Wiring Analysis Paralysis

wkearney99

Senior Member
Tangentially, think hard about how much wire you put in a given box.  Don't exceed the likely ability of the faceplate and jacks to actually FIT with the wiring behind it.  Says a guy with a few split (1 gang AC, 1 gang LV) boxes that have two RG6 and 3 CAT5E wires....  It's a bit tight getting things stuffed back into the box.  Especially if it's backed up to spray foamed insulation, leaving no wiggle room to push the cabling into the cavity...
 

pete_c

Guru
Yup in the media room didn't do split boxes.  I did utilize split boxes for the on the wall LCD TV's in some of the rooms.  I did start with all Arlington boxes originally; well constructed.   Most difficult was doing the laundry room; but redid everything in there anyways (new floor, shelves, lighting).  Figured I might as well add the TV to the mix. 
 
I did add more electric and more in wall boxes in the family room sort of dividing up the boxes and using 6-8 keystone jack plates.  It was very tight.  IE: one keystone plate has some 8 catXX cables going to the patch panel.  I put speaker terminals on another one.  Also used tiny labels that I can't really see well unless I am right in front of the keystone jack.  For the in-house, satellite (did the two DTVs connectivity), cable and OTA TV stuff went to that thin RG-6 cable in the wall to the wall plate as it was more flexible and very thin.  I did not see any changes in reception.  It was a bit more expensive though.  I purchased short 1 foot cables; very thin stuff and aesthetically pleasing. (to me as I do not think the wife noticed or notices the cabling).   I did also do a whole thing related to the powered subwoofer that is more of a piece of furniture in the back of the room with its own LV / HV separate stuff.  You don't really notice the speaker; just hear it really.
 

Neurorad

Senior Member
Don't use a box for LV.  Use a ring.  Category cable (and HDMI) doesn't work well with a box.  Makes coax a lot easier, too.
 
car-sc200dv.jpg

 
To the OP - I mean wire a duplex outlet at normal outlet height, in the same stud bay.  Easy to come in a year later and extend line voltage to the drapery height, if needed.  I don't like blank plates; I try to avoid them when possible.
 

wkearney99

Senior Member
Neurorad said:
Don't use a box for LV.  Use a ring.  Category cable (and HDMI) doesn't work well with a box.  Makes coax a lot easier, too.
 
car-sc200dv.jpg
 
Yeah, those.  Not an actual double-gang box with the plastic insert in-between the halves.  Those would absolutely be the wrong thing for LV wiring.  I may, in one or two places, tack on one of those orange add-on clips to extend it to a triple gang size.  Or just whack another hole nearby.  
 
The short answer is, as I posted, be careful not to leave yourself without enough box to accommodate the wiring being pulled to it AND the connector schemes.
 
If you're doing spray foam, as a pro, I'd start looking at a 6" LV box like those that Arlington make....specifically designed for the bend radius and working.
 

drvnbysound

Senior Member
I haven't read through all of this thread, but I just saw the Arlington box above. As part of my centralization of my AV equipment, I just changed some of the wiring behind me TV and used a similar Arlington box:
 
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