wiring for surround sound in home

[shredmaster]

hey guys, i spent a couple hours trying to fish this damned speaker wire behind the wall for the speakers i want to mount on the wall and i just can't do it. the stupid insulation is right packed up against the drywall. it's in the living room with the basement below. i drilled the hole for the speaker wire, was going to fish it down, drill through the ceiling in the basement (plywood) take it over to the right where the drop for the other speaker is, and bring them up through the floor with a faceplate that i bought for speakers. i don't think i can do this. i must've fished 15' of speaker wire down but i think it is just bunching up. i wasted 2 hours. i think i'm just going to put speaker stands in the corners from best buy....that should be fine. any thoughts? the tv will be in the middle of the speakers.

steve

[elcid]

You shouldve called me, I've been doing that work for 6 years. You need some fish poles and a magnet and wet noodle. Tape the wet noodle on the fish pole and fish it up the wall, then stick the magnet (or your hand if the hole is big enough) in th wall and grat the fish pole, tie string to the fish pole and pull it out the hole in the basement. Tie your wire to the string then go upstairs and pull the string back with the wire attached. SHouldtake take anymore than a 1/2 hour if you run into problems.

If you are just trying to push the wire down the whole, its never going to work.

[shredmaster]

Elcid,

thanks, but to clarify, when you say wet noodle...what is that? and a fish pole.....not a real fishing pole right? could i go to home depot and just get a wooden rod like 1/16" thick to fish through? maybe it needs to be more flexible.

right now there are just 3 holes in the wall...2 for mounting the speaker, 3" apart, vertical, and one that is a little larger to put speaker wire through, which is in between the holes. i need to figure out where the drop is going to be in the basement by measuring so i can drill a hole in the basement ceiling / living room floor without coming through the carpet.

do i fish through the floor in the basement and come up in the wall? if that is the case, it sounds like a bitch.....and the hole must be bigger i'm sure. don't want to make it too big since the speakers mount on thin mounts on the wall, 1" thick. i thought of saying screw it and going to best buy and buying speakers that are thin that are freestanding......have to price them out. not much money. i have heard of fishing through and this and that but i don't know what the wet noodle is or anything like that.

your pro 1/2 hour will be my 6 hours......... i'm sure i can do it but i hate this crap.

[elcid]

A wet noodle is just a piece of chain, like on a ceilng lamp. A fish pole is a fiber glass rod that you can screw a few together. They usually come in 5-6ft lengths. They are a little pricey but an absolute necessity for fishing wire.

[standing8count]

Get a fish tape it will be the best thing to use for fishing wire through walls and floors.You might be able to rent one from a tool or hardwear place.

[elcid]

A fish tape will go all over between in the stud space, its a straight drop. A fish pole would be better for this job.

[standing8count]

Will the fish pole make it through?I would think it would get hung up on the insulation?A friend of mine did my alarm in my house and he used both so maybe you should use both.Maybe Cid is right if you have a basement the pole might be for you.I have had alot of luck with the fish tape in my house for speakers.Anyways good luck Steve

[shredmaster]

i got the pole from home depot, just like you said cid....thanks! i will carve up my walls tonight...hopefully not too badly!!! i'll take photos when i'm done. a friend of mine stopped by some in-wall speakers too....i may try them...not sure. may still be callin' you if i don't like the way they sound!
steve

[C.Thep]

Why in the world do they call it a Wet Noodle?

[elcid]

because it looks like a wet noodle.

[Distantshore]

Originally Posted by elcid

because it looks like a wet noodle.

Andy can't be to far away now.

[bammbamm]

I did Security systems for a few years, I would opt for the fish tape since you're dealing with insulation and you won't be as prone to scrape the ceiling. The chain trick works great if you have no insulation.
A wire attached to the tape shoved down the hole (from the top) will work well.
Just snag the wire with an old wire hanger, you should be able to do it through a .5" hole

[shredmaster]

took a couple hours to do all 3. the 3rd hole was for the speaker jack plate. we dropped wire through the wall and into the basement from the speakers and then went up through the 3rd hole for the speaker jack plate i added. the rod worked great but would have been better if the builder didn't use the hard foam wall material. i don't know what it's called but half the home is plywood walls and the other half is the 1/8" foam wall stuff. like plywood sheets but made of hardened foam. for better insulation. the rod kept getting caught up on that. all in all, it went well. i will get photos up soon. thanks again! once the speakers were in the wall it was all worth it.

steve

[standing8count]

Sounds like the "pole" was a pain in the a$$ ! I would have still used the fish tape. I don't prefer the pole like Cid does!



No pun intended!!!

[elcid]

Originally Posted by shredmaster

i don't know what it's called but half the home is plywood walls and the other half is the 1/8" foam wall stuff. like plywood sheets but made of hardened foam

Are you talking about the exterior walls? Its amazing what they will do to cut costs.