Passing speaker cables in front of a door entrance

It seems basically you’ve put your mains spur in the wrong place. Would it be a massive deal to re-route it or just get another installed in the right place?

Could you put the HiFi next to the spur (between door and spur) and put speakers either side of that radiator/white panel thing?

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This is probably what I would do if firing along the length of the room. I would prefer the couch viewing the one and only window, where I have a view of the forest and sky

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Yes it is. I went to pains with the architect to ensure it will stay dry. Very think damp proof membrane, walls with layer of waterproof cement (trapcofuge), insulation, plastic protection and drain with generous layer of stones and geotextile. The slab is 20cm plus 7cm of finish.

I will ask also the electrician to see what they think

When I had 13 condiuts installed for a surround system nothing went under the floor. Up behind the wall, across the ceiling and back down the other side.

Would that be easier for you?

Question - if you don’t want to play with the concrete, can you have a raised door threshold, with the cables to run across within this. It would be a bump/step – but as it’s likely to be wide, the vertical profile could be wide enough to accommodate cables – and better, lift-able?

As others have recorded, such plans need earlier consideration (wonderful hindsight!) – and even chewing-up concrete to run a conduit in isn’t always easy, as it needs covering with something which offers wearing strength.

Or seek out wireless speakers in extremis?

I may be the only odd one here. I don’t prefer running cables in ducting through concrete floors unless it’s a long and cheap cable for surround speakers. I run my speaker cables on the floor just beside a thick rug in front of a sliding door.

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If grooving the concrete is really a no-go here, this would be my solution – perhaps cutting some underlay in under the rug to provide runs to separate the cabling, hopefully preventing the rug from ridging in places.

As a (seeming?) dedicated listening room with low foot-flow, this should mitigate/remove any trip hazard concerns, so long as the profile of the cables allows e.g. not using the sausage-thick cables like Transparent.

Of course, this will depend on which way the door swings?

Okay, let’s back the bus up a bit here. What’s the deal with the ceiling, it looks like a tile system - is there a cavity up there?

Usually with a concrete floor you would go up and down the wall cavities and ceiling cavity to get around a door, or with good planning ducts under the concrete and up into the wall cavity. When we extended our lounge (timber floor) I had speaker plates installed each side of a large French door with speaker cable wired through the wall cavities on each side for this exact possibility. I’ve never needed to use them though as the system is in a different location - but it’s future-proofed.

Hi feeling-zen
The ceiling is not an option sadly as it forms part of the polystyrene slab floor in our living. Ok there is 15cm of concrete poured on it with an anhydride screed of 6cm on top with some heavy tiles upstairs. I prefer to leave the polystyrene untouched

Will discuss this with the tiling firm who has a contractor to install the door and sills etc. that could be a good way to go and I have already good experiences of their finishings

If you look at an office supplies catalogue, there are (above) floor trunks and akin which might work?

Running cables so close together isn’t optimal though.

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Also a good idea and I also do not mind running speaker cables above ground either. We are off out to look at rugs next weekend so shall keep that in mind

This all saves holes in the tiles which they were not keen about

I’m beginning to think just going “the long way round” that you started wanting to avoid is the way to go. Possibly cheaper too with any but the most expensive cables.

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The top layer will be screed which is easier to remove. Under that will be concrete and insulation slab. Under that damp roof course membrane. There’s a bit of variation on this but if you channel out using a small angle grinder and then SDS drill and chisel bit to chisel out channel you will be fine. Or gets trades to it. It’s easier enough but messy.

Why didn’t you plan it before final layer of screed? :thinking: :laughing:

What happened Mr @anon17458420 ?

It’s not done yet😉
There will be a few centimetres so not much

But something is telling me not to bury speaker cables under the tiles

Would make sense to have conduit channels in screed then you can put cables in and take out. No tight bends and 30 to 40mm conduit. Then you can swap them out. That’s why I suggesting chasing out screed.

Or just do chase by door threshold deep enough and run cables in skirting conduit around the room, or run loose.

So many options. You just dont want them on door threshold above tiles.

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If this was my issue I’d want the lounge/listening room to be perfect, it looks like the doorway takes you to a small entrance lobby with a door? If so I’d route the cable(s) from the amp directly through the base of wall behind your system in to the lobby where I’d channel the concrete (and by sinking the cable in the lobby any downstream issues necessitating access to the channel would mean disrupting a much smaller floor) then back to the lounge through the base of the return wall to the left of the door way. The lounge floor is not effected. I’d consider having a rectangular drop in the floor directly behind the door to hold a welcome mat, thus perhaps giving an alternate means of covering the cable in the lobby thus requiring a smaller channel.

I don’t mind the idea that you have but don’t want to give anyone the wrong idea with what is written on the mat :wink: