How do I run cable with strange 2x4 placing in attic?

[3560freak]

I am attempting to wire Cat 6 for my NAS for file server/backups. I have taken on a project like this before (at a previous residence) but I have never seen this situation. The house is 2 story but has attic access from the 2nd floor. When I follow the existing Coax runs to the wall I cannot clearly access the top plate because there is a 2x4 about 4 inches or less from the wall. I shoved my camera phone back there to get a picture of the existing entry point but that also seems extremely narrow. Does anyone have experience with a home built like this? And how did you manage to overcome it?



The existing ethernet cable is going into a RJ11 jack on the 2nd floor



better view of how close the board is to the wall



Here is the shot I got from behind the board

 

[imagoon]

I would likely disconnect the coax, attach a pull string (really well) and back pull the pull string through the hole (IE cables back in to the attic). Attach the cat5 and pull the string back through.

 

[donfm]

All walls are basically constructed the same. The difference in your home appears to be ceilings of different heights on the same level. Sometimes in multi level homes it's a real bear fishing walls. It looks to me like in your last picture they put blocking at the top of your lower wall perhaps to keep the cold air from the attic out. If you can drill through that I suspect you have a normal wall underneath. Unfortunately no two homes are exactly alike and nobody is going to be able to give you fool proof advice with your problem without seeing it in person. As was recommended you could attach a pull string to the existing cable but if it somehow gets caught or breaks you're going to have more problems than you did when you started. You won't be able to get your coax back down the wall. Not all wiring jobs are simple do it yourself projects. You seem to have one of them. Good Luck

 

[3560freak]

Yeah, seeing as how they stapled down a lot of the wiring throughout the attic I am not 100% sure that they didn't do the same behind the walls. It could turn out to be a bigger pain than I expected. Can anyone give me a general idea (and I understand this can vary wildly) of what calling someone professional in to drop cable down 2 walls would run me?

 

[donfm]

Yeah, seeing as how they stapled down a lot of the wiring throughout the attic I am not 100% sure that they didn't do the same behind the walls. It could turn out to be a bigger pain than I expected. Can anyone give me a general idea (and I understand this can vary wildly) of what calling someone professional in to drop cable down 2 walls would run me?

Yes you can be assured if the wiring was installed when the home was built the cables should be fastened in the walls according to building codes.

Cost is impossible to estimate. It depends on how hard it is to get down the wall. No two jobs are alike. In the case of your house they will probably charge by the hour. In new construction they charge by the opening. It also depends on how many openings you want wired of course. I suggest you call a communications contractor and ask them for an estimate to do the work you require. The estimate should be free. I can almost certainly tell you it won't be cheap. Good luck in your project.

 

[3560freak]

Thanks for all of the advice. I can definitely tell that whoever put together this home build meant business. When examining all of the other drops on the home I see that spray foam was used in each point to fill up the hole once the cable was pulled (pain in my a** for reusing the same holes). I am definitely a DIYer for most stuff in the home but it looks like I might have to bring in the professionals 🙂 Thanks again for the suggestions

 

[donfm]

Thanks for all of the advice. I can definitely tell that whoever put together this home build meant business. When examining all of the other drops on the home I see that spray foam was used in each point to fill up the hole once the cable was pulled (pain in my a** for reusing the same holes). I am definitely a DIYer for most stuff in the home but it looks like I might have to bring in the professionals 🙂 Thanks again for the suggestions

If you want to save a couple bucks just contract them to pull the cable only.....you can do the wall boxes and the ethernet connections yourself. Not sure if it will make a drastic difference since that is such a small part of the job. You may get lucky and an experienced contractor may find a way to fish the walls easily without much trouble.

Spray foam in holes is not only for insulation purposes but if it is red in color it's for fire proofing to retard the spread of fire in your walls and deprive it of oxygen. It's building code in many municipalities for new construction these days.