how to fish out the pre wire from ceiling

[Fion345]

Hi everyone,
I am new here. I want to hang my speakers to the ceiling. The house is pre wire inside the ceiling. I have the locations of the speakers. How can I get the wire out without making a big hole in the ceiling? Any thoughts?

 

[one more time]

Are the wires visible or did the builders bury them behind the sheetrock and didn't leave you any indication where they are?

 

[mtrycrafts]

Welcome to AH.

Good question. Do you by chance have access to the other side of that ceiling, like an attic?
If not, then it is much more difficult without cutting into the ceiling from below it.
Do you have an approximate location for those wires? If yes, you may be able to do a small hole then with a video probe?

or this
https://www.homedepot.com/b/Tools-Power-Tools-Inspection-Cameras/N-5yc1vZc2gm

 

[Fion345]

I was just given the locations, such as "20 inches of west to east". No other information nor marking.
I have attic for AC repair. Is it the area that I can climb into?

 

[one more time]

Probably. If repairs to the AC can be done there, I'd say it's a good bet, but make sure you stay on the wooden beams if you go up there.

 

[ryanosaur]

And Here I was getting ready to suggest trained mice.
I fell part way through a ceiling one time. Don't. @one more time is right on that.

Before you go up there... are you prepared to put a marker hole through the ceiling?, as you'll be cutting into it anyway for the speakers. Might be wise to prepare for making your job as easy as possible in the future.

 

[everettT]

If no conduit was run to boxes, its attic time

 

[one more time]

Once you go up there to ascertain where the wires actually are, go back down to your listening room and drill a small hole in the ceiling where you WANT them to be.

Then, go back up there and feed them down.

 

[Fion345]

It's a brand new home. Surround system is all pre wired in living room, master bedroom and patio. The other ends of labeled wires are sticking out here as picture showed. It would be 7 locations altogether. What would be easiest and safest way to do it? Makes hole and put a audio plate or inspection camera or attic? What would you choose?

 

[Fion345]

Are the wires visible or did the builders bury them behind the sheetrock and didn't leave you any indication where they are?

Not visible now. It’s in the ceiling. I just have locations, say “ 20 inches of west to east, 26 inches of north to south”

 

[everettT]

I'd have the installer come out other wise you need to get in the attic. Again hopefully they ran in conduit; nothing like exposed wiring.

 

[mtrycrafts]

You should have access to the attic from a hallway or closet someplace. Poke your head up there with a flashlight to see how the attic is finished, insulated and joist size. May be able to move around slowly with two pieces of planks to span ceiling joists.
May want to ask the builder the starting reference point for his directions, which corner or wall.
Before you poke be sure the location you want the speakers is close to where the wire is. If you need to extend the wire, not a big deal.

 

[Fion345]

thanks everyone’s input. I tried inspection camera, but it didn’t work. Builder blow insulation in the ceiling. The camera was covered with insulation material and wasn’t able to give me any clear image. So, I cut into the drywall.

 

[everettT]

thanks everyone’s input. I tried inspection camera, but it didn’t work. Builder blow insulation in the ceiling. The camera was covered with insulation material and wasn’t able to give me any clear image. So, I cut into the drywall.

Complete shame a builder would leave that mess. Good luck on the setup, and enjoy the attic

 

[BMXTRIX]

See, now, the way I have done it in the past is exactly what the builder did. I put wires into the ceiling, if that's where my speaker goes, then I measure where the wire is off of the two closest walls and mark it on the drawing. 68" left, 42" down, that's where the wire is. I go to that location, cut in my speaker hole, and the wire is right where the drawings said it was.

This isn't a hunting game.

When wires are properly pulled and then their location is properly indicated, you have an exact map to their location. A good low-voltage guy will leave 5 or 10 feet extra of wire in the ceiling so that the wire can be relocated several feet away if desired. No harm in the extra cable being there.

My question would be why anyone would pull wire to a ceiling if the intent was not to use ceiling speakers. If ceiling speakers are going in, then the wire should be pulled to the exact location that the ceiling speakers will go. This should be planned ahead of time, and indicated on the build drawings, or pre-drywall if during construction.

I think I went to my home build every other day to see how things were going. I may have interjected a complaint just once or twice. For things that were in the contract that they had missed. Like a dedicated 20amp circuit under the stairs for A/V. They fixed it politely and caught it pre-drywall.

Now that you have found that the drawings are accurate, if you have more locations you need to find, trust that the installers properly labeled things for you.

I do recommend a stud sensor so you can ensure you aren't cutting right into a joist.

 

[Fion345]

Finished hanging the speakers. I did manage to cut into the exact spot for wires. The indicated locations were all accurate. I found out that the wires were installed after the insulation was done. I had to poke through one foot thick fiberglass insulation to reach the wires (they are on the top) . Now new problem occurs. No sound coming out from both rear speakers? I checked the connections to the receiver. They are all well inserted. Any thought?

 

[Fion345]

I played with receiver speakers setting. Didn't change anything, but it solved my problem.