5' of conduit thru 2x4 studs to media closet questions

1525 Views 7 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Neurorad, Mar 31, 2015

mahicks

Discussion Starter · Mar 29, 2015

Hi All,

I am consolidating and centralizing my home A/V, Video/Security, Network & Home Automation to a Centralized Closet with a Network rack system. In doing so I am also relocating my 4K to a wall adjacent to the centralized closet and wish to run a conduit from the TV to the closet to run 2 HMDI, 1 Ethernet, 1 Toslink and 2 small IR cables (Headphone wire.)

The wall IS an interior load bearing wall (2x4's with 16" spacing. Load is roof trusses.) To get from the TV cavity to the wall of the closet is about 5' feet so I would need to cut thru 4 studs and have an additional foot or two on each end of the conduit to make a realistic sweep I could pull cable thru.

My local code will allow a 1 3/8" hole in the stud, though a local contractor told me that 1 1/4" is better since the edge of the hole to edge of the stud is what an inspector would measure and the the smaller bore gives a little room for error.

I am looking at the Carlson Riser Guard in 1" I have a few questions though. Since the nominal outside diameter is a little bigger than the 1 1/4" and even the 1 3/8" hole, does anyone have some real world experience is working this through a 1 1/4" hole? I know it is flexible and I am only working it thru 3 or 4 studs but I need to know if this idea is DOA or doable?

Also is my 2 HDMI, 1 Ethernet, Toslink & 2 audio cables doable in a 1" race way? I know the cables themselves will fit EASILY (depending on my HDMI choices of course) and I don't plan on pulling all thru at the same time but I have to wonder that if I need to replace and HDMI in the future, do I have enough wiggle room? I was planning on either/or or both the Monoprice Redmere high speed or the Blue Jeans Cable BJC Belden FE series HDMI cables.

I also have to cut out a stud in the same wall and frame in a window for my center channel that will be directly above the TV. This will require opening up the dry wall near the area so I can use any tool or hole saw around it. However, for the other studs I do have the equipment handy to 6" hole saw the dry wall to allow room to use my 1 1/4" hole saw to go thru the dry wall and reinstall the "plug" with minimal invasiveness. If I MUST use 1 3/8" then I will have to buy/rent a real right angle drill and do MUCH more invasive drywall work to cut out enough room to work with the tools on the studs.

Any thoughts or ideas? Any other options for the brand/type of conduit to work with my needs? Thank you very much in advance for your help!
Michael in Tallahassee, FL

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jautor

· #2 · Mar 30, 2015

Is this wall being opened up completely such that you have access to all those studs?

If so, install the 1" conduit, and run all the wires you need today outside the conduit through a separate, smaller hole.

If not, skip the conduit and just pull the wires you need, plus an extra cat5e/6 or two along with a pull string...

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mahicks

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 30, 2015

jautor said:
Is this wall being opened up completely such that you have access to all those studs?

If so, install the 1" conduit, and run all the wires you need today outside the conduit through a separate, smaller hole.

If not, skip the conduit and just pull the wires you need, plus an extra cat5e/6 or two along with a pull string...

I am only opening up the wall completely around the TV area to cut out a stud and box in for the center channel. The rest I was hoping to cut 6" circles with a 6" hole saw near each stud and then use a 1 1/4" hole saw for the conduit. The main question is what kind of flexible conduit can I pull thru 1 1/4" holes in the studs?

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Neurorad

· #4 · Mar 30, 2015

I think you missed jautor's point.

The conduit should be empty, it's for a future cable, not current cables.

Install the current cables outside of the conduit. Drill smaller holes for each cable.

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Neurorad

· #5 · Mar 30, 2015

The 1" will fit through a 1 3/8 inch hole, according to the Carlon spec sheet.

Buy a cheap drywall/jab saw, and ditch the 6" hole saw idea, for drywall.

You won't need a right angle drill for it.

Patching an 8" hole is just as easy as a 6" hole.

If you have attic above, you may not need conduit, or drywall patching.

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Neurorad

· #6 · Mar 30, 2015

http://www.htsalescompany.com/catalog/PicturesCategory/STT15-206.jpg

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mahicks

Discussion Starter · #7 · Mar 31, 2015

Neurorad said:
The 1" will fit through a 1 3/8 inch hole, according to the Carlon spec sheet.

Buy a cheap drywall/jab saw, and ditch the 6" hole saw idea, for drywall.

You won't need a right angle drill for it.

Patching an 8" hole is just as easy as a 6" hole.

If you have attic above, you may not need conduit, or drywall patching.

Neurorad said:
I think you missed jautor's point.

The conduit should be empty, it's for a future cable, not current cables.

Install the current cables outside of the conduit. Drill smaller holes for each cable.

Neurorad,
Your right. I missed Jautor's point all together! My bad.

As for your posts, I have an idea:
-What if I combined both Jauntor's and your ideas and ran my current wiring needs thru a separate 1" stud hole while I have the wall opened up and ran a separate 1" riser gard conduit for future upgrades with a 1 3/8" stud hole? All of this assumes that I can get the riser gard thru that size hole and cutting an 8 or so inch "channel" down the drywall.
-I only wanted to do the 6" hole saw because I have done it before and a circle of drywall is MUCH MUCH MUCH easier to plug and patch than free handing a cutout. ( Even if I mess up the circle I can easily just cut another one with the hole saw in a piece of scrap and plug it it in. You cannot do that with the free hand cut and it will require real patching but I am ok with that.)

Also, I can easily go thru the floor into an easy access 5' to 8' "crawlspace" ( My house is WAAAY off level on a hill) and/or go thru the attic. I chose to go thru the studs because the distances will almost double and I still need 5 feet of excess wire so I can roll out my network rack (designed to roll for access in a small closet) and I wanted the shortest distance possible for HDMI cabling since it is for now and future 4K needs without spending a fortune on ethernet baluns/fiber/etc.

Thank you for your help! Any other thoughts?

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Neurorad

· #8 · Mar 31, 2015

Personally, I wouldn't cut any drywall, and just run cables through the crawlspace, now and every time you want to run a new cable. It's a little more difficult than using conduit, but not much.

In 3 years use the HDMI cable as a pull string to replace the old one.

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