Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler in-wall wiring HELP!

I need to get my wiring run for my surrounds, subwoofer and cable tv. I need to do it soon, because we need to paint the living room, and I don't want to have to cut holes in the walls of a freshly painted room.

The problem is, I have NO CLUE how to do this, and absolutely no confidence that I could do it on my own. You should have seen the mess I made of simply trying to hang a pair of M2i's on the wall.

Who the heck do you hire to do something like this?

I really need to get it done very soon.

Any competent electrician should be able to do it for you, assuming you have access to either a crawlspace or the attic.

In reply to:

---

assuming you have access to either a crawlspace or the attic.

---

The problem is that this is all being done in the downstairs living room. We have a small attic space, but it's upstairs.

I got a quote today of $500...yikes!

do you have access under your room from the basement?

*sigh* I wish I had a basement.

They don't seem to make them out here in LA. Even the houses I've looked at don't have basements. Seems odd. Such a waste of space. With as much as land costs out here, you'd think they'd be taking advantage of as much of it as they could. I sure as heck know I would! Maybe I could start digging now. You think the HOA would notice/mind?

I see you're an HVAC installer...I'm in the middle of getting estimates right now. Jimminy Jesus that's expensive! I don't even need any duct work installed and they want $5000 - $7850. [censored]...this owning a home isn't all it's cracked up to be.

yeah, most contractors are gonna charges several hundred just to get into the walls. If you do that, make sure they quote you to close up and refinish the holes.

Another option for you is to put the wire "on the wall". Paste the wire to the wall, plaster, sand, paint and voila...

Decorp

I don't think those Cali earthquakes mix too well with basements. That'd be my guess as to the reason why you don't find them out there.

I think it's actually the water table. That's the reason I've heard for the Bay Area.

theres not a lot of basements out here due to the fact the ground is made of whats called caliche.. under the top 6-8 inches of surface dirt, is a layer of caliche that is essentially fossilized clay that is as hard as rock. it can be dug thru, but it is a much more expensive cost to do so, than it would be to just add a second story to your home.

PS-changed avator.. felt like a change

bigjohn

you could always take off the baseboards and run it in the small space under there thats usually left for the flooring, and then when you get to the area where you want the speaker, well get out the drywall saw! run the wire up between the studs and patch the hole with some tape and mud, sand it and paint it. Might not look too great since your no drywall pro but heck, at least you'll have sound lol.

Spiff,

If you get the wires installed into the wall, where are they going from there?....ie, will they run along the baseboards?...under the rug?..or are you looking to get it run across the room through the ceiling? You mentioned your cable and sub....Wouldn't you want those connections in the same general area as your receiver?

Fishing wire up the wall isn't too hard. However, where you are going from there is what will make it a trickier proposition.

Give more precise details and we might be able to guide you. I was terrified w/ I first installed in-walls into a vaulted ceiling. But, once I got going, I found that it wasn't rocket science.

spiff, you are paying for someone's education and abilities. we like to use the saying here, when you pay peanuts, sometimes you get monkeys.
dan

In reply to:

---

If you get the wires installed into the wall, where are they going from there?....ie, will they run along the baseboards?...under the rug?..or are you looking to get it run across the room through the ceiling? You mentioned your cable and sub....Wouldn't you want those connections in the same general area as your receiver?

---

The tv cable enters the room from the rear. Unfortunately, the TV will be in the front of the room. The subwoofer cable will of course plug into the receiver, which is in the front of the room (with the TV), but the subwoofer itself will be sitting in the back of the room. (Ironically right next to where the cable tv cable enters the room!) Lastly of course are the QS8's.

I'll try to post a picture to give you an idea what I'm trying to do.

Inside the baseboards may work. Though I'm not sure that's enough space for a cable tv coax, subwoofer cable, and speaker wire.

I've got another guy stopping by today to give me an estimate.


Here's a layout drawing. The floors are hardwood, the walls are plaster. There's no crawlspace underneath. No attic above.

Ooooh, plaster walls are a different story altogether...

Honestly, I think your best option is to go under the carpet along the walls (so you have any "speed bumps" in the middle of your room).

I don't have carpeting. It's hardwood floors.

duhhh.... sorry. I was mid-coffee when I posted that. Do you have baseboards? As haoleb mentioned, there's usually a gap between the wall and the edged of the flooring to allow for expansion of the wood.

I have also heard of folks using a router to "carefully" rout a groove in the back of the baseboard (out of sight) to add space to accomodate wiring.

I think that would be dependant on the thickness and composition of the baseboards...

Just something I heard once...

WhatFurrer

No its because of the warm climate. When you don't have to put footings below the frost line at say 5 feet, so that you're not more than half way to a basement already, the money gets spent above ground. California soils and seismic loads require more expensive reinforcing to masonry/concrete than the soils of the glaciated north.

Depending on your baseboards, you might be able to rip off the quarter round and replace it with this stuff. Then you can use the various other cable raceway adapters they have to get it to where you need.

I found a resource that might be of use:

http://www.handymanweb.com/categorie.php?x=1&cat=99&s=California

You might try contacting the first guy under TV/Audio repair.

