How much should in-wall speaker installation cost?

[slackerinabox]

Just a range, of course.

I'm thinking about replacing my rear speakers (x2) with some in wall speakers, mostly to be as wife friendly as possible.

The distance from the receiver to the back wall is about 25', and I'm talking about just the labor/parts of the install, not the actual speakers.

 

[Corn]

Just a range, of course.

I'm thinking about replacing my rear speakers (x2) with some in wall speakers, mostly to be as wife friendly as possible.

The distance from the receiver to the back wall is about 25', and I'm talking about just the labor/parts of the install, not the actual speakers.

Hard to say really, but a DIY install is generally very easy assuming you have reasonable access to run the wires, like an unfinished basement (or drop ceiling) underneath, etc. I've got a B&W set of inwalls for my TV in my living room with a basement underneath. The install was simple, the speakers came with a template for the cutout, just locate your wall studs and cut between them. Purchase a wall plate for your speaker wire, fish down to the basement and then fish up to your cut outs for the speakers. You can fish wire using a measuring tape instead of a dedicated fish tape. It does help having a partner when fishing the wire up to your speaker cutouts, you fish, your partner just grabs the wire/tape when it reaches the cutout. Simple enough even the wife could help. My install of 4 speakers took less than 2 hours total.

Wire installations without access from below (say on a slab or a 2nd story installation) are more troublesome as you need to work from the attic and may require more time and hassle. Expect a pro install to cost around $100/hour or more.

 

[slackerinabox]

Hard to say really, but a DIY install is generally very easy assuming you have reasonable access to run the wires, like an unfinished basement (or drop ceiling) underneath, etc. I've got a B&W set of inwalls for my TV in my living room with a basement underneath. The install was simple, the speakers came with a template for the cutout, just locate your wall studs and cut between them. Purchase a wall plate for your speaker wire, fish down to the basement and then fish up to your cut outs for the speakers. You can fish wire using a measuring tape instead of a dedicated fish tape. It does help having a partner when fishing the wire up to your speaker cutouts, you fish, your partner just grabs the wire/tape when it reaches the cutout. Simple enough even the wife could help. My install of 4 speakers took less than 2 hours total.

Wire installations without access from below (say on a slab or a 2nd story installation) are more troublesome as you need to work from the attic and may require more time and hassle. Expect a pro install to cost around $100/hour or more.

Thanks for your reply! My problem is that I live in a 2 family double duplex house - our rental unit is directly below us, and our bathroom is above us (no attic). Mounting the speakers seem easy enough, but the wiring is where I think I'll need professional help. I wonder if a semi-in wall approach would work? Run the cables along the floor molding, cut a channel for the wires, then cover and paint? But that will probably be really messy

 

[Corn]

Thanks for your reply! My problem is that I live in a 2 family double duplex house - our rental unit is directly below us, and our bathroom is above us (no attic). Mounting the speakers seem easy enough, but the wiring is where I think I'll need professional help. I wonder if a semi-in wall approach would work? Run the cables along the floor molding, cut a channel for the wires, then cover and paint? But that will probably be really messy

Running wire through the floor molding is a good plan, depending what kind of floor and molding you've got. If your floor is hardwood, "hollow" quarter round should do the trick, especially if you've already got quarter round installed it will look just the same, just pull it up, tack down the wire and cover with the molding.

Or if you've got carpet, chances are there is enough space to simply stuff the wire in between the carpet and existing molding--simple!

Getting the speaker wire from the floor to the speaker is also reasonably simple. Run the wire to the spot directly underneath where you've cut your speaker opening. Directly above the molding, cut a hole large enough in the wall to thread your wire and tape, then fish up the wire from there, easy! To make it look "finished" you will have to cut a small channel in the floor molding to run the wire to your fish hole using a dremel and chisel/screwdriver. Then just spackle and paint your small repair area and you are done.

 

[Zorba]

If you've got carpet running along the baseboards in really easy. I am currently renting, so I didn't want to run wires through the attic, so I ran everything under the baseboards. I have one run that has 2 16 gauge speaker wire pairs, 1 thick Digital Coax cable (LFE) and 1 TV Coax cable.

It helps if you go to the hardware store and buy a carpet pusher. Either push the cable under the baseboard with the carpet pusher, or pull the carpet out from under the baseboard and place the wires in the pocket and use the pusher to put the carpet back.