Routing speaker wire

[ceningolmo]

I am changing some things with my current speaker set up. And, I want to take this opportunity to do a little nicer looking installation of my surround and surround-back speakers.

I am using satellite type speakers and I have purchased wall mounts for each of my 4 surrounds. I would like to run my speaker wire through the crawl space above my ceiling. I am looking for a little advice on the best way to go about this.

We use the crawl space for seasonal storage, so i can't just run the wires loose through that area. I need to make sure they are bound or contained in some way.

I looked at some of the routing fixtures suggested in the "System Setup" forum. Unfortunately, I working on a budget and can't afford to spend several hundred dollars on routing the wires. I was thinking about buying some relatively small PVC and using that to contain the wires as they are routed from end of the room to the other. This would contain the wires and keep them from getting bumped by things we are storing.

Any reason why that wouldn't work? Are there safety issues I should be aware of with speaker wiring?

Thanks for the help,

Ross

 

[JohnA]

D rings

Use D rings for running wire, they are cheep and work good. Home Depot, Lowes, or any other electrical supply house should have some.

 

[flyv65]

Zip ties are cheap and work in a similar fashion to the D-ring idea of John's; just tack the ends to the sides of the joists.

Bryan...too big for crawl spaces...

 

[ceningolmo]

The reason I had thought to run the wire through PVC was that it would let me run the wire without binding it together closely.

If I zip tie the wire does that introduce the possibility of interference? I thought that the wires being tied so closely might cause interference. Am I wrong in that assumption?

Ross

 

[flyv65]

So you'll be using spacers through the PVC to maintain constant distances between the speaker wires? In all honesty, if you use a decent 12 guage wire you'll be fine for surround speakers...interference is going to be a non-issue provided you cross any power lines in the crawl space at 90 degree angles.

Bryan...besides, how much time do you want to spend crawling around in the attic?...

 

[ceningolmo]

To answer your last question first; NONE! I am not a fan of spiders, so I am already giving myself a complex about this little adventure in to the attic.

I was just thinking that it would be better to have them run in a loose proximity rather than zipped together. But, what you makes sense. I probably would just be creating more work than necessary.

Thanks,

Ross

 

[BMXTRIX]

Put a staple in your 2x4's then run a zip tie through it and around your speaker cables. It's the way to do it.

The other option is to get a tacking gun from Home Depot that allows you to just tack each wire to the studs in dividually. Like a staple gun, but designed for low voltage wiring.