What the cleanest way to channel a wall for speaker wire ??

chaparral

chaparral

chaparral

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Do any you guys know of the best way and cleanest way to channel a wall for speaker wire without make loads of dust ???

The reason i need/want to channel the wall for speaker wire is that am going be wallmounting 3 speakers around my plasma TV..





( I channelled a few walls in my house a few years ago by using a angle grinder and that made unbelievable mess from the dust :()
 
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MikeHunt79 said:
Have someone hold a vacuum cleaner near the angle grinder and it will suck up the dust as you grind...
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Thanks for the reply...but i tryed that before and the dust just clogged up my vacuum cleaner in no time....


Should seen the mess my vacuum cleaner was in afterwards :o
 
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chaparral said:
Thanks for the reply...but i tryed that before and the dust just clogged up my vacuum cleaner in no time....


Should seen the mess my vacuum cleaner was in afterwards :o
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Hmm, I did use one of those wet and dry type vacs when drilling holes in the past... Maybe one of these would be better? If not, I can't really think of a less messy way to do it unless you run the cables on the carpet!
 
A Henry seems to clog up far less - amazing.
Cut through a piece of damp cardboard.
Use the angle grinder on slow if it has speed control.
Still messy - Better still don't use an angle grinder. Hammer and chisel creates less dust.
 
Plasterboard or plaster on blockwork? With plasterboard you may be lucky and able to get a fish between the dots of adhesive and avoid a continuous channel. If it's a studwork wall then you'd only have to excavate around the studs and noggins.

For a plaster on blockwork wall, the tidiest and less mess than powertools method I found was to score the sides of channel with a stanley knife, then use an old panel saw along the scores to the right depth, and then chisel out the bits.

A few other things I found were: use lots of dustsheets, and don't let the OH see how much mess it makes.

Suggest you use pvc channelling if there's any chance of wanting to swap the cable in the future.
 
Go down to you local hire shop & hire a wall chaser & industrial vacuum.
Most wall chasers can cut a variable width channel & depth.

http://www.mark1hire.co.uk/product...._blades_110v/4f0626d3b565c209122698a6fda9f554

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Conduit_Pvc_Index/Oval_Pvc_Tube_and_Clips/index.html

Saves 99% of the dust, a lot cleaner than a grinder, BUT let the chaser spin to a stop before removing from the wall otherwise it can throw dust when you pull it away.
You will have to use hammer & bolster to remove the waste in the middle of the channel.
I would also use 'Oval Conduit, gives protection to the cable, plus you can draw through another cable later if needed.
And finally use safety goggles,dust mask & ear muffs.
 
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I did mine in about 5 minutes flat. Luckily we have dot and dab (well, lucky for doing speaker cable at least). Just drilled a small hole, well I actually just pushed the drill bit in as these new walls are rubbish.

Then tied a small screw to a piece of string and dangled it down. Made a small hole at the bottom just above the skirting board and pulled it out with a pair of tweezers. Taped the speaker cable to the string and pulled it back up.

Easy peasy
 
I'd second those who said score with a knife then chisel out.

Did a job this weekend and bought a cheap 850W SDS drill for it. Superb. Also made hole drilling easier too compared to higher speed hammer drill. One man on the vac, the other on the drill. Minimal dust. Clean edges. Quick too.

My vac for dirty jobs like this is a Vax style Hoover. It has a bag. Bought it off a car boot for a tenner. Great investment. Henrys are probably similar.
 
I installed surround sound Logitech Z5500 5.1, speakers into one of my rooms

I ran all the cables in behind the coving and ran them all down the corner of the room nearest the Pc, I used 18x9 trunking/conduit The type with a snap on lid,to run them all down the wall, Hey presto no wiring showing,

Easier to install the wires 1st then stick the coving up, I bought 50m of cable to do this job so it can stay up there if i dont use in the future. This has gotta be cleaner than channeling out for wires??

Leigh
 
My mate who platered our bathroom ceiling was using large sheets of plastic with temporary adhesive at one end (bit like a massive polythene post-it note). They could be used to catch any debris I'd have thought, if someone else holds out the bottom of it to make a catchment area with the sticky end on the wall under the area being cut.
Wouldn't matter too much what method you used then as you'd be capturing the debris.
 
fullmetaltony said:
My mate who platered our bathroom ceiling was using large sheets of plastic with temporary adhesive at one end (bit like a massive polythene post-it note). They could be used to catch any debris I'd have thought, if someone else holds out the bottom of it to make a catchment area with the sticky end on the wall under the area being cut.
Wouldn't matter too much what method you used then as you'd be capturing the debris.
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That's good for falling debris, but it won't do much for dust that gets in the air from from cutting and chiselling.
 
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