kde Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 We just moved into a new house - how do I rewire the media room with 12 gauge wire? In particular, I need to provide wire for 4 wall mounts (7.2 setup). I have a stud finder and can access the attic above the room, but it is difficult to manuever around. I would rather not shell out $400 for professionals... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customsteve01 Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 I would find the places you want to mount your speakers and cut a small hole (one you can cover up with a wall plate). Then measure over from the adjacent wall then go up in the attic measure over and drill thru the wall plate and fish the wires thru to the hole in the wall. Do the same thing to get the wire down to where your amps are. Its dirty, hot, and itchy work and works best with a helper. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Ears Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 I've done it in two different homes and after the last time doing it by myself, I swore I would never do it agian. $400 is not a bad price if you consider it will take two men about 3 or 4 hours to complete and includes the wire. Also, if they fall through your ceiling, it's on them and if you fall through....well you get the idea. Either way, good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hustler Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 hey guys, I am having a new house built and the wiring company is charging like 1200 bucks to do a 5.1 pre-wiring. is it an appropriate amount or should I get it done from someone else later after the house is built..?? they are charging a similar amount for the projector prewire including like a 1" conduit, cat 5, rgb wires etc. Is that normal pricing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customsteve01 Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 That seems really overpriced. What are they using Monster wire??? haha I would do it myself if the builder will let you. then all you would be out is the cost of the wire. Go out on a Sunday when they are not working on the house just before the drywall goes up and Get-er-Done. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hustler Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 i asked them if i could do it myself and they said due to inspection reasons they cant let anybody else do it, Which means no other contractors that i can hire nor me, UNTILL i move in and the house is mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Ears Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 ---------------- On 6/25/2005 8:18:13 PM Hustler wrote: hey guys, I am having a new house built and the wiring company is charging like 1200 bucks to do a 5.1 pre-wiring. is it an appropriate amount or should I get it done from someone else later after the house is built..?? they are charging a similar amount for the projector prewire including like a 1" conduit, cat 5, rgb wires etc. Is that normal pricing? ---------------- If you are capable and know what wires you need and where they go, I would run them yourself before they hang the drywall. In my new house, the builder sold it as pre-wired, which meant that they ran speaker wires to four spots on the ceiling. (I purchased home after it was built, so I'm not sure what they would have charged for that as an add-on.) I guess my builders idea of HT was cubes hanging from the ceiling. That's certinly not worth $1200 bucks. IMHO In your application, check with with your local Hi-Fi store and see what they would charge you to do the rough-in. Your builder might have something to say about you doing the work yourself, but really couldn't say alot about HT people coming in to do it. I could be wrong, but my guess is they would be much cheaper. Good luck and enjoy your new house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Ears Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 I'm more versed in commercial construction, but I think the only inspections that are made are for electrical/fire and Certificate of Occupency done by your local govt. I don't see how speaker wire could affect either. I'm sure if you were upgrading to custom kitchen apliances or a hot tub in the master bath, he wouldn't have a problem with another contractor coming in for the install. I would try to apply more pressure, it will be soo much easier to do it now, than to wait until you move in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hustler Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 so wats the bottom line then..!!! Is it it worth $1250 to get it done now..or I could get it done later on with a price difference thats worth it.??? and should i do the same thing with the projector prewire.??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Ears Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 I would wait for a few more members to chime in. There are a few HT installers that are members and could tell you better what to do. