Home Renovation: Mounting Stuff Into My Walls.

Factual Questions
1

So here’s the scoop.

I am basically rebuilding by Victorian Fixer Upper. Since this means that I am actually replacing some of the walls and ceilings, I figure that this gives me a good opportunity to do the walls correctly, and the way that I want them to be, the first time.

This means mounting things into the walls. I’m going to be doing a lot of this, but let’s use one of my simpler examples.

One of my rooms is going to be a sort of audio/visual studio. I’ve actually selected a location to mount a wiring cabinet and such. But, more simply, I want to mount a CB into a wall. Yes, into a wall. Don’t ask why.

It is simply your average CB that can be mounted below a dashboard of a car. I’ve already worked out the antenna and the power supply. My question is the actual mounting of this CB into the wall.

The walls are plaster, and I’m either rebuilding the plaster or wallboard, depending on the location of the room in the house.

Obviously, I cut the hole where it will mount into the wall. Do I then have to encase the CB (or other random small piece of electronic equipment) inside of a tightly fitting metal box which is screwed to the wall? Are there some sort of brackets I am supposed to use to support it? Or can I just slide it into the hole in the wall and put a nice trim around it, and expect it to support itself? It also has to be sturdy since I am going to be pressing buttons and turning dials on it.

This CB weighs about 5 pounds. Everything has been alotted for the cables and the antenna. The whole purpose for this is asthetic reasons. I want it to appear that it belongs there, and has always been there.

Picture this: if the CB was nine inches long, I want only a maximum of an inch sticking out of the wall. The other eight inches would be inside the wall. There is plenty of room inside the wall to accomodate this. I’m then going to put a nice trim around the CB to finish it off.

If you have experience in this type of mounting of hardware, please give me some pointers and best practices.

2

If you know where it is going to be installed, and have not yet put the wallboard up, I would recommend boxing out the spot to support your CB. This will give you something to attach your trim to, as well.

While the CB is not large or heavy, you’re going to be fiddling with the channel, squelch and volume controls, which will cause movement in the unit, however slight. Over time, the movement is going to start wallowing out the gypboard and the unit not going to fit snugly any longer.

3

First, most vehicle mount radios are designed to be installed through the use of mounting brackets which are typically supplied with the radio. Unless the unit was specifically designed to be supported from the face, you will need brackets (or some other arrangement) to secure the unit off of a surface either below or above it.

Second, radios, as will all other electronic equipment, require cooling. You should never install a device like that in a small sealed enclosure - the components need some airflow to keep cool, else they likely won’t last very long. Make sure that there is sufficient provision for removing heat from any electronics installations.

Third, you mention that this will be an A/V studio, so presumably you have many other components (amplifiers, computers, etc.) that will be installed in this room? I would seriously look into getting yourself a cabinet for standard 19 inch rackmount components. You can purchase units which are specifically designed for in-wall (built-in) applications, which house all of your components neatly, but pull out to enable access to the back of everything, wiring, etc. You don’t even need rackmount components - you can get adapters for most gear, plus “blank” plates which can be modified to fit anything you have. Nice, neat, easy access to everything, adequate cooling, and it looks good.

-FK

4

I am confused. You say that the CB is 9 inches long, and that there is plenty of room in the wall for the other 8 inches? Very few walls on old house are thicker than 6inches (rough cut 2x4 +1 inch plaster either side.) So does this wall butt onto an open area like under a stairs?

And you also confuse me… Do you really think that there are people with experience mounting CB radios into walls of Victorian homes? And that a wall mounted CB will look like it has always belonged in a Victorian house? Heh. That’s funny.

Anyhooo… I’d advise getting the mounting kit for a car. Once you see what it looks like, then simply rig up a way to screw it onto the studs in the right location. Shouldn’t be any tougher to do than any other work fixing up the house. You may soon be the world’s first expert at this!

For the valid ventilation problem Fuji Kitakyusho brought up, install a grill at floor level and a grill near the ceiling within the same stud bay as your CB. Be sure there is no blocking in that stud bay to hinder airflow. hot air escapes at top, sucks up new air from below.

Have fun pretending to be in a mighty convoy from your living room.

5

Belay that!

Check local codes - those nasty little crosspieces are called fireblocks (guess why) and are required by some codes.

I would also look into some kind of tray mount, so repair/replacement does not involve ripping apart your nice, shiney new wall.

Also, you say you have worked out the power supply issue - how? A 110-to-12 device will have the same problem as the radio - heat, and the need to replace.

6

If his ceiling height is 10’ or over, you would expect fire blocking in new construction. However, we are dealing with a Victorian house here. It will be balloon framed with no fire blocking at all in the house from basement to attic. Unless Chicago Faucet is planning to open up every wall and install blocking, this CB chase will be no big deal. He would in fact be adding the only fire blocking in the house above and below the CB ventilation chase.