[Sandman]

I have decided it is time to wall mount my front speakers (kef eggs). The wall they are to go on is plaster straight on top of a brick/block wall. Mounting the speakers is no problem but what is the easiest way of chasing the speaker cable into the wall? What tool should I use to do the chasing and what should I cover up with? I am going to b&q tonight to buy what I need so any hints or tips are welcome.

[Andy98765]

If you get a SDS+ drill with "rotory stop" (THAT IS THE IMPORTANT BIT) use one of these Armeg SDS Plus Channelling Chisel 30mm - Screwfix.com, Where the Trade Buys
You now have a all purpose drill that can act as a electric chisel.
It does the job in minutes rather than hours and you end up with far less dust than using other methods.

[Sanders79]

Originally Posted by Sandman

I have decided it is time to wall mount my front speakers (kef eggs). The wall they are to go on is plaster straight on top of a brick/block wall. Mounting the speakers is no problem but what is the easiest way of chasing the speaker cable into the wall? What tool should I use to do the chasing and what should I cover up with? I am going to b&q tonight to buy what I need so any hints or tips are welcome.

Hi Sandman,

What's your budget? Are there any time constraints (i.e. can you take as long as you like over it)? And do you think you'll want to be able to swap the cables easily at some point in the future?

Cheers!

EDIT: Should also ask, what are your DIY skills like?

[Spiderkid]

Hi Sandman, did you see my reply in your other thread? I'm really not convinced that you need to do any serious chasing with that set up, especially as you can run the speaker cable up the wall behind the cabinets.

Also, if you want to be really neat you could always simply cut or chisel a groove into the plaster deep enough to bury your speaker cable then plaster directly over it, given the relatively short distance you need to cover.

So, the easiest way is not to do it at all! But if you're determined then look for the shortest possible stretches of wall and keep it cheap and cheerful. If you're careful you could do the whole thing with a stanley knife and a tub of no sanding polyfiller... good luck, whatever you do...

(Also watch out for that 'random number generator button' they seem to have installed on all B&Q tills, which when pressed gives you a total nothing like the amount you thought you'd bought.. '£38.95 for a pack of screws and a screwdriver!' )

[velvitjester]

Originally Posted by Sandman

I have decided it is time to wall mount my front speakers (kef eggs). The wall they are to go on is plaster straight on top of a brick/block wall. Mounting the speakers is no problem but what is the easiest way of chasing the speaker cable into the wall? What tool should I use to do the chasing and what should I cover up with? I am going to b&q tonight to buy what I need so any hints or tips are welcome.

I would get the thickest angle grinder disc you can and use that.

It would do the neatest job.

[Sanders79]

Originally Posted by velvitjester

I would get the thickest angle grinder disc you can and use that.

It would do the neatest job.

Very, very dusty though...

[27neth]

Hammer, bolster and a box of polyfiller (not the pre-mixed stuff)

John..

[Sandman]

Thanks for all the tips guys, I dont want to spend much cash as this would be a one off job and any specialist tools would likely never be used again. My options are:

1) Hammer and chissel
2) Stanley knive
3) Angle grinder

Although I like the idea of using my angle grinder I am not sure about the mess it would create. I will try just using a stanley knive and move up to a chissel if needed. I will then just plaster staight over the cable as they (hopefully) will never need replacing.

Thanks guys.

[LeeG]

Sandman,

I chased speaker wire into the walls in my house last year. It is also plaster on brick. I just marked 2 lines about 10mm apart. I then chain drilled down to around 8-10mm deep using the depth gauge on the drill, finished of with a chisel and hammer. Didn't take too long at all. Finished with PolyFilla and then painted.

Do not use an angle grinder, you'll be cleaning the whole house for months afterwards!

Lee.

[Spiderkid]

I agree about the angle grinder.. you will have to move everything out of the room and you'll be tasting dust for weeks!

Plaster should be easy to cut a suitable chanel into using simple hand tools over the sort of short distances you're talking about. Much less mess! All depends on how thick your speaker cable is though? How about some QED silver micro.. QED Silver Micro Speaker Cable - Speaker Cable - Audiovisual Online - High Quality Audio Video Cables and Accessories

[Greg]

When I did mine I just used a chisel and hammer. Not the prettiest channel you have ever seen, but after a bit of filler and a repaint, you can not tell it was there.

[EriX]

Hi

I set about learning by doing last night

I've read all i can find on this forum with regards chasing.

I found I have about 16mm of plaster on my brick wall.

I used a wide bladed ( ~100mm ) masonary chisel to define the edges and then a smaller 22mm chisel to take out any bits between the edges. I also found that the claw on my hammer (tesco value ) was very good for tidying the inside edges of the channel as it scraped out the plaster easily.

I was quite pleased with the result. The messy edges are more due to the old paint peeling off the existing plaster than anything else.

Eric

[Sandman]

Well I did it tonight, I started with hammer and chissel and the plaster on the wall was so easy to dig into I replaced the hammer with a sharp screwdriver. Worked a treat! I have placed the cables into the groove and plastered over the top of them. Here is the finished article (will paint tomorrow).

[Spiderkid]

Good job mate! I would have spent at least another week faffing over this project. Looks like you managed to do it without too much mess either...

Also, you've left yourself the option of repositioning your left and right speakers on the same level as the centre once it finally bugs you enough that they're not in line...

