Mounting Keypads in Walls

[Fish-Edz]

How do I go about mounting a keypad for an audio system that is over 100mm deep? It is a two-piece module that fits roughly the size of a single-gang box, one module has a screen, the other an amplifier. I need to mount both in the wall, and run some cable between them.

Does anybody knw if it is possible to buy back-boxes that are around 120-150mm deep? Or perhaps some kind of frame I can fit, and then just cut out a hole behind that is big enough.

 

[shaggy]

How thick's your wall though?

 

[Damocles]

?? many walls are not 120-150mm deep

 

[Lectrician]

Blocks are 100mm, dont include the render in that.

 

[AdamW]

What is the wall made of?

I presume this is some US equipment, a lot of the home automation stuff appears to come from that way. How do they propose it is fitted in the instructions?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

What is the wall made of?

I presume this is some US equipment, a lot of the home automation stuff appears to come from that way. How do they propose it is fitted in the instructions?

Aren't 99% of internal walls in US houses stud & partition ones? How deep are they?

I think you'll really struggle to flush fit this item...

 

[andy]

get the wall re-plastered 5-6 times... then it might be thick enough for th box

 

[mrscalex]

I can think of 4 things:

1) If this was a small-ish wall, eg at the end of a room as it were rather than the side, you could batten the wall out and clad it with plasterboard to gain the depth.

Since you have 2-2.5 inches to play with within the original wall, you would only need to bring it out by maybe a couple of inches, ie 1.5 inch of batten and half inch plasterboard.

2) You could have have the control unit sit proud in an enclosure

3) You could have a builder take a block out and put a small lintel over the space. Mind you, you would probably need 2 blocks from the course above taken out and replaced with engineering bricks to fill out the lintel space. Think of this as a mini doorway

4) As 3) but with a couple of engineering bricks stoood upright to 'prop' the blocks above.

Of course with 3) or 4) you are then into replacing a section of plaster with plasterboard to cover the open area on both walls.

 

[AdamW]

Aren't 99% of internal walls in US houses stud & partition ones? How deep are they?

I believe so, in fact they usually go for a fully framed construction so even the exterior walls are plasterboards on studwork on the interior face.

Not sure what depth their walls are, but a "2 by 4" seems to be a common timber-reference in US TV and films, so it would be reasonable to assume they build their studwork from 4x2s. Which would mean with plasterboard on top you are talking 5" thick, about 127mm.

I am wondering if this control panel is meant to be fully flush... maybe it is meant to be sunk in to half it's height?

If the guy would actually respond and tell us what it is he actually wants to fit we might actually be able to offer him some more help!

 

[Lectrician]

Maybe he cant - perhaps he is stuck under a pile of rubble - LOL

 

[Damocles]

he only wanted to put in a box 4in wide. Adding a lintle seems a bit extreme.

 

[AdamW]

Possibly, seeing as he said it was roughly the size of a 1G socket, this is pretty small. However, in a block wall 4" will be the entire depth of the blocks. And to cut out such a deep yet narrow recess he WILL knacker a lot of the surrounding blockwork.

A lintel, whilst extreme, is actually rather sensible if you decide the easiest way to do it is to remove a whole block, and replace it with bricks with the recess ready-built in. And installing such a small lintel is trivial. He is obviously spending thousands on equipment for his home automation, and will go to a lot of effort to install conduits for cables. Why not spend a long afternoon (realistically) to install a tiny lintle and build up the necessary recesses in brick?

Of course this all assumes a solid wall. Has no bearing on studwalls.

 

[Lectrician]

Use a 100mm core drill, and make good after.

 

[kendor]

you might get away with using a collar as opposed to a backbox?