be able to tell where the horizontal members (noggins) are by
tapping the wall; if not you can get electronic stud-detectors at B&Q etc
(can't vouch for their usefulness though!).

Even assuming there are noggins, it's not that difficult or invasive to
get round them; essentially you need to end up with a small hole in the
plasterboard above and below the noggin so you can get a drill through the
noggin. Afterwards the holes can be repaired pretty much invisibly,
(providing you don't need to wallpaper the whole room again!)

Suggest you search the uk.d-i-y archives via google for the keyword
'noggin' - this topic comes up here regularly.

David

Bugger. I have now searched for the infamous "noggin", and found the advice
alluded to above. My problem is that drilling a hole through the noggin
might be rather more tortuous than you might expect - have you ever seen a
component video cable with three moulded phono plugs attached Time to
find a 2mm drill bit and go noggin hunting I think.

Thanks for the advice.

Mike