Speaker Wire Under Rug?!?

Gvillepope

The fiance would really like to not see the speaker wire running up and down the walls... women.. I plan to run the wires through the wall from the mount straight down to the floor... would it then be ok to run it along the trim under the carpet? If so can generic 16 gauge work.. or would I need to purchase in wall wire... and/or do I need in wall wire just to run it the few feet through the wall to the mount?!? Thanks Again!

dave shepard

Gvillepope wrote: »

The fiance would really like to not see the speaker wire running up and down the walls... women.. I plan to run the wires through the wall from the mount straight down to the floor... would it then be ok to run it along the trim under the carpet? If so can generic 16 gauge work.. or would I need to purchase in wall wire... and/or do I need in wall wire just to run it the few feet through the wall to the mount?!? Thanks Again!

I would use in-wall wire from start to finish and run it along the baseboard where the carpet tucks under it. There is about an inch of space between the wall and tack strip. If you use anything other in-wall CL/3 wire in your wall (unless you have conduit) you might violate your homeowner Ins. in the event of a claim and they see you used the wrong wire. Plus cheep wire has a crappy jacket that can become pierced easier then a better quality wire.

Dave

McLoki

14ga should be able to tuck under the baseboard. I would be worried about any under the carpet for frear of it getting walked on or punctured by the tack strip.

I have seen it in an apt - hole behind the speaker - hole above the baseboard. (so you do not see the wires run down the wall) then it comes out just above the baseboard, runs over it and tucks under. (you do see the wire as it jumps the baseboard)

It looked nice and he just had to patch 4 holes when he was done.

Good Luck,

Michael

Igo

I've had speaker wire under runner carpet for years and years. Works just fine.

Que2008

I've done this in an apartment and it worked out great. In my case I found spaces between the tack strips to run the wires through. You could always cut a tiny bit of the strip out.

Jon

Gvillepope

Thanks!