Low-profile wire runs – Anders K Nelson

I ran a bunch of speaker and signal cable along my wall because I relocated my audio receiver to an equipment rack. Plastic wire conduit is gross and too small/large. Wire staples/clips are too small. Infinitely adjustable, mounted zip ties are perfect.

Most are screwed into studs for stability and consistent spacing. A few are mounted to wall anchors because I wanted to make sure the cable stayed put in the corner.

My studfinder wasn’t helping me find the studs in my plaster-over-lath wall, so I found the studs using powerful but tiny (10mm diameter) magnets I got from Amazon. Drywall (or whatever) is attached to studs using big screws which are magnetic. So to find a stud, take a magnet and hold it lightly while moving it up and down along the wall. Eventually it’ll stick to the head of a screw holding the drywall to the stud where you can mark it. You can also just leave them stuck on the wall to help you find the marks easier.

Next, I used a level with a ruler to mark the stud near the bottom wall trim. Studs are supposedly straight up and down so a line truly perpendicular to the ground should follow the stud. I marked 1/4″ up from the trim to provide room for the zip tie head, drilled a pilot hole and mounted the zip tie. When you get to a corner, add a new tie 6″ (or closer depending on the stiffness of your wiring) from either side of the corner so the wiring won’t sag.

You can make the stud-finding process easier by measuring 16″ (or 24″ or whatever-the-hell depending on your wall) from your previous stud marking and searching for a stud there. Typical walls have studs on 16″ centers.

Once you’ve attached all your zip ties, insert all the ties into their catches a few clicks and run your wires through. When you have the lengths as you want them, start cinching down the ties at one end of the wiring run, pulling each section tight so the wires don’t sag. Continue moving down the run like this.