hello i have a customer who called to see if i could run some cable in his house for suround sound set up. he said it is a cathredral ceiling room without any attic access. i dont know any tricks to get this done. he said there is insulation between the rafters and cross boards. does anyone have an idea. thanks dave

Does the room has carpet? If so, there is a small space between the tacks and the wall. About less then 1/2" enough for a 18 gauge speaker wire to fit. Run it to the desired location in the room. If the customer wants the speaker mounted on the wall, then you may need to fish the wire thru the wall using a feeder pole. At times, use your imagination.

Let the client know ahead of time exactly how you plan to proceed. If he doesn't approve and you can't think of another method, tell the client to call an electrician to run the cable. You can do the connections when he's done.

You don't need to know any tricks.

You need to specify wireless speakers.

Click

yes under the rug is plan b. hadnt thought of getting an electrician involved. thats an idea. i did mention cutting into the drywall and having it patched and painted but he didnt seem too warm to the idea. thanks for the info. dave

If, and ONLY if I encounter a fishing job that I deem as being as impossible, I call one of my buddies who works for an alarm system installation company.

I like to consider myself and my crew to be the best at fishing, but these alarm guys amaze me with some of the tricks that they come up with.

Remember that we only have to work with walls. These guys manage to get their stuff into window and door frames. I usually run like a little girl when I encounter situations like that!

Not exactly on topic hear, but I have been hired to do some pre-wire for some homes being built. I usually tell them the best solution is to install ENT conduit and boxes (smurf pipe). Now you never have to guess about what type and quantities of cable you need. I was fortunate to buy my contractor a bottle of Crown Royal for the privlidge of coming in on the weekend and running a few hundred bucks of ENT. Made it hard on the dry wall guys to make all those cuts, but it sure beat worrying about someone driving a nail through some cable.. and I have switched out and added wires since..

no basement either?

Well, yes. There are plenty of areas where basements are not possible, as in coastal areas or those prone to flooding.

haha yeah whenever there's no drop ceiling we always try to drill through to the basement and run that way, or take them outside and put up some conduit if it's multiple floors to run on.