Fishing speaker wires thru basement, cannot drill into wall bottom plate (1 Viewer)

[pritalus]

Hello,I am trying to install a set of 5.1 speakers in my family room.The family room is like an extension to the house with vaulted ceilings.Hence both the front and the rear speakers are on external walls.I have first tried to install the rear speakers, where I am stuck.The intention is to fish the wires through the rear family-room wall down to the basement and then traverse the breadth of the family room through the basement and then up through the opposite wall of the family room where the receiver is.I made the necessary hole at the speaker position near the top of the rear wall.I also made a hole at the bottom of the wall (directly below the first hole) just above the molding through where I intend to make the hole to the bottom plate of the wall (to pass the wires to the basement).I was able to fish the wire from the top hole to the bottom hole (luckily there were no fire blocks).But it is here that I am stuck.I tried to make a hole in the bottom plate of this wall but to no avail.As per suggestions in another how-to, I am using a 3/4" auger bit.But the problem is that I have already drilled about 4" but I am still drilling.I was expecting a 2x4 as the bottom plate and hence having to drill only about 2".Is it possible that since this is an external wall, what I am drilling into is an end-joist?I have stopped my drilling because I am afraid of making any structural damage to my house.Also if it is an end joist, what are my other options in order to successfully complete my project?BTW, my basement is finished, making it harder for me to determine the exact position where I am drilling.Any help will be greatly appreciated.Please let me know if you need any more details/clarifications.Thanks,=P

 

[Adam Gregorich]

First off, welcome to HTF! Sounds like you are drilling into a rim joist. If your ceilings are finished in the basement, I would come up with a plan B unless you want to cut a hole and see what you are up against. Is there an attic that you ca go through instead? Can you route the wires outside the house? Put crown or other decorative moulding around the room and hide the wiring behind it. If the room has carpet you can tuck the wiring under the base molding.

 

[schan1269]

Pictures would help.

Last time I had a room to do that was an extension of the house(in this case, a back patio that was then enclosed, with another patio directly outside) I used a crap-ton of WireMold.

http://www.amazon.com/Wiremold-C110-White-Cordmate-Kit/dp/B00004W3ZP/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1364978913&sr=1-4&keywords=wiremold

I also painted it, before putting it up, in the closest "rock/stone paint" Lowe's had.

http://www.amazon.com/Krylon-K02323000-Plastic-Aerosol-12-Ounce/dp/B000UBUWC0/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1364979013&sr=1-1&keywords=rock+paint
http://www.amazon.com/Krylon-K18202-Textured-12-Ounce-Charcoal/dp/B000I6DHXI/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1364979195&sr=1-2&keywords=stone+paint

 

[pritalus]

Thanks Sam for the links and the suggestion!

@Adam, thanks for the reply and the welcome!
Unfortunately, the room has hard wood and no, there is no attic; its an extension on its own with a vaulted ceiling.
I am hoping I don't have to go outside the house.

As a last resort, I may call in the professionals

But in the mean time this is what I have thought of doing:
I will make a small hole in the family room floor down into the basement, adjacent to the wall and the speaker location.
This will give me the reference location when I view this from the basement.
Then from the basement I intend to make an angled hole into the joist so that I emerge inside the base of the wall.
Kind-a ambitious and possibly impossible. But seems theoretically possible to me!

How does this sound to all those who have any experience in this?

Thanks,
=P

 

[Adam Gregorich]

If you are going to do it they make 3-4 ft long flexible drill bits. I picked one up at Home Depot a few years ago for a similar project. It would make it easier to go through at an angle. You would need one hole per wire as the holes are smaller.