I am a small business owner providing HT installation and wiring services for consumers who are not "tech savvy." I have been running into some interesting wiring situations trying to run in-wall speaker cables to surround speakers. (Exterior wall with open beam vaults over a tile floor, that kinda stuff.)

I am finding that some of my clients are not wanting to pay the labor for me to fight a fishtape through an insulated wall and hitting a hole drilled into the pocket from below. It is a little time consuming, and I unfortunately don't know squat about patching drywall. In some cases it would be time-prohibitive anyhow.

To finally get to my question, if I make plate size access holes at regular outlet height, it would be much easier and faster using a flexible bit to drill the footer, then cover the hole with a blank plate. This also allows me to use a small white bushing behind the speaker instead of a plate and leaves easy access to switch to floor stands or speakers later as well. Is this an acceptable thing in the industry, or would it be considered sloppy to leave it plated like that? Thanks so much for your help in advance, I have learned tons from here.

shawn