Routing cable under floorboards
Discussion
I need to try and route a line-level sub output under our wooden floors, but I am:
a) - DIY inept
b) - Not keen on damaging the floorboards in any way
Is there a simple way of doing it? And, if not, who the heck can do it for me? I'm in West London. The missus is going to go nuclear when she realises it's currently round the skirting boards (And that wont be acceptable)
Thanks
a) - DIY inept
b) - Not keen on damaging the floorboards in any way
Is there a simple way of doing it? And, if not, who the heck can do it for me? I'm in West London. The missus is going to go nuclear when she realises it's currently round the skirting boards (And that wont be acceptable)
Thanks
you can buy some pretty nice looking trunking that could hide the wire nicely, hopefully to the OH's approval 
comes in 2m lengths, just peel and stick.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/tower-self-adhesive-mini...
comes in 2m lengths, just peel and stick.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/tower-self-adhesive-mini...
If you have central heating, or your house has been re-wired at some point then there are likely to be floorboards that have already been cut and lifted. Look around the pipes or rads and around sockets. Do you have carpet? If you're unlucky there may be some hardboard down under the carpet.
Good luck.
Good luck.
cjs said:
If you have central heating, or your house has been re-wired at some point then there are likely to be floorboards that have already been cut and lifted. Look around the pipes or rads and around sockets. Do you have carpet? If you're unlucky there may be some hardboard down under the carpet.
Good luck.
They're Fully exposed boards that I spent an age sanding and staining so I don't want to ruin them!Good luck.
There are some boards that look cut over the joists and I'm guessing they're the ones lifted before (There are already 2 speaker cable runs but they're jammed so I can't pull them through with string to run the sub cable)
Maybe I should see whether I can lift the boards that look cut before.
Hi there,
Thought I'd add my ten pence. Depending on the flooring (tongue \ groove etc) you should be able to get a floorer to lift the boards that need to be lifted.
I'm guessing you're going 5.1?
I used these plates which you're other half will love.
floor_plate
Also got one fitted for 7.1 (5.1 + 2.0 Zone 2)
All done in a day and the other half is chuffed. The only thing I wish I had done was put a power plate by the sub plate. Doh!
Best of luck
T1b
Thought I'd add my ten pence. Depending on the flooring (tongue \ groove etc) you should be able to get a floorer to lift the boards that need to be lifted.
I'm guessing you're going 5.1?
I used these plates which you're other half will love.
floor_plate
Also got one fitted for 7.1 (5.1 + 2.0 Zone 2)
All done in a day and the other half is chuffed. The only thing I wish I had done was put a power plate by the sub plate. Doh!
Best of luck
T1b
nickd01 said:
Rowan138 said:
you can buy some pretty nice looking trunking that could hide the wire nicely, hopefully to the OH's approval
Personally, I'm more than happy with that.Mrs. D however may however have different opinions. I'll see what she says, but ideally I've got to hide it all!
I personally would wait for some expert advice on how to lift the boards without damaging them and go down this route, it looks much better.
My sofa isn't against a wall, so I ran my rear (bookshelf speakers on stands)speaker cables under the floor by using some rods to feed the cables to where I wanted them to go, popped a board up (a tatty one that had been previously lifted) and fed the cable straight in to the stand. It was a lot of time and effort and I may have invented some new swear words on the way but is well worth it. Trunking will ruin the look of your room!
Floor boards are quite easy to take up if you know what you're doing. quite often you'll have previously lifted boards where sparks or plumbers have been. Try find the cuts, it can make things easier, but they never really end up being where you want to be! But an idea of the lay out of pipes helps.
Helps to have a few tools also, a nail punch and a floor board lifter to name two.
You need to identify where the joists are, mark a perpendicular cut to the running of the boards to aid in your neat cut. I have been known to be able to get a damn good cut using a jigsaw turned upside down...Sounds odd, but damn fine job.
A circular saw can be good if set to the right depth and run down the tongue of the boards to aid in upheaval, but you can down this with a hand saw also.
Hopefully the board will be able to come out with the nails still in, or left in the joists as ideally you don't want to smack them into the joists below not knowing what's down there.
I've probably missed quite a few things out, but that's how it's come out of my jumbled head.
Helps to have a few tools also, a nail punch and a floor board lifter to name two.
You need to identify where the joists are, mark a perpendicular cut to the running of the boards to aid in your neat cut. I have been known to be able to get a damn good cut using a jigsaw turned upside down...Sounds odd, but damn fine job.
A circular saw can be good if set to the right depth and run down the tongue of the boards to aid in upheaval, but you can down this with a hand saw also.
Hopefully the board will be able to come out with the nails still in, or left in the joists as ideally you don't want to smack them into the joists below not knowing what's down there.
I've probably missed quite a few things out, but that's how it's come out of my jumbled head.
You may not need to lift the floor boards all the way. If the joists run the right way you could use fishing rods to follow the path that the speaker cable currently takes. You may be lucky - every install is different.
Alternatively have you a cellar or anyway of getting under the floor?
Alternatively have you a cellar or anyway of getting under the floor?
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