atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring Any of you install home theater cabeling for homes?

I have only installed the ends for a home theater system in Vancouver once. I want to know if any of you have installed PVC for routing cable vs stapling it to the stud. Did the owners go for the added cost of adding pvc conduit in the beginning of the construction? They would save in labor cost 5-10 years down the road when the network cable technology becomes obsolete? Or do most home owners rather skip on conduit and just have the cable stapled to the studs with a citified cable stapler?

Stapling cables is, in general, poor practice. The use of nail in clips or similar mounting devices is better.

I prefer to use D rings for rough wiring of any kind. If properly placed and sized, they allow the possibility of pulling replacement cables through in a pinch. The key is installing them so that there are no 90 degree turns.

Do yourself a favor and the customer and install either EMT or, if permitted, PVC conduit. The cabling requirements for home theater are changing, daily and what you put in today will be outdated tomorrow. If you put copper in, your customer will wonder why you didn't think of TOSLINK. The added expense of the conduit is far less expansive than trying to re do the job after the house is finished.

Our company has made the rule to install conduit for every home theater install. If the customer thinks it's too much, we ask them to get someone else. After explaining the advantages of going with the conduit, we have never lost a home theater install. It is so nice to be able to tape on a TOSLINK or another HDMI cable to a pull string than to have to rip up a fully finished room.

Rcaman

EMT will more than likely be what you need if your codes are similar to ours. I just did a home theatre in a basement and the inspector wouldn't allow PVC in the install it had to be EMT or residential rated "smurf tubing". The electrician installed the conduits. I assume because if the PVC were to burn the emitting fumes is the issue.

But yes I agree some type of easy access due to the ever changing AV set ups.

Side note, remember to knock out a large enough hole in your work boxes to allow a pre-terminated cable (HDMI, VGA, etc) to fit through! I generally avoided such work but helped a few friends with their own homes during construction. I found these to be some of the pickiest and undereducated customers available.

Here in the US, most municipalities have adopted some form of Universal Building or Construction code. These codes, usually, adopt, word for word, the National Electrical Code for wiring.

Most AHJ will insist that PVC not be used because the conduit can't be 100% out of an air plenum environment. Homes are another story and I have seen some inspectors allow PVC in homes and that same inspector will not allow it in a commercial building. (In walls, wood flooring, ceilings, etc. There is no issue if the conduit is in concrete)

We use EMT because there is never an issue with the inspectors. The conduit usually used is 1-1/2" You can get several HDMI, VESA, TOSLINK, Audio, Coax and custom cables in the pipe. I prefer 2" at the equipment end, just for the added volume.

Rcaman

https://www.smarthome.com/carlon-2-inch-flexible-raceway-tubing-50-feet.html

I use this stuff. The selling point is "whatever wires I install in these tubes for you today will be obsolete in a few years." The ancillary parts such as boxes and those orange conduit clamps are the weak links, but you can overcome those and at least get the tubes into the walls. Use real plastic electrical boxes or low-voltage rings and real conduit clamps and you will be satisfied. Run all the tubes to a home location, but leave the ends up above the main box or backboard, then make a nice neat installation using trough or other raceway for the last few feet.

The Carlon product is a really good PVC flex conduit. You can get this in sizes ranging from 3/4" to 2" with the larger sizes having a pull tape.

Generally speaking, you can use this anywhere you can run NM cable. Where I run into trouble with AHJ is the conduit is PVC. The tests show this conduit does not contribute any more poisons than other building products in a fire. But, trying to convince a hard headed AHJ can be more time consuming than just running steel EMT.

You need to check with your particular AHJ (Inspector) to see if the AHJ allows the product.

Rcaman

The tubing you linked to is called "Smurf Tubing" because it's normally blue in color as that is the color electricians use. It's real name is Electrical Non-Metallic Tubing (ENT)

There is a color code for this Blue is for power, Orange is for Fiber, and Yellow is for data and other low voltage stuff. Problem is most places only stock blue.

If installed correctly you should have no more troubles with it and it's connectors then you have with Flexible Metallic Tubing (FMT)