Running wiring under floorboards

Running wiring under floorboards

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marctwo

Original Poster:

3,666 posts

262 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2009
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I'm having some new radiators put in so I thought, while the floor boards are up, it might be worth putting in some piping/trunking under the floor to run cables through. Eventually I want to be able to connect a projector on one side of the room to an AV amp on the other side.

I am assuming that I'll need to run an HDMI cable plus maybe a couple of runs of speaker cable for the rear speakers. So, what diameter piping/trunking will I need to run? Does anyone have any other suggestions for doing this?

sonic_2k_uk

4,007 posts

209 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2009
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Surely that completely depends on location, cable size and number of?

i.e i need to run 2 LK600 (tri-amped) cables to my rear speakers, which are quite chunky, so would require a decent amount of space. If i wanted to put all my amplification etc at the rear i'd need to have enough space for 2x LK600, 1x LK400, 1x phono for the sub and 1x HDMI.

Key thing is to keep it away from any power cables though!

marctwo

Original Poster:

3,666 posts

262 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2009
quotequote all
Speaker cables are pretty small so not an issue. The main issue is the HDMI plug. What are the dimentions of a typical one of these?

I was just wondering if anyone had done something similar and had any advice from their experience?

JustinP1

13,330 posts

232 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2009
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I would say *not* to put cables in unless you are literally weeks away from installing a projector.

Transmitting 1080p over distance is what sorts out the men from the boys when it comes to cheap vs expensive HDMI cables. Anything over 10m then the budget ones work work without dropouts.

Also, the HDMI format is changing so quickly, the newer features are being added every 6 months or so.

If it is under the floorboards anyway I would recommend just putting in a wide conduit - 4cm diameter is overkill but will make pulling the wires down more easy. If you can avoid 90 degree bends then all you need do is install the conduit with 4 or so lengths of string. Then, when you want to install a new cable, just tie one end to the string and pull!

marctwo

Original Poster:

3,666 posts

262 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2009
quotequote all
I'm not going to be putting any cables in yet, just getting it ready while the floorboards are up and want to be sure that what we put in is going to be big enough for the cables and easy enough to pull them through without having to pull up the floor again. I was thinking string through some plastic water pipes? Hoover hose looks good too but the 'ridging' that allows it to be flexible could snag a connector being pulled through.

Toffer

1,527 posts

263 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2009
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Research your HDMI cables carefully. Distance degrades the signal...

Asheridge seem to know about the topic, I saw a HDMI technical presentation given by them at the ITE.

marctwo

Original Poster:

3,666 posts

262 months

Thursday 24th September 2009
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It's not going to be a long run, a 10m cable would be plenty. I can always try out the cables before running them under the floor anyway.