Things You'll Need:
- Measuring Tapes
- Drill Bits
- Fish Tapes
- Variable-speed Drills
- Drill Bits
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Step 1
Gather the following tools: a drill, a long spade drill bit a little wider than the wire you are running, fish tape, a tape measure, and a pencil or marker.
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Step 2
Inspect your home. Go to the basement and to the attic to see how accessible the walls are from each location. You will probably have better access from the attic. Your view up into the walls from the basement will most likely be obstructed by plywood or other wood products covering the joists. Looking down from the attic, on the other hand, you'll be able to see the top of the walls once you move the insulation out of the way. Behind the walls are studs, which are actually two-by-fours. They are commonly 16 inches apart.
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Step 3
Inspect the rest of your home if access to the attic or basement is limited.
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Step 4
Determine where you want to run the wires to.
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Step 5
Plan out the most direct route.
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Step 6
Working from the attic, drill through the top two-by-four to get into the wall. If working from the basement, drill through the bottom two-by-four. (Going into the wall from the basement will be difficult because plywood will be covering the walls. If you don't drill precisely, you may drill into your floor.)
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Step 7
Run the wire along the baseboard and tack it down if you can't gain access to the walls through the attic or basement. To pass the wire on to the next room, drill a hole in the wall and run the wire through into the next room using the fish tape.
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Step 8
Avoid drilling within a few inches of the corners; there are always two-by-fours at the corners and you don't want to drill into them.
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Step 9
Drill separate holes through the walls on each side. It's possible to drill one hole through both walls, but you might damage the wall on the other side. Measure from a common point to line up the holes. Be sure you are not drilling into other wires or pipes between the walls.
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Step 10
Continue until you reach the place where you intend to terminate the run.
Comments
PBandD said
on 1/6/2009 This "article" is a complete joke. I quote from step 7, "Run the wire along the baseboard and tack it down if you can't gain access to the walls through the attic or basement." Not only is this prohibited by every known Electrical Code, it is also very dangerous and quite stupid. If your house catches fire and faulty wiring such as this is evident, you will have a very hard time convincing your insurance company to pay up. If you are running speaker wire, it just doesn't matter, but this article in the first paragraph claims to be giving "advice" on running electrical wire. If you want to do this kind of work yourself, at least run your ideas by a pro. It will be well worth your while and the couple of bucks he might want for his expertise.
PBandD said
on 1/6/2009 This "article" is a complete joke. I quote from step 7, "Run the wire along the baseboard and tack it down if you can't gain access to the walls through the attic or basement." Not only is this prohibited by every known Electrical Code, it is also very dangerous and quite stupid. If your house catches fire and faulty wiring such as this is evident, you will have a very hard time convincing your insurance company to pay up. If you are running speaker wire, it just doesn't matter, but this article in the first paragraph claims to be giving "advice" on running electrical wire. If you want to do this kind of work yourself, at least run your ideas by a pro. It will be well worth your while and the couple of bucks he might want for his expertise.
sillyman said
on 11/18/2008 If you run wire through a duct, it has to be special duct wire, that is, wire that does not produce toxic smoke when burning. This wire/insulation is very specialized and expensive, therefore nobody does this in a home. This duct rule prevents rapid circulation of toxic fumes throughout the home in the event of a fire involving the wire. Don't run wire through duct work and inspect your ducts to make sure nobody has done this in the past.
mdtlroland said
on 1/6/2007 My house is two-story. I need to run wire on first floor for surround-sound. Need to know how to run wire through walls from crawl space.
mdtlroland said
on 1/6/2007 My house is two-story and I need to install surround-sound wire on first floor. Need to know how to pull wire through walls from crawl space.