How do you install speaker wire in the wall?

Question

I have my receiver against the front wall. The couch is against the back wall. I'm trying to mount the rear speakers behind the couch (probably on stands). The left and right walls only connect to the front wall, not the back wall (it's sort of like this room sits in the middle of a hallway). I need to install the wire into the front wall, run it through the ceiling, then down the back wall. There will be plates for the speaker wire connections installed in the walls. The problem is that I'm not sure how to feed the wire through the wall to the ceiling then back down the other wall. Are there any guides online that have a good tutorial on how to do this? Pictures would be helpful. I talked to some installers locally that said they would do the job for $400. I'm not prepared to pay that much money so if I can do it myself, I will.

Answer 1

first you need to find a mouse that's trained to hunt for cheese.  then tie one end of the speaker wire to the mouse and stuff it in the wall of your house.  place a piece of cheese on the mounting plate for your speakers.  wait for the inevitable to happen with the mouse finding the cheese.  once the mouse finds the cheese, quickly grab it and pull the wire through!  this may take several attempts, but you can always pull the dead mice back through with the attached wire.  

or, instead of mice, use magic.

i hear magic works real good, too.

Answer 2

Depening on how your ceiling is constructed, this may not be as simple as it sounds.   What's above the ceiling?  Is your theater room in a basement, or is your attic above it?  Is the attic accessible?

If the room has  a suspended ceiling with removable tiles (like what you see in most office buildings), it should be fairly simple.

But.....  if it's a drywall or plaster ceiling, this could be a bit of a challenge, especially if the cable run will be north and south, but the ceiling joists are running east and west, or vice-versa and there's no access above it.  If this is the case, and you truly want to run the wires inside the ceiling and  the back wall, this might be best left to a professional.

Here are some possible alternatives you might consider:

1) Go wireless.  There is such a thing as wireless speakers.  I don't know how they compare, quality-wise to wired speakers, but they may be worth looking into.

2) Install crown molding and hide the wires behind it.  This way you don't have to go thru the ceiling or into the walls.  simply run the wires around the paremeter of the room, inside the molding, then down to the rear speakers.

Answer 3

Here is a general guide that might help you....

http://www.wireityourself.com/f_cable.ht...

Answer 4

If it a long distance, it might be better for someone to do it for you.  You would have to cut a number of holes to access the wire along the path and then patch them all up later.  If the wires have to run through joists, you would need to drill holes through every one that is in the way to the final speaker position.  

I ran my own wire under the floor of my family room into the basment ceiling and then up the walls (unfinished basement at the time made this possible).  In the basement we had to punch holes through the joists to run wires to the surrounds since I knew in the future the basement ceiling would be drywalled.  If it was finished prior to me running the wires, I would have someone else do it since I am not the best at repairing large holes in drywall and not to mention touching up the paint.