Tips on how to Pre Wire for security Keypads

[Matt79jd]

I work for an A/V Company and we do a lot of developments pre wire.
What is the best way to pre wire a keypad location where the wires are easily found and pulled out behind the drywall.
We pre wire 3 locations but we don't use all three.
I would usually just put a nail on the stud and wrap it so that the drywallers just go around it.
So we bundle it up and romex staple it to the side near the light switch.
Problem with that is that the fish gets snagged on the electrical and it's difficult to find.
Does anyone else do this differently to make trim out easier?
 

 

[drvnbysound]

I use LV boxes and loop the wire through the holes provided. I usually secure the wire with a zip tie to ensure that it doesn't move toward either wall surface. The latter is just added protection from the cutting tools used by the guys hanging the drywall.

 

[ano]

Being one to have to find these wires in an 18 year-old house recently, I can tell you just having them hang in the wall is fine. I used a tracer to find them.  BUT make sure where they hang in the wall is wide enough between the beams to mount a console. One of the three WASN'T and I had to cut into the beam to fit the console. 
 
Also consoles today have speakers and mics, so having more wires never hurts. I'd run 8 as a minimum.

 

[tmbrown97]

i'd run 18/4 + Cat5e to any proposed keypad location.

 

[Del91574]

A piece of cardboard put across the stud bay with wire poked out works wonders. Usually running the wire out at the stud location isn't the best for a keypad...usually centered is better and unless you put a single gang mud ring centered above the electrical box, you're pigeonholing the install.

The worst is foam...the guys that trim it off are great for cutting wires with their tools.
 
I'm 50-50 for where to get it, but usually buried isn't that big a deal and in some ways easier. You need to know how to staple and get the wire stubbed out so it's easy to pull. The amateur guys leave too much cable coiled up, taped or ty-rapped. The goal is to make sure if it's buried that you can get the free end out the hole. I usually would leave 16" of wire or so, double over and stub out about a 12" section from the wall. Hard to explain my stapling pattern, but I use the cable itself to hold the stub-out and then leave it a little loose to let the free end pull through.
 
If you're pulling a lot of cable to a KP location...well, then you need to do like the electricians and cut scab wood and/or install boxes/rings and measure. Plan on plastic and open back so they can be removed if needed.

 

[drvnbysound]

Here's a picture that I got of one that I did last year:
 

 
This was part of an Elk installation, so that is a Cat5E (which ties into a DBH) and a 18/2 for the speaker that was mounted behind the KP2. Those brackets have ~1" holes in them that could be used for smurf tube and such; the wire tucks into them nicely, stays out of the way and is easy to pull out after the drywall is hung.
 
Here's a shot of the SP12F installed as part of the KP installation: