Runnin' Cable channel!

[mandrix]

(Mumbled to the tune of The Gatlin Brothers "Counting Flowers On The Wall".)

Running cable channel up the walls
that don't bother me at all
Hope the hell that I don't fall

(chorus)
Stop and have a cold snack
and a smoke or two
If I fall down
Then I'm really scre_, er, messed up.

Bought a bunch from Wally World
But it's got me in a whirl
If I don't get this done
Dangling cable in the morning sun.
(repeat chorus)

Using a level on the bunch
Oh crap, hear the crunch
of speaker cable sliding through
The long white shiny tubes

(repeat chorus)

Stop for cold snacks and done?
Uh - Uh. Sigh.

Rearranged my 7.1.4 layout and working semi-hard to get all the cable raceway up. Sorry, I needed a break and a diversion.
Time for another cold snack!
All apologies to Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers!

 

[mandrix]

Well one box of 25" channel down (150") and 3 to go. Supplied adhesive strips stick pretty good on mildly textured walls. In fact you better plan it out and place the pieces carefully as these strips stick pretty darn good! I am using a three foot level and a pencil to mark one edge before placement.

There is two boxes per set, for a total of 300" of channel, and I bought 2 sets, so 600" of channel in toto. Hope I won't need it all but got a long way to go yet. I already had some up from early this year.
The two sets of channel, i.e. 4 boxes, cost me about $58 at Walmart online. They are about the largest square ones I could find and each section being 25" long it cuts down on the number of connectors needed.

Each box has straight, inside and outside corner, and one "T" connectors. Six adhesive strips & six 25" channels w/covers. Covers fit in a groove on a base but can be slid along the grooves or separated with a screwdriver. Also there are screws and drywall inserts if the surface is not suitable for the adhesive strips.
The channel / covers come assembled. The connectors are larger than the channel, by necessity, and each open end has a flange, or lip, top inside that holds it to the channel.
Past experience tells me that if any of the connectors need be removed it's best to remove a channel cover first so as not to damage the connectors.

This channel is plastic, square, white (but can be painted) and I have previously managed to squeeze in three 12 gauge & one 14 gauge wire, but if you're really careful you should be able to get four 12 gauge wires through if you don't have any solder type connectors...although a few spread out shouldn't make much difference. (I offset the solder connectors when I need them so they aren't side-by-side).

Didn't really want to mess with the sheetrock and all that and don't have an attic so this seemed like the best route to go.

I bought a new 50 ft. spool of 12 gauge copper speaker wire and had some leftover pieces, and a brand new box of solder connectors, and a good thing I did. Should have bought a 100 ft. spool!

Anyway a lazy start this Sunday, getting some coffee down whilst perusing the forum then some breakfast and back at it.

Maybe some of this will help someone else should they ponder what to do with those darn (but necessary!) speaker wires and don't want to/can't go through the structure to hide them. If removal of the channel and adhesive strips is necessary, it's likely a painted surface would have to be repainted. On wallpaper or textured walls YMMV.