Running in-wall speaker wires - newbie... (1 Viewer)

[Kirk Gunn]

I'm trying to put some outdoor speakers on my front porch under the roofline soffit. The house is a cape cod, so it is essentially one story high in front with a steep roof angle.
The receiver is in the living room, in the front of the house. There is a full-unfinished basement running the length of the house.
Here's my plan, but since my construction experience is non-existent, I would like any comments, suggestions....
1. Drill hole in lower wall molding large enough to fit speaker wire. Pray I don't hit carpet and unwind long string of it into the middle of the living room....
2. Shove speaker wire though hole and pray it goes into the basement and I can find it. Pull enough wire into basement and walk down to end of house where the speakers will be located.
3. Now how the heck do I get the wire from the basement up to the attic so I can feed it out to the soffit ? I was contemplating getting a snake or other type of feeder and shove it down from the attic to the basement in between the front wall, praying it doesn't hit anything on the way....
Lots of praying in my plans, and Mr Murphy and I do not get along too well. How can I do this job and still keep my sanity... while not wrecking my house !!!!
Thanks in advance !!!!

 

[KenA]

Kirk,
Running wires from the basement to the attic through a wall can be very tricky. There is a base plate and a cap plate, which are a couple of 2x4s layed across the studs at the top and bottom of the wall. You'll have to locate them from the basement and attic and drill through them. The next problem is insulation. Since this is an outside wall, fishing line through insulation will be a bitch without a good snake. Not to mention that you're going to compromise your vapor barier.
What I would do after you get the wires into the basement is to bring them straight outside through the sill plate on the back (or front) of the house where the wall leaves the foundation. Run the wires through there and seal it up with plenty of calk. Once the wires are outside, you can run them anywhere.
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»ken«

 

[Paul E V]

Or run the wire (in the wall) up to the attic (behind the system) and then across the attic.
Drill your hole in the base of the wall (just like you said) and drill another through the top plate (from the attic, above your system), get a looong pull chain (ceiling fan chain, available in hardware stores) and feed it through your attic hole, anchoring the top end for later retrieval.
Using a magnet, attract the bottom end through the hole behind your system, secure the wire to the chain and pull it up to the attic.
I've recently rewired my entire basement and got lucky when I found a BIG waste of space where I ran all my wires through. Seven circuits from the basement up to seven junction boxes in the attic and then to the breaker box.
During this process I also ran a bunch of A/V wire (my system resides in the basement) and cable to various locations in the house. (The cable guy came to the house to hook up two outlets and doesn't know that he hooked up six.)
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'Pioneer 'ing a new level of Home Theater
My Equipment List / Copper & Rosewood Flexi idea

 

[Paul E V]

3. Now how the heck do I get the wire from the basement up to the attic so I can feed it out to the soffit ? I was contemplating getting a snake or other type of feeder and shove it down from the attic to the basement in between the front wall, praying it doesn't hit anything on the way....

Again involves praying you hit the 'basement' hole.
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'Pioneer 'ing a new level of Home Theater
My Equipment List / Copper & Rosewood Flexi idea

 

[Kirk Gunn]

Thanks for the responses !
Since my receiver is along an interior wall that sticks out perpendicular from the outside wall, if I just cut a hole in the base and/or top caps, I should be able to fish a wire through without too much trouble. Hopefully I can go directly from the hole in the base of the wall directly up to the attic.
There's only 1 outlet on this wall so hopefully there are not many obstructions inside...
Thanks again !

 

[David Range]

If you're set on running the speaker wire into the basement, then up to the attic and out, go up to the attic and look around the vent stack. There should be enough room to drop a weighted chain down to the basement then pull the speaker wire up into the attic. As others have suggested, caulk the exit hole, and use a drip loop if the area is subjected to water.
David