[mxs]

Originally Posted by Sandman

Well I did it tonight, I started with hammer and chissel and the plaster on the wall was so easy to dig into I replaced the hammer with a sharp screwdriver. Worked a treat! I have placed the cables into the groove and plastered over the top of them. Here is the finished article (will paint tomorrow).

Sorry mate! I would have opted for a sheet of MDF.

All that faffing around chasing walls when you could have hid the wiring behind a piece of board

[27neth]

Chasing a wall and filling and painting is far easier, quicker and cheaper than using mdf

John.

[Spiderkid]

Originally Posted by 27neth

Chasing a wall and filling and painting is far easier, quicker and cheaper than using mdf

John.

True, especially for this size job. Plus MDF is a nightmere to paint and is nasty stuff to work with..

[Blump]

Originally Posted by mxs

Sorry mate! I would have opted for a sheet of MDF.

All that faffing around chasing walls when you could have hid the wiring behind a piece of board

With respect they usually all look crap and when I see them I just instantly thing "too pussy to drill"

If you have just moved into somewhere, hire a wall chaser and chase all your lines then plaster as it's the easiest way but creates a lot of mess, otherwise the sds drill or hammer and chisel works great.

[Greg]

Originally Posted by mxs

Sorry mate! I would have opted for a sheet of MDF.

All that faffing around chasing walls when you could have hid the wiring behind a piece of board

Disagree. Chasing out and then filling and painting is a piece of cake.

[rogertb]

Hi if anyone is still subscribing, I think that looks good I want to mount my tv on the wall, I can get the builders to put a flush power socket on the wall behind the screen and a aerial socket but I'd like to be able to put a feed cable from a dvd machine and maybe a recorder up the wall as well They will be housed in a unit / cupboard sat on the floor ... obviously, at some time (probably the day after they're fitted) the dvd player will break so I feel the cables need to be feedable / replaceable, maybe up some trunking of some sort, obviously the 'chasing' has to be bigger and deeper but I wouldn't imagine that's a big problem .... anyone any advice please ? Regards Roger

[Super Andy H]

Originally Posted by Sandman

Well I did it tonight, I started with hammer and chissel and the plaster on the wall was so easy to dig into I replaced the hammer with a sharp screwdriver. Worked a treat! I have placed the cables into the groove and plastered over the top of them. Here is the finished article (will paint tomorrow).

Sorry to be picky... But you aren't going to leave that 5cm or so of speaker wire showing are you?

[kevshed]

Originally Posted by Super Andy H

Sorry to be picky... But you aren't going to leave that 5cm or so of speaker wire showing are you?

Agree - you should have gone up 5mm more, and run the cable 'through' the back of the bracket.... thats how i did my eggs when i had them....

DOH..

[Super Andy H]

Originally Posted by kevshed

Agree - you should have gone up 5mm more, and run the cable 'through' the back of the bracket.... thats how i did my eggs when i had them....

DOH..

Or just drop the speakers a little. It's not too late.

[kevshed]

Originally Posted by Super Andy H

Or just drop the speakers a little. It's not too late.

touche

[jagdeepp]

I bought a wall chaser from Aldi of all places. Cost me £29. One of my best all time purchases. The only downside was the level of dust!! I was however left with PERFECT cuts on each occasion.

For your project however i would've done the same as you. It would have been way to much hassle to clean up after.

[Sanders79]

Originally Posted by rogertb

Hi if anyone is still subscribing, I think that looks good I want to mount my tv on the wall, I can get the builders to put a flush power socket on the wall behind the screen and a aerial socket but I'd like to be able to put a feed cable from a dvd machine and maybe a recorder up the wall as well They will be housed in a unit / cupboard sat on the floor ... obviously, at some time (probably the day after they're fitted) the dvd player will break so I feel the cables need to be feedable / replaceable, maybe up some trunking of some sort, obviously the 'chasing' has to be bigger and deeper but I wouldn't imagine that's a big problem .... anyone any advice please ? Regards Roger

If you want to be able to pull out old cables or introduce new ones then you'll need to sink some kind of trunking into the wall. Lots of people use round plastic pipe/conduit for smaller cables like speaker cable. For scart leads the main issue is the big plug - you can either sink some really big trunking into the wall (like I did! ) or you can get scart leads with removeable plugs (like this one - about two thirds down the page) that you can feed through a smaller conduit.

In my install I sunk some rectangular profile trunking into the wall, which measures 100 mm x 50 mm. The front pannel slides on and off, so I was able to access the inside and screw it firmly in place before sliding back the cover ready for plastering over. It means I have enough space for any more cables I might need to add between TV and av cabinet in the future

I did it all with an angle grinder (a really big one) and a hammer & chisel. I had the luxury of being able to work on the house for three months before we finally moved in, so the massive mess it caused was not a problem... there is no way I would do it in an occupied building though.

[Sanders79]

Originally Posted by jagdeepp

I bought a wall chaser from Aldi of all places. Cost me £29. One of my best all time purchases. The only downside was the level of dust!! I was however left with PERFECT cuts on each occasion.

For your project however i would've done the same as you. It would have been way to much hassle to clean up after.

£29? Sounds like a bargain! Is it one with discs or one of those you put on a drill?

[jagdeepp]

Originally Posted by Sanders79

£29? Sounds like a bargain! Is it one with discs or one of those you put on a drill?

Its the one with the discs mate. You really cant go wrong. Watch out for the dust though...

[Sanders79]

Haha! Been there, done that, shouldn't need to do it on such a large scale ever again with any luck either!