Spiff, The obvious problem with all the idea going along the basebaord etc. is the openings and sliding glass door between where you are and where you want to go. What is upstairs above the living room? Is there carpet up there and clear space so that you could go up and under wall to wall carpet and back down?

I'm surprised Ray3 hasn't piped in with "Sell the house" -- or some other such nonsense...

In reply to:

---

You might try contacting the first guy under TV/Audio repair.

---

B. Villa? Could it be?





nah...guess not, that's only one "L". Bummer.

This may be an expensive option (unless you can do it yourself), but - you could put crown molding in the room - if you find the right crown, it will leave a nice gap btween the wall and the molding. You could then go up the wall, out at the top, run through the molding and then back down through the wall to where you need the cables. It would be a lot of work, but if you're up to doing it yourself you'll only need to go to home depot and get a book on trim, a mitre box, a finishing hammer, a decent handsaw and a tape measure.

You have killed to two birds - you've enhanced the look with a classic trim and it's functional.

I have hardwoods throughout the entire house and know your pain - especially the damn dust bunny hunts I'm constantly on.

Just a thought. Good luck.

^billy

Hmmm...that's actually a good idea. I'll look into that.

Doing crown molding as a DIY project can be very painful -- even if your walls and ceiling are perfectly straight and smooth. Those inside coped miters will kill ya!

pmbuko -

that's a great link...thanks.

^billy

Ever seen Nahm Abrahms (Norm Abrams to those west of MN) or Tommy Dasilva work crown molding with a coping saw? Artists, I tell ya!

Bren R.

i like to watch 'nahm' on the new yankee workshop.. he builds some pretty awesome stuff.. of course, it is a lot easier when you have a barn with a couple 100 thousand dollars worth of equip. i am in NO way doubting the guy has talent and ability.. i am simply saying, it is understandble he would make awesome pieces of furniture when he has the best tools in the business available to him.

bigjohn

Dust Bunny? Havent heard that in a while...I always thought they were Ghost turds....

Semper Fi

In reply to:

---

...it is a lot easier when you have a barn with a couple 100 thousand dollars worth of equip.

---

Dead right on, John. Speaking as one who has just made his own speaker stands with no one side parallel or perpendicular to the other (not really noticeable, fortunately) I've thought the same thing a million times. I really like the whole Old House crew, though some more than others. They seem to be a bunch of straight ahead guys.

In reply to:

---

I always thought they were Ghost turds

---

now i have NEVER heard that. i think i will start using that one. i like it better.

bigjohn

I've only ever heard the little styrofoam packing peanuts refered to as "ghost turds"

Actually I picked the term in the Corps, I was a Drill Instructor at Parris Island and we were always trying to come up with a "funny" to make the recruits smile or laugh so we could take them to the pit and wear them out. Oh, those where the days.....


Semper Fi

you were a DI?? i dont like you already..

i spent 3 1/2 years in the army back in the early 90's.. i cant think of a single good thing to say about basic training. oh wait, we got three meals a day.. yep, thats about it.. although it would have been nice if they would have given us some time to eat them.

funny story- two years ago, i witnessed a minor car accident at the intersection i was stopped at.. i walked up to the car that had the worst damage, and the female in the front was dazed(airbag), but relatively OK.. i automatically went into 'combat injury assesment'.. i was checking her responses, clearing airway, check for shock, check for broken bones, keeping her alert.. it was like all the stuff i learned 13 years earlier was just flooding back to me. i suppose that 'knowledge' will always be there, i just dont get in situations to use it everyday.

i bet i could still breakdown an M16A1, in about 30 seconds.

bigjohn

Blindfolded at that!!!! I also served in the National Guard as a 12C for about 3 yrs. Come to think of it with my wife in the USAF, the only branch I havent had anything to do with is the Coast Guard. By the way Congrats on the inbound speakers!!!

Semper Fi

Spiff

What kind of ceilings to you have in this room - is it vaulted, drywall, drop??

Sean

Does crown moulding generally make a difference in the way a room sounds?

I believe the ceilings are plaster as well as the walls. The place was built in 1964.

Got any pics of what you have to work with? Or maybe a 360-degree VR movie?

Sorry, no pictures that really show what is needed.

That's not that old of a house. I usually associate lath and plaster with older homes. I've lived in several houses built in the decade before that where the walls were sheetrock, rather than plaster. Is plaster a better choice for CA, given the earthquakes, or is there code, or did you just get "lucky"?

Dunno. All I know is that if you screw anything into it, or try and cut a hole, it turns to gritty dirt/sand and falls apart. The former owners tried hanging a few things, and made a mess. A towel rod in the bathroom, a new toilet paper dispenser, venetian blinds...they all made a real mess of the walls where they were screwed in.

My home in Maine was built in the early/mid 1800's. When I first moved out of the house back home, I moved into a building that was formerly an old barn that they'd converted into a duplex. I think it was built as early at the mid 1600's! (It was the oldest building in town!)

By contrast, 1964 is considered "old" by LA standards. The few buildings here that were built in the 1930's are considered historical landmarks.