AV Tip: Conceal Your Speaker Wire

We love speakers but hate seeing wire run down the wall or across the floor. More importantly, your spouse probably hates it too. Luckily, with a few tools and some guidance you can hide the wires in the wall, often times without having to do any repair work.  The key is knowing how to run the wire, so we came up with a few tips.  Don’t worry if these tips don’t explain everything, a more complete “How to Conceal Wire in Your Home” article is in the mix.

• Pull up the baseboards - if you need to run wire around the outside of the room you can typically pull up the baseboards, notch out a channel in the drywall, and run the wire in that channel. Once the wire is in place nail back on the baseboards and you are all done.

• Install some crown molding – Do you have crown molding? No? Well then get some. Running wire along the edges of a ceiling is easy but ugly if left exposed. Install some crown molding over it and you will have a clean and finished look.

• Under the carpet – Fishing wire under the carpet can be easy if you have two people and a fish rod designed for carpet use.  You will also need flat speaker wire specifically made for running under the carpet, that way you can’t see the wire once it is installed. Try to avoid walkways and be careful of tack strips.

• Through the attic or in the basement – If you have an open attic above or unfinished basement below where you are working, then you have it easy.  The only advice we can give you  is to look for markers in a home (electrical outlets, ceiling fan, etc..) to help you find your way around in the attic or basement. The best method is to get a thin piece of metal, often times called piano wire, and drill it into the basement or ceiling from the main level. Then, when you are in the basement or attic you can find the piano wire and know exactly where you are at. If you are feeling cheap a coat hanger can work as well.