How to Wire Outdoor Speakers

In this video, This Old House general contractor Tom Silva shows how to snake wires through walls for a pair of outdoor speakers.

Steps:

1. Inspect the house wall, inside and out, to determine where to drill speaker-wire hole without hitting a header, stud or other structural framing member.
2. Drill 1-inch-diameter speaker-wire hole through exterior of wall using a spade bit.
3. Feed snake into hole and push it down through the inside of the wall.
4. From inside the house, drill a ¾-inch-diameter hole at base of wall directly below the exterior hole.
5. Insert short length of snake into interior hole and hook snake inside of wall. (Could also use a length of wire hanger with hook on end.) Pull long snake into room.
6. Attach two speaker wires to snake and secure with electrical tape.
7. From outside, pull the snake and speaker wires up the wall and out the exterior hole.
8. Extend one wire to each speaker location.
9. Install peel-and-stick plastic electrical conduit to the wall to protect the speaker wire. Run one conduit for each speaker wire.
10. Remove the wood baseboard and rout a ⅜-inch-deep x ½-inch-wide groove along the back of the baseboard.
11. Lay the speaker wires into the groove and secure with duct tape.
12. Nail baseboard back to wall, making sure not to nail through the wires.
13. Connect speaker wires to the stereo system inside the house, and to the speakers mounted outdoors.

Tools: