Hi guys. I just bought a new house and I'm setting up an area for our entertainment/game room. I want to run the soround sound wires inside the walls and over the attic (for the rear speakers). I have lots of speaker wire that I want to use, but it is not in-wall rated. Is this a big problem? Are there any issues that I should worry about?

Thanks in advance for your help.

The big issue is that if you were to ever have a fire your insurance might not cover you if your cabling isn't in-wall rated.

If it's not in wall rated, do not use it in the wall. :)

The in wall ratings reflect a higher ignition temperature to begin with and if it does smolder or burn, a lot less smoke. The jackets are more durable for pulling through the walls which makes for a more robust, trouble free installation.

Also Noah's point is an excellent one. If your insurance carrier discovers that the cabling had anything to do with a fire it would become excellent grounds for a flat out denial.

In wall rated cable is not hard to come by and the premium you pay for that rating is extremely minimal. Save the cable you want to use for the garage or give it away or recycle it if it's pure copper. Spend a little bit more money up front for a lot more peace of mind. Aloha!

Thanks guys. I defenitely don't want to have anything that would give the insurance company an excuse to deny any claim (though I hope I never have to file one). I'll be buying some in-wall cable then. I appreciate the input.

My cable was not specifically wall rated and the electrical inspector did notice it. He actually passed me but noted to me that unlike the cat5 I ran that wire is a code required wire. He was happy with the way I ran it and the very large gauge I used (the stuff sold at Home Depot). So in short, if you have the choice now, absolutely run wire rated for in walls. Your inspector may not be as nice as mine.

Here's a reason I bring up whenever this question is asked-- if I were buying a house and I saw non-inwall wiring used in the walls, I'd start wondering what other shortcuts were taken that I (or an inspector) can't find.

That's an excellent point Grey! I'm towards the end of a major home renovation and that's a big reason I'm doing whatever I can on my own. For the cost and quality of work I see done, it's worth my time to do it right. When I opened up my walls (wouldn't have even been necessary if the place had been built right in the first place) I almost blew a blood vessel looking at the framing, the comm, and the electrical.

Ok here is a new one. I went by Home Depot today to check out the cable I need, however I saw two kinds for in-wall intalation, CL2 and CL3. I'm not sure which I should get. Costwise I'm inclined to get CL2, but if CL3 will give me better results, then I will spend the extra dough.

Thanks again for your replies. This little project is making me learn many new things.

CL2 should be fine. I would check local codes, though. Also, if you plan to run the wire through a "plenum" (an air-filled space in a structure; especially : one that receives air from a blower for distribution (as in a ventilation system)), you will need plenum rated wire.

Thanks again for all your help. In the end I will have to hold off on running the cable trhough the walls. It turns out the central heating unit runs just above the wall I was thinking of cabling so I don't have access to that area in the attic. I wall have to run them through the baseboard but that will have to wait for now. At least I now know what to do and how to do it.

Thanks again.