In Wall Wire Tips?

[Fatawan]

I just bought some in-ceiling speakers to round out my surround system.It was the only option acceptable to Admiral Wife. These are going on the first floor of a two story house with basement. My only real option is to go through an outside wall, down into the basement and over to the area where my TV and electronics reside. Getting the wire up to the amplifiers is simple. I wondered if anyone had tips about getting the wires from the ceiling to the basement. I have spray foam insulation to complicate matters, but I think I have a good 1" space between drywall and foam. Also, there is a firestop at 8' inside the wall(9' walls). Luckily, I will be cutting about a 12" square for the speaker right near the wall, so I can work through that space. The joists are 12" too, so I have some height. Walls are 2x6. I am assuming I will need a right angle drill to go down 3" through the top plate and bottom of that rim joist. How big of a hole? It's getting down to, and through, the firestop that makes me nervous. Flex bit? Extensions to a rigid bit? Suggestions? I was just at Lowes and the flex bits they had were minimum 36"(and were not very flexible), which won't work, and of course they were out of extensions so I couldn't even look. I was thinking a 6" extension on a 12" spade bit might work if I slip the long bit through the first hole before I tighten on the extension. Any and all advice appreciated.

[basementjack]

I am not speaking from experience, so take with a grain of salt.

Our Home depot has greenlee brand fishing bits - I think they were 6 feet long (They also had 3 or 4 ft)
They also sold a guide you put around the bit up where you're feeding it into a wall.

I believe that with one of these bits, some patients, skill and luck, you might be able to both drill up and down through a wall cavity from a single gang box opening. (foam filled walls being an exception?)

[Otto]

Yeah, I have a 4' bit, and it's pretty handy for stuff like that. The guide that basementjack could be very helpful if your target is a bit far from your hole. Without it, you may end up coming out the other side of the wall.

With that firestop in the way, I might consider cutting out a hole in you drywall just for the work part. If you are able to patch drywall nicely, it may make the job easier even though your will now have an extra task.

[Fatawan]

Thanks guys. I looked at those bits at Lowes--they are too long and not nearly flexible enough. I would be working too close to the hole and at too steep an angle. Maybe if I can find shorter, more flexible versions.....

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

You have a pretty tough situation there. Any way you can talk the Admiral into in-wall speakers instead? It shouldn’t be too hard to drop a wire from the wall down to the basement. Getting it to the ceiling will probably require cutting into some sheetrock.

Re the hole for the header board, I use a 3/4” auger bit. Paddles are just to slow, and they get dull pretty quick. Sometimes you find double-thick header boards, making a paddle even more problematic.



Regards,
Wayne