# Running audio cable under floorboards



## kphammond9 (Apr 21, 2015)

The problem with running any cables under the floor is that you may need to get to it again at some point. What if a mouse chews one of them up? I think a better idea is to run it behind a baseboard. Prying off your existing baseboards is likely to do a lot less damage than prying up floorboards.


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## Hick (Nov 21, 2014)

kphammond9 said:


> The problem with running any cables under the floor is that you may need to get to it again at some point. What if a mouse chews one of them up? I think a better idea is to run it behind a baseboard. Prying off your existing baseboards is likely to do a lot less damage than prying up floorboards.


Agreed. Not only that but you will be constantly walking on the wires, which over time will cause them to fray & break. then your SOL.


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## jimn (Nov 13, 2010)

What's below,this space, a ceiling? Slab? If you can't access below, i would run under the baseboard . What kind of audio cable? Speaker wire? If you get the stuff made to go in walls (plenum rated wire) it has a tough sheathing on it which can protect against some minor abuse.


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## del schisler (Aug 22, 2010)

cue8chalk said:


> I'm planning to run audio cable underneath my floorboards since I'm going to be putting new floors in and the subfloors (old tongue & groove hardwood, maybe 2 inches and change wide) will be exposed.
> 
> The joists run in a direction that make it difficult perpendicular to where most of the cable will be running, of course, so it's not just a matter of pulling up a panel or two. I'll need to pull up at least two strips the length of the room so that I can drill through the joists.
> 
> ...


run behind the base board's , be sure when you pry off the base board's that you get on a stud or you will break the dry wall other than that nothing to it , that will be the easest way to do that , the wall plate and box can go right on the dry wall not much to that eather, juct cut the hole and behind the base board cut a small hole and fish the wire up to the box, best way my 2 cents


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## kphammond9 (Apr 21, 2015)

Just to clarify, I'm suggesting running the cables in a channel behind the baseboard, not through the wall. I used to have plaster walls and I know first-hand how messy it is to work with. If you want to keep your existing baseboard, you can use a dado blade on a table saw or or use a router to cut a groove along the back of the baseboard to house the cables. Or, possibly easier, make a miter cut along the back edge of the bottom, so the cables run along the floor behind the baseboard. Either way, much better than tearing up what sound like beautiful old floors. Any chance you would want to refinish them rather than cover them up again?


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