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 First, assuming you are in the U.S.A., be aware than even speaker wire is likely to be covered by your local electrical code, which in most parts of the country is based on some edition of the National Electrical Code and might require a permit depending on your local government. That said, there is no reason you cannot do as good a job as the pros, or even better. You have the luxury of taking your time and doing the job right. Second, use wire designed for in-wall use, whether required by code or not. It will have a CL2 or CL3 rating and a jacket around the wires and that will protect the wires when it is pulled through holes. And the jacket is flame retardant. IIRC Monster makes some. As far as I am concerned, the generic stuff you can get at places like Parts Express is just as good and a lot cheaper. If your speakers are on interior walls, installation should be simple. Drill a hole in the top plate, make an appropriate hole for the wall plate. You can mount the wall plate directly to the dry wall or paneling, use a box, or somthing that looks like a box with no back. I use a small box to minimize air infiltration. Yes, there are drafts inside walls. The wire should just feed through the hole in the top plate, and drop down the cavity where you can fish it out. If any of your speakers are on exterior walls you probably have a bigger job. Assuming the kind of frame construction that is typical around where I live, there is a fire block running horizontally between each pair of stubs about half way up. And there is insulation in the wall. If your wall plates are not going above the fire blocks, you need to make a hole in the fire blocks as well as the top plate for the wire to pass through. If you have some space over 50" long just for that. If you have no way to get a bit that long into the wall from the top, you may be able to do it through the hole for the wall plate. If neither way works, you may have to open up the wall. If you have dry wall, it is not too hard to cut out a piece at the fire block, make the hole, run the cable, put the cut out piece back in and patch to look like you never made the hole. You may find this much easier in the long run because fishing a cable through an insulated wall can be a pain. In any case, you will need to be careful with the insulation. You don't want to create any voids, and you need to be careful not to damage the vapor barrier and house wrap. Don't run the speaker wire through a hole that has your house electrical wiring in it. Don't run speaker wire into an electrical box that has your house electrical wiring in it, unless the box is designed for it and has the required divider. Don't use your house electrical wiring to support your speaker wire. Run the wires neatly where they will not be damaged by the next guy who gos into the attic to do something. Leave a service loop at the end (or both ends) of each run to make life easy for yourself in case you need to do any maintenance. Don't run the speaker cable parallel to your house electrical wiring in close proximity to it to avoid picking up 60 Hz hum. This doesn't seem to be a big issue with less efficient speakers, but may result in audible hum at low program levels with high efficiency speakers. For the same reason, if you have to cross an electrical line with you speaker cable, try to do it at 90 degrees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mavicator Posted June 26, 2005 Share Posted June 26, 2005 I just did this for my add-on. I've never done it before but it was quite easy. Plan the routes away from power. If you have to cross power, do it at a steep angle - don't run alongside if you can help it. Pick the shortest logical route and simply drill holes through the studs. Took me a couple hours to run three lines for my 6.1 system. Of course if the drywall is already up then you're in for a LOT more work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firme Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 ---------------- On 6/25/2005 8:18:13 PM Hustler wrote: hey guys, I am having a new house built and the wiring company is charging like 1200 bucks to do a 5.1 pre-wiring. is it an appropriate amount or should I get it done from someone else later after the house is built..?? they are charging a similar amount for the projector prewire including like a 1" conduit, cat 5, rgb wires etc. Is that normal pricing? ---------------- I am having a house built as well. I opted not to pay them to do the half a$$ expensive home theater wiring. The builder is kinda cool and laid back, but really did not want me running the actual wire before I moved in, so I came up with a compromise. Since most of my wire runs were to be on exterior walls, which would have insulations and such, I talked him into letting me run conduit (the flexible/bendable king). I basically ran the conduit into the attic with string in it, and put the box where I would mount my speakers later. I made little template for myself to know where each box was, and they covered up the boxes with sheetrock. Once I move in, I will use the templates to cut square to access the boxes, and use a faceplate to make them look nice, and then pull wire through the conduit using the string. You might want to look into running conduit, or even just string if they will let you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hustler Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 how about the price folks..!!! is it worth getting it done at this price at this point? or Would be a whole lot cheaper to get it done later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Go out on a Sunday when they are not working on the house just before the drywall goes up and Get-er-Done. Ditto this one.. Monster or not, Inwall wire is available at Home Depot, Lowes, Menards..whatever.. get the "approved in wall wire" and do it yourself...and be done with it. DVI Cables may sometimes need to be bought at your Hi FI store. Do ALL of this before. It is the same stuff your builder uses.. Afterwards, fishing it through the walls is difficult at best. Get good wire and approved for inwall installations. Might be 200 for wires 20 bucks for 7 electical boxes pull out about 2 feet worth extra where you want your speakers to be too. I will oversell the DVI cost, 100 dollars. So 320 vs 1200 ... I do not know about your wife, or your need for new equipment, but I could always use an extra 880 dollars for something!