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INSTALLATION (continued)
(horizontal 2 x 4 at the top of the inside of the wall), into the attic crawl space, then down another
plate to the wall behind the stereo system itself. The other very common route is through the bottom
plate of the wall into an unfinished basement or crawl space.
Identify where all of your electrical, phone, and TV wiring is likely to be and plan to route around it
feet away. To find exactly where an electrical cable is routed, try inspecting the inside of the wall by
turning off the breaker for a particular power outlet or switch, removing the cover plate and switch
or receptacle, and shining a penlight into the wall. If you have access to an attic or basement space,
you can see which part of the wall space is free of obstructions (Figure 14).
When you don’t have access above or below the wall, try to estimate the existing cable and pipe
locations from the positions of electrical outlets and plumbing fixtures on both sides of the wall.
Also, take a look at the outside of your house, sometimes a conduit, vent or drain pipe will be visible
and will offer useful information. Choose the route with the fewest potential obstacles. If your house
is built on a slab or you are wiring between two finished floors, look for baseboards which could
Figure 15).