Pulling Speaker cable some questions

[Heckler31]

I plan to install some speaker wire in the walls from behind my reciever into the wall, under the floor( which is also the roof of the finished garage) then back up for my rear speakers. I will buy 14g wire from Homedepot rated for inwall installs. And will try my darndest to avoid running parallel with any electrical wire running power. The reason I am doing this is A) I have hardwood floors in my living room. B) I have a hallway on one side and fireplace on the other of my reciever so cannot run wire under baseboard etc.

So am i missing something very important? The installer I called had planned to just drill some holes in the hardwood into the garage run the wire back up more holes in the hardwood. all for only 500.00$$ CAD. No thanks.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Call a different installer - a quality installer will liekly cut a hole at the base of your wall into the drywall, then drill a hole down into the garage. Depending on which way your joists run, this is where things get tricky. Sure, the wire may go across the ceiling in one direction fine, but the other direction, it's gotta run through some joists, which means more drywall cuts. The less drywall that is cut, the more difficult the wire run is. Drywall in your garage is also what will be cut.

When it goes up, the same scenario should happen. A hole at the base of the wall, then a hole is drilled into your garage, then wire is fished up the wall to where you want the speakers.

This may be a full one day job to get it done right: 8 hours @ 60 bucks an hour is easily 500 bucks. Then you will still have drywall that will need to be repaired and painted.

 

[JohnA]

I plan to install some speaker wire in the walls from behind my reciever into the wall, under the floor( which is also the roof of the finished garage) then back up for my rear speakers. I will buy 14g wire from Homedepot rated for inwall installs. And will try my darndest to avoid running parallel with any electrical wire running power. The reason I am doing this is A) I have hardwood floors in my living room. B) I have a hallway on one side and fireplace on the other of my reciever so cannot run wire under baseboard etc.

So am i missing something very important? The installer I called had planned to just drill some holes in the hardwood into the garage run the wire back up more holes in the hardwood. all for only 500.00$$ CAD. No thanks.

Is this a single story home or 2 story?

 

[RLA]

A couple of things to realize here
#1 your walls will have firelocks in them at about the 1/2 way point
And you will have a double plate between floors + all the insulation if it is an exterior wall a real pain to have to deal with.

#2 if you have baseboard on the top floor and crown molding on the bottom floor this can be done with minimal aggravation. The installer can pull the baseboard and drill behind it then replace the baseboard but you will still need to get past the block in the garage.

If the wall your are trying to pull wire through is an exterior wall and does not face the street another alternative is to use Liquid tight conduit surface mounted the exterior of the building the size can be small and it is paint able Pop out on the top floor then in on the bottom floor I had to do this for a client that had marble floors on the top floor and a custom ceiling on the bottom floor after we painted the conduit it was seamless and there was no mess or holes in the walls

 

[Dumar]

Need more info.

Two questions: Is there an attic space above you, and do your walls contain fire-stops? If you answered YES and NO to the two questions, let me know and I can explain how to go up over and down inside the walls.

If you are talking about pulling the wire into the ceiling space in the garage, that's going to be tough to do. In my experience you will find the floor is insulated (usually required when there is a garage under it). Further, if the floor is framed with standard joists (and assuming they are parallel to the direction of the pull), you will encounter cross bridging and most probably blocking at some point. Basically there are all kinds of monsters in there to screw you up.

If the hallway is out of the question (need more info), and the fireplace is at floor level (doesn't have a raised hearth), you can go behind the baseboards up to the fireplace and then go up-around-and-down (in the corner where the walls and ceiling meet the fireplace). Finish the installation off with some molding to hide the wires.

 

[ntune]

Help Finding Wire

Ok, I know this is my own fault. However, I installed speark wire 14G in my ceiling for a 6.1 surround sound system. Well my builder drywalled in everything when I was on vacation and I did not get a chance to measure out the locations. I have a general idea of where the wires are, however it has been about a year, so I am not exactly sure... . I left about 30 inches of wire running side to side between the joists.

Is there a way I can locate these wires prioir to cutting holes in my ceiling?

 

[JohnA]

Ok, I know this is my own fault. However, I installed speark wire 14G in my ceiling for a 6.1 surround sound system. Well my builder drywalled in everything when I was on vacation and I did not get a chance to measure out the locations. I have a general idea of where the wires are, however it has been about a year, so I am not exactly sure... . I left about 30 inches of wire running side to side between the joists.

Is there a way I can locate these wires prioir to cutting holes in my ceiling?

Pick yourself up (or borrow) a tone generator (AKA wire tracer)...it is a simple device that sends an electrical (9V) signal through the line and a pin-pointer that has a speaker built in to it pick up the electrical current and turns it into an audible sound. That way you can trace the wire through the walls...Home Depot, Lowes, any Electrical supply house will have them.

 

[ntune]

I know,,,,,,dumb.....I had really good intentions.

Thanks, I will head over the depot today.......