[LS1BadBird]

First time home buyer, and this is my first actual post other than to introduce myself!

We moved into a new home that’s pre-wired for surround sound and to have a mounted tv, and it left me with a few questions. First, of all, I’m wondering how to run the wires from the TV to the storage shelf on the floor. The builder said under one of the covers there was a “smurf tube” that you feed the wires through so they run behind the wall, but after taking them off there doesn’t seem to be one. The only thing I see is that One of the covers has room where I could feed the wires through next to the insulation, but the only space on the bottom to run them through is a phone line plug in. would this be the best way to go? Any adverse effects to running the wires next to the insulation?

This is the phone jack I’m talking about that has room to run wires:

More of the three lower options:

These are what the speaker wires they have set up look like:

Also, one of the higher outlets has a thick black wire bundled in it that I’m not sure what it’s for. I was thinking maybe a coaxial cable, but I don’t know why they wouldn’t have an end on it or anything. Anyone know for sure what this is or why it’s there?

Lastly, these are what I have to work with. What kind of speaker pedestals would be good for mounting speakers?

Thanks for the help in advance!

 

[gregzoll]

Appears to be set up by Joe Bob, and his brother Billy bob. Not very friendly if you wish to utilize for a home theater. Personally, I would make the wall cuts in the Gypsum, to pull that mess out and redo it properly, so that you can set it up how you want to, not some ill informed idiot sub for the electrician.

Yours is like friends of ours, that just moved into a 3/4 million mansion. The place was wired up by a idiot, with no closet to place the Set top boxes & receivers, control equipment for whole house a/v & lighting, or panels in the rooms, to allow rf control, and whole house audio. It is just a mess, and no way to fix, unless you have the time to do it, and a sub to fix all of the dry wall that needs cuts to fix the idiot that wired their place.

 

[buddy builder]

looks like a mess to me. the coax should have been stubbed out down low to feed the converter box which would have set on a small cabinet below the tv to receive the remote signal. this allows he remote to be pointed toward the tv. a hdmi cable would then leave this box (and should be hidden) and go up to the tv. the fact that someone wired coax straight to the tv shows they didn't know what they were doing.

 

[LS1BadBird]

Dang. That's what I was afraid of. So you guys Perry confident that's a coaxial cable? Sounds like I'll have a pain in the butt fixing all this.

 

[silversport]

Don't you love it when you post a question a people crap all over your new house?

Is there a box near the floor directly below that box with the coax coiled up in it? It looks like there is enough extra to run that coax down to the floor, crimp an F connector on the the end and put it behind a coax wall plate. Use that same cavity to run the HDMI cable back up to the TV location.

 

[gregzoll]

Don't you love it when you post a question a people crap all over your new house?

Is there a box near the floor directly below that box with the coax coiled up in it? It looks like there is enough extra to run that coax down to the floor, crimp an F connector on the the end and put it behind a coax wall plate. Use that same cavity to run the HDMI cable back up to the TV location.

Silversport, I am one of those that gets paid to go in and clean up crap like this, due to the installer or sub for the electrician did not give a crap, or did not know what the hell they were doing from the beginning of it.

That is why I get paid the big bucks for stuff like this, when people actually call me to do it. I do not get paid when people want to call me, just because they want to shop around. Does not pay the bills, but fixing problems and messes like this does.

 

[ddawg16]

I would pull the coax out and make sure it's RG6...most likely is..

You will also notice that there is not box for that coax......not a big deal.....

As for the 'smurf tube'....if there is one...it's not obvious.....

To some extent...you have more than some people.....but before you get carried away...step back and figure out what you really want.

And......if things are not where you want them....cutting drywall and patching it is not really that hard....not hard at all....

 

[deverson]

The black wire is coax. the guy probably nailed a mudring onto the stud.coax is coiled up and tywraped to a staple. Speaker wires could be run through the box to keep drywall installers from cutting them. If their lightly stapled you should be able to pull them out through the rings or boxes and terminate. Just because the wires were not terminated doesn't mean it was done wrong. Builders could offer a Home Theater rough in, charge big bucks and hope they get a cut because it wasn't installed perfectly, or with the exact wire that the new set top box, speaker, or moniter manufacturer recommend.

 

[diyorpay]

Check out current 'Ask This Old House' episode:

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/ask-toh/video/0,,20665197,00.html

Made a great system with just a screen and speakers visible on the wall. Really helps if there's a basement just under the area.

 

[TarheelTerp]

Silversport, I am one of those that gets paid to go in and clean up crap like this...

Can you recommend a source for some "one line drawings" showing typical or common 21st Century AV set ups?

 

[LS1BadBird]

Thanks for all the input! I figured it was done janky, but doesn't seem to be that big of a deal. I'll probably just get some wire loom or something to run my cords through from the top to bottom and leave the phone jack off, being it will be concealed anyway.

 

[gregzoll]

Check over at http://www.avsforum.com. There are a few builders that have posted their clients setups. I have a old family friend's son here locally that owns a business, that also does home theater setups. Here is a link to his site http://foxav.net/

To find out what wires are feeding where, you will need a tone tester that does RJ-11, RJ-45, and coax testing.