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Preparation
Before the wallboard goes up
There are some standard guidelines for working in unfinished construction.
• Begin this work after the studs and joists are in and the electrical wiring is completed.
• Snap a chalk line across the face of the studs or the bottom of the joists and move back-
ward as you drill, so you can keep the last hole drilled in your line of sight.
• Never run speaker cord and electrical cable through the same hole or into the same junc-
tion box.
• If a short section of the cord must run parallel to nearby electrical cable, keeping that run to
the absolute minimum will result in less interference.
• Use metal conduit or shielded speaker cord if the cord must run next to electrical cable for
10 feet (3 m) or more.
• Use cable clamps or large wire staples to fasten the cord to a joist or stud wherever the
cord runs more than 4
1
/
2
feet (1.4 m) from a hole.
• Use protective guardstrips, raceways, or conduits to protect the cord from being stepped
on or compressed in an attic or crawl space.
Where the walls are finished
Here are some suggestions for how to make this job easier.
Look for ways to conceal cord outside the walls:
• Along or behind baseboards
• Under carpets (using special flat speaker cord for under-the-rug speaker runs)
• Under doorjams (Figure 11).
Figure 11
Running cord behind base-
boards and a doorjam
Find the easiest path for cord that must run behind the wallboard:
• Choose interior walls, which are less likely to have insulation packed behind the wallboard.
• Use an attic or basement run where possible, so you have easy access and can see where
plumbing, electrical wires, and other impediments occur.
• In slab construction, consider using plenum-rated wire run through heating or air condition-
ing vents.
AM267565_01_V.pdf May 13, 2003