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 With
the home theater components on the way, and the ceiling grid and
electrical complete, it was time to run the speaker wiring &
HDMI cable for the home theater system.
Wiring the home theater
I should have completed this step before calling Joe back to
the house to finish installing the acoustic ceiling tiles, but
it turned out I was ready to wire the basement the same day Joe
was coming to install the tiles. Luckily, it wasn't too big of
a deal since my speaker cable went in a straight line across the
basement. I simply moved the tiles aside and ran the cables over
the grid.
Home Theater wiring tips
 Before
you hang drywall, run a 2" PVC pipe from an empty wall box,
up one of the studs. Do this in the spot you're putting your
home theater equipment. This will allow you to easily run cables
behind the wall after the drywall is installed.- Plan how to run your speaker cable beforehand. This is the
only way you'll know exactly how much cable you need for each
speaker. You don't want a bunch of wires cris-crossing your
entire basement.
- Run the cable in straight lines when possible.
- Don't run speaker cable parallel to electrical wiring. The
electric current may cause a hum in your speakers.
- Keep the cable as far away from your wiring as possible, and
when you do need to cross, do so at 90 degree angles.
- Measure and cut cable for each speaker and label both ends
of the wire so you won't have to figure out which goes with
what speaker.
- Consider wiring for a 7.1 surround system (like I did) even
if you're installing a 5.1 surround system. It's easier to run
the cables all at once- even if you won't use them right away.
- Wrap a piece of masking tape around each end and label as
follows:
- LF: Left front
- C: Center
- RF: Right front
- LS: Left surround
- RS: Right surround
- LR: Left rear **
- RR: Right rear **
**If wiring for 7.1. surround sound
- Since your subwoofer will probably be in the front of the
room, you don't need to run that cable up the wall.
 After
you've measured and cut your speaker cable wrap a piece of masking
table around the cables every 8-10 feet. It's much easier to
run one thick wad of cable than to do it separately . - Do NOT secure speaker cable with a staple gun. Any crimp in
the cable could damage the wiring. My electrician suggested
plastic rings (which are really supposed to be used to protect
wires inside metal studs) to run the cable through that I could
then screw to the joists above.
- For single runs of cable (after the cable is separated) you
can use electrician's staples.
Wiring the home theater
 For
my installation, I ran a 30' HDMI cable I purchased from BetterCables.com
up the wall, along with the 4 strands of speaker cable I labeled
and secured together with masking tape. (The front speaker wiring
will run along the baseboard.)
I went straight across the middle of the room for about 15 feet-
separating the HDMI cable at the projector location about 12'
from the screen. At the 15 foot mark I separated the left/right
surround wiring from the rear surround wiring which I then ran
to the back of the room and tucked neatly above the last row of
ceiling tiles.
After the carpet installation is complete, I'll be ready to install
and setup the home theater components.
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