Yesterday I had to cut speakers into some T&G. Turned out the T&G was 2x. I didn’t think I was ever going to get it cut out. The paneling is a heavy 1 1/2” while the widest measurement on the speaker tab is a light 1 3/8”. Trimming the tabs would be much easier than trying to cut down the T&G. Is there a problem with doing so?

You didn’t mention the brand and model... I’m assuming you talking about the “dog ears” that swing out to pinch the drywall or in you case the t&g. I have snipped off the extended portion in the past for similar issues. I did not have an issue with doing so on a Speakercraft speaker.

These are speakercraft. I dont remember the model. Thanks.

I don't hesitate to trim "dog ears" when necessary. In some cases when it is not possible to swing the dog, I'll remove the dog and drive a screw at an angle. In some really strange situations where a ceiling will not support the speaker, I've driven a screw into a nearby joist, and dogged onto the screw.

+1 -
i also sometimes cut off the lower part of the leg support so it will swing out lower on the post. I look at doglegs as "suggestions" as long at the grill still goes on do whatever it takes

You say the T&G is 2X. Is that two thicknesses of T&G, or is that one thickness of double thick T&G?

If it's two thicknesses, can you cut out the T&G near the surface, but leave enough of the second lay in place to drive a screw into via the hole that the dog leg screw goes into? You'd have to cut off the back part of the dog leg assembly, but you'll never be using that anyway.

Double boards would be x2. Whereas 2x refers to common construction terms. Like 2x4, 2x6, 2x10, and so on.

Newbies 🙄

When I know there is going to be an issue like this I go with Origin Acoustic speakers (been using them more anyway). Their zip system in place of dog ears offer much more depth then regular dog ears. Had a job where someome decided 2 layers of 5/8" sheetrock and a 3/4" later was a good idea. Thankfully I knew ahead of time. Cutting them was not fun, but speaker install was a breeze.

I once had this situation before, Was going to trim them to work but I realized if I flipped the ears over it gave me the clearance I needed. See if that will work, better then chopping away at an ear. IF you do need to trim them I wouldnt worry about it

I had no idea it was 2” T&G until I started cutting.

We use the Sonance VP series - the dog legs are manufactured so that if you get a thick ceiling the flip out ear part can be cut down really easy since they are just two pieces of plastic pressed together.

If I see anything other then sheetrock, I started specc'ing the OAs for just that reason.

No problem at all. Preferably with a suitable cutting device so no stress is applied in area of fastener. An easy way to trim backside of T&G is using a paddle bit in the correct area and size. Sharp chisel. Sort of like a 3 sided mortise pocket.

It's not. It's 2X, which measures 1 1/2."

Of course, most T&G is 3/4" thick (also called 1x), so while 2X T&G is 1 1/2" thick (you know, like 2x4s and your other examples), X2 would be... 1 1/2" thick.

Anyway, now we know it's one thickness of T&G that is either 1 1/2" thick, because it's 2X, or it's 2" thick as stated above.

The battle to keep things clear is ever ongoing.

Ernie, seriously, give it up. Your first attempt at over analyzing the issue was eye rolling for everyone. While you are trying to dig into the minutia, everyone else understood the problem enough to give a short, and workable answer. Just to be wordy, you went way off in left field and gave two ideas that wouldn’t work even if the T&G was double layered. It took about 2 minutes to cut the ears on four speakers. All I wanted to know was if there would be any issues from trimming the ears. Not counting actually cutting the holes, you’ve spent more time trying to find some other solution to this problem than I did putting the speakers in.