Lost Speaker Wire Behind Wall - How to Fish it Out?

[LTP]

Hi All-

Recently moved into a new place that the previous owner had pre-wired for surround sound. I was taking off the wall cover and the wire fell down the wall (about 8 feet up) to the ground I assume and now I have no way of fishing it out or being able to see where the wire fell.

Any suggestions on how to fish the speaker wire back up? I figure cutting a whole at the bottom of the wall and looking for the wire is the easiest, but if possible I'd like to avoid cutting a whole.

Thanks in advance.

LTP

 

[Alex2507]

What's on the other side of that wall? Maybe cut it from that side so that you don't have to look at the hole or the patch from you're viewing area.

Welcome aboard.

 

[ZeosPantera]

Cutting a hole is your best bet. From behind if possible.

If you have a digital camera try and take a picture down the hole you may find something useful like there is insulation 2 feet below and it isn't all the way down to the floor.

 

[Rickster71]

Alex has a good idea.

If I may add a bit; cut the a hole the same size as a low voltage ring and height as a receptacle, and when your done fishing for the wire, you can put a blank plate over it.
Then drop a string down from the top, tie it to the end of the wire and pull it back up.

 

[jamie2112]

That just doesnt sound right....LOL

 

[highfigh]

Hi All-

Recently moved into a new place that the previous owner had pre-wired for surround sound. I was taking off the wall cover and the wire fell down the wall (about 8 feet up) to the ground I assume and now I have no way of fishing it out or being able to see where the wire fell.

Any suggestions on how to fish the speaker wire back up? I figure cutting a whole at the bottom of the wall and looking for the wire is the easiest, but if possible I'd like to avoid cutting a whole.

Thanks in advance.

LTP

It can be done without cutting but you'll need a light, a mirror and some kind of flexible rod with a hook on the end. You'll need to see into the hole so you can look for the end of the wire. An electrician's fish tape will work but it will be a royal PITA unless it has some weight added to the end.


The person who "installed" the wires broke the Cardinal Rule- "secure the wire and make it easy on yourself".

 

[Nomo]

Does the wire come up from the floor?

If it's drywall and the drywall (sheet-rock) has a gap in it to the floor, which is not competely uncommon, and there is a baseboard strip along the bottom; removing the baseboard along that wall may be a good place to start.

Even if you cannot find the end of the wire just finding a portion of it would help. After that:

Fish tape. A handy little tool.

http://www.datacomtools.com/catalog/fishtape.htm

 

[highfigh]

Does the wire come up from the floor?

If it's drywall and the drywall (sheet-rock) has a gap in it to the floor, which is not competely uncommon, and there is a baseboard strip along the bottom; removing the baseboard along that wall may be a good place to start.

Even if you cannot find the end of the wire just finding a portion of it would help. After that:

Fish tape. A handy little tool.

http://www.datacomtools.com/catalog/fishtape.htm

The only time a void will be behind the drywall is if the building was built using "balloon construction", which has continuous studs from the first floor to the attic. Standard stick framing builds the first floor on the foundation, caps the ceiling joists and builds the successive floors on top.

I would hope it's not balloon- that would make wire retrieval even harder.

 

[highfigh]

Here are a couple of tools used by people in the industry:

Push rods
http://www.lsdinc.com/content/product_details/53

Grabbit
http://www.lsdinc.com/content/product_details/53

Look at both of these and if you know someone who makes fishing rods, you can figure out how to rig something up.

 

[Nomo]

The only time a void will be behind the drywall is if the building was built using "balloon construction", which has continuous studs from the first floor to the attic. Standard stick framing builds the first floor on the foundation, caps the ceiling joists and builds the successive floors on top.

I would hope it's not balloon- that would make wire retrieval even harder.

In my response I was making a couple of assumptions.
The first was that the other end of the wire originated from the same room.
The second was that the wire was either ran behind the baseboard or below the floor and back up through just below the speaker connection.

No construction expert here. Just throwing ideas out.

 

[dalumberjack]

possibly crawl under the house and drill a hole up between the two studs it fell through and fish it out? I've done that before but it was a power wire and I didn't want to leave it hanging around lol.

just a thought.

 

[ZeosPantera]

I Fear this thread may have the most replies in all of the audioholic forums.. I can just see 4000 old men standing around with straw in their teeth saying
"Nope.. Gotta use a coat hanger and chewing gum.. I reckon."

Raze the whole house and start again. Most guaranteed way to fix the problem.

 

[bandphan]

couldnt resist.... tools are ment fer using errrrr

 

[Rickster71]

If I may, I'd like to share a little insight as to how this is going to go.