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Ears Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 ---------------- On 6/28/2005 12:44:33 AM Hustler wrote: how about the price folks..!!! is it worth getting it done at this price at this point? or Would be a whole lot cheaper to get it done later. ---------------- $1200 seems Really high for what your getting. Have you got any other quotes to compare it to? Let's say the materials are worth $250 and the rest is labor...that means, he's got a crew of 3 men working all day at $35 per hour to run speaker wires??? I think not...Plus he wants to charge you another $1200 to run PVC for your projector. That's way high, considering he's doing all this before drywall. Check with your HT store and get a rough-in price vs. a post move-in price. Use that information to bring your builder in line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 I would say the price is "through the roof" get a price on runing conduit through the wall before the sheetrock and pull the wires yourself later. Conduit gives you the option to change your mind later by pulling other or different wires. A good conduit man should be able to run the conduit for a 7.1 system in a room with open walls in about 4 hours. Mostly it is deciding on where to place the speakers, drill holes in the studs, nail in boxes and join the conduit to the boxes. Quick work for a single room. While you are running the conduit, I would use metalic flex. It adds a bit of electrical shielding to the wires and you don't need special "in the wall" wire either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hustler Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 UPDATE: So I decided to pay a visit to the local Bestbuy since they just got Magnolia and guess what, the guys over there were wayyyyy kooler then this builder's refered (forced) home theatre company. Besides all the great info they provided, they told me they can do the wiring for 5.1 with 12 guage wire for like 700-800 bucks, when the builder's company is doin it for $1250 with a 14 or 16 guage wire. The guys at magnolia also said they can do the prewire for the projector AND install the projector for like 700 bucks unless I want DVI (which i do), then it'll be like $300 more. They said they will NOT create holes bigger than may be rougly an inch or so. And since my equipment rack will be in the corner which backs into the utility room which is unfinished anyways so thats a benefit too. At this point, I have decided that I should get this done after i move in since the cost and the mess doesnt look THAT bad as i thought. I am still open for suggestions guys and I do wanna say that if you guys hadnt pointed out the outrageous price difference and the other technical details, I wouldnt have gone to the other home theatre builders out there. Now I can spend the saved money towards the RSW-12 or something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Ears Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Hustler, that's great you were able to find something better than what your builder is offering. These builders today think people are stupid. I asked my builder how much he would charge to run me a 220 into my laundry room in case I wanted an electric dryer. He said 2K to run the wire and install an outlet. I about hit the floor. 2K for about 20 feet of wire, a breaker and plug. He said "oh, we would have to drill through the fire wall in the garage"...I'm like, with what a jack hammer crew of ten men? So, I'm using gas. I was afraid to ask what he would want to run 220 to the back of the house for a hot tub. I'll do it myself later when I'm ready. Good luck with your install, Magnolia is new in Vegas, so I don't know that much about them yet. I sure they will do a better job than your builder. Please keep us posted on your progress and post some consrtuction pics. Have you decided on your componets you're going to use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Hustler, that still sounds WAY high! You could probably cut that price in half if you stayed away from "monster tm" cable that BB pushes. I just bought 500 feet of very good quality 14 ga copper speaker wire for $35. I still say have conduit installed in the walls before you close them up!! Pulling the wire later is easy. If you have carpets, don't forget you can pull the wires under the carpet with a fish tape. (NO POWER WIRES PLEASE, YOU DON'T WANT A FIRE!!) A 25' fish tape will cost less than $25 in a home improvement store. If you have to, hire your own electrictian to install the conduit, the cost will probably be minimum charge for him and once the conduit is there, you can pull any speaker / AV wire you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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