Fighting fireblocks to wire up a surround sound system

[kozy]

Has anyone here ever had to go around fireblocks in a wall to run wires?
I'm planning to run all my wiring for the surround sound system in the living room and the TV is on an exterior wall and I really don't want to have to cut the wall open to do this.

Can I run the wires up through the wall in the same spot that all the wires for the outlet run through? There has to be a hole in the fireblock for the AC wires to run through, and I'm thinking that might be the easiest route to run speaker wires up through.

 

[vmaxcruzer]

Under the carpet isn't an option?

 

[jfeagins]

Fireblock?

Our house is only eight years old, and I'm sure there's no such thing(s) in our outer walls. Onliest thing in there would be 5 1/2" of insulation......give or take right around where the windows are cut in.

I'd say if your house is typical construction, like ours here in Missouri ,and you are running wires straight up from a wall plate, you'd be alright if you plan your first hole right next to a stud - one that does not already have A/C wires running up them (you don't want to drill into one of them).

I guess AZ may have different const. codes for outer walls?

 

[kozy]

Under the carpet isn't an option?

Nah, not really. I'm not a fan of under-carpet wires. If I was putting the surround speakers on floor stands, maybe, but I'm ceiling mounting them.

Fireblock?

Our house is only eight years old, and I'm sure there's no such thing(s) in our outer walls. Onliest thing in there would be 5 1/2" of insulation......give or take right around where the windows are cut in.

I'd say if your house is typical construction, like ours here in Missouri ,and you are running wires straight up from a wall plate, you'd be alright if you plan your first hole right next to a stud - one that does not already have A/C wires running up them (you don't want to drill into one of them).

I guess AZ may have different const. codes for outer walls?

I was under the belief that all states required fireblocks in exterior walls according to building code. I guess maybe not all states? I know I have them, the stud finder told me so.

 

[[email protected]]

Its typically not recommended to have those kinds of wires share the same space with AC wiring. The AC can cause noise or interference. At least that is what is typically said. Regardles,, it would work. If you were going to do it like that you should run either a shielded cable or twisted cable or the best would be a twisted pair cable that is also shielded.

Most of the fireblocking I have seen is nothing more than a 2x6 spanning from stud to stud. Home Depot sells a drill bit in the electrical section that is made for drilling up/down into walls, they are really long. It is soemewhat flexilbe and comes with a few extensions, bit, and wire pulling grip. Made by Greenlee. http://www.mygreenlee.com/GreenleeD...=showGreenleeProductTemplate&upc_number=12411

Not sure if this will help you or not or what your access is to the holes you want to drill but figured I'd throw it out there.

 

[98Redlne]

Might be a good time to add some crown molding to the walls. Makes a great place to hide your surround sound wires.

 

[kozy]

Most of the fireblocking I have seen is nothing more than a 2x6 spanning from stud to stud. Home Depot sells a drill bit in the electrical section that is made for drilling up/down into walls, they are really long. It is soemewhat flexilbe and comes with a few extensions, bit, and wire pulling grip. Made by Greenlee. http://www.mygreenlee.com/GreenleeD...=showGreenleeProductTemplate&upc_number=12411

Not sure if this will help you or not or what your access is to the holes you want to drill but figured I'd throw it out there.

Thanks for that. I'll definitely check into a long drillbit like that. I still have to get into the attic and see if I can even get to the fireblock from above. Not sure what obstacles I'll encounter up there....I don't wanna go up there either. When it's 100 degrees or more outside, our attic is easily 120 or higher.

Might be a good time to add some crown molding to the walls. Makes a great place to hide your surround sound wires.

THought about that. Not sure how it would look in the living room though. It is something that we wanted to tackle at some point in time.

I've almost been tempted to just remove the baseboard trim and run the wires behind those. If i follow the wall, I'll encounter an interior wall without fireblocks. Again, have to get into the attic and see what I can do from up there.

 

[robsplatf4]

I've almost been tempted to just remove the baseboard trim and run the wires behind those. If i follow the wall, I'll encounter an interior wall without fireblocks. Again, have to get into the attic and see what I can do from up there.

You could always tuck the wires under the baseboard without removing them. First you might try actually drilling the fireblock to make sure it is actually there. I've never seen them in residential construction here. And I would trust those stud finders about as far as I could throw one.