If you choose the electrician's fish tape or the flexible fiberglass rods you will, after much work get the wire.
You will have to repaint your ceiling due to the marks left from the tape and / or rods rubbing back and forth on the ceiling.

Or, cut one receptacle sized hole, drop a weighted string down from the top, tie to the end of the wire, and pull it up.

The hole you've cut will be the same size as a low voltage trim ring, so you can put a blank plate on it an paint it the same color as the wall. (done in ten minutes) You could also patch the hole.
This will be much easier than repainting your entire ceiling.

Did the wire come up from your basement?

 

[LTP]

Thanks for all the responses - the unit is a condo so no way to get it from above or below (concrete floor and ceiling). The wires are run from the left side of the fireplace and the wire that fell is on the right side of the fireplace (it's a gas fireplace).

I believe the wires were run straight across, I ended removing the baseboard and cutting a whole yesterday but didn't see anything - this is why I believe the wires were run across (and above the fireplace) not on the ground. I've gone back and forth with the fishing line, coat hangers, etc. with something sticky on it but it does no good.

Looks like it's time to cut a decent size hole in the wall and look for it. Unfortunately the wall is a side wall that's only about 2 feet long, so it's not as if the wire can be found by cutting from the back side of the wall.

And Yes, as someone said, whoever installed it broke the cardinal rule of securing the wires.

Thanks again for all the responses.

 

[BMXTRIX]

One of my favorite tools is a 2"x3" mirror on an adjustable handle and SMALL flashlight on a chain. While it can be a bit of a pain to get them to play nicely together, you can secure the flashlight with the chain and drop it into the hole so it points down and fills the space with light. Then use the mirror to look down into the hole. Both items are available from your local hardware store and can let you know exactly what is going on in the wall with your wire.

One of the situations that's possible is that there is some sort of fire break or extra stud running across the wall halfway up - or a couple of feet up, and if you cut a hole under that stud, you will then need to cut ANOTHER hole above it to get where you need to be.

On the other hand, if you are using surround speakers you might be able to enlarge the hole that the wire fell down into. If you don't own the speakers yet, consider getting in-wall surrounds and just cutting out a large opening in the wall which can accommodate in-wall speakers and can give you enough room to get your entire arm into and really work in.

These then, might become VERY handy...
http://cgi.ebay.com/11-Electric-Fiberglass-Wire-Push-Pull-Rods-Fish-Tape_W0QQitemZ310155689624QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4836b83e98&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

It's a question of how much of a rush you are in and if you want to deal with additional drywall damage. I've done it both ways - I've spent the time fishing and hooking and dealing with clean lines, as well, I've opened up walls. At the end of the day, fishing the wire was a bigger pain to do, but had far less overall work involved in it and I wasn't worried about whether the paint would match perfectly what was already there.

Good luck!

 

[highfigh]

One of my favorite tools is a 2"x3" mirror on an adjustable handle and SMALL flashlight on a chain. While it can be a bit of a pain to get them to play nicely together, you can secure the flashlight with the chain and drop it into the hole so it points down and fills the space with light. Then use the mirror to look down into the hole. Both items are available from your local hardware store and can let you know exactly what is going on in the wall with your wire.

One of the situations that's possible is that there is some sort of fire break or extra stud running across the wall halfway up - or a couple of feet up, and if you cut a hole under that stud, you will then need to cut ANOTHER hole above it to get where you need to be.

On the other hand, if you are using surround speakers you might be able to enlarge the hole that the wire fell down into. If you don't own the speakers yet, consider getting in-wall surrounds and just cutting out a large opening in the wall which can accommodate in-wall speakers and can give you enough room to get your entire arm into and really work in.

These then, might become VERY handy...
http://cgi.ebay.com/11-Electric-Fiberglass-Wire-Push-Pull-Rods-Fish-Tape_W0QQitemZ310155689624QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4836b83e98&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

It's a question of how much of a rush you are in and if you want to deal with additional drywall damage. I've done it both ways - I've spent the time fishing and hooking and dealing with clean lines, as well, I've opened up walls. At the end of the day, fishing the wire was a bigger pain to do, but had far less overall work involved in it and I wasn't worried about whether the paint would match perfectly what was already there.

Good luck!

I use a Craftsman mirror (it has a lifetime warranty and they DID honor it when it has broken) and a Mini MagLite taped or wire tied onto it, then I angle the mirror so I can look into the hole.

Also, if the tip of the push rod is protected and the user is careful, the ceiling won't have a single mark.