How much would a wiring contractor charge for pulling 1 cable 2 floors?

[MaxDSP]

Would $65 or so sound reasonable? Would they even do a job as small as this?

 

[Kevin]

I may be mistaken, but running cable isn't that hard depending on the way the building is made. I recently (early July) ran an ethernet cable from the second floor of my house to my basement. I followed the central air duct straight down. I have a finished basement and fortunately a lowered ceiling so access is pretty easy. I used a snake to go from the second floor to the basement but I couldn't get through. Finally it dawned on me to use a fishing pole with a heavy weight. I dropped the line and sure enough after two snags, it came through. I taped the cable to the weight and line and very gently reeled her in.

 

[guyver01]

Originally posted by: kevin000
Finally it dawned on me to use a fishing pole with a heavy weight. I dropped the line and sure enough after two snags, it came through. I taped the cable to the weight and line and very gently reeled her in.

lol... you just discovered how contractors do it.... it's called a "wall fish" .... basically metal wire, with a weight on it.... wrap the cable around the wire... and go wall fishing.

 

[Kevin]

Well I had a 50ft Snake but after I unwraveled about 48ft into the wall, I knew I was going nowhere.

 

[MaxDSP]

doesnt it go by another name, fish tape? I was thinking about it but what chance is there that there are no obstructions between my room and the basement? I dont wanna have a hole in the wall because theres some blockage. If I were to give it to a contractor, maybe they could find some other way around it. any idea of how much theyd ask for this, as far as minimum and stuff?

unless kevin000 wants to come to my house to do the job

 

[guyver01]

Originally posted by: MaxDSP
doesnt it go by another name, fish tape? I was thinking about it but what chance is there that there are no obstructions between my room and the basement? I dont wanna have a hole in the wall because theres some blockage.

the metal wire used for wall fishes IS usually called fish tape.

If you're worried about obstructions in the wall... use a stud finder to find the i-beams.

 

[MaxDSP]

Originally posted by: guyver01

Originally posted by: MaxDSP
doesnt it go by another name, fish tape? I was thinking about it but what chance is there that there are no obstructions between my room and the basement? I dont wanna have a hole in the wall because theres some blockage.

the metal wire used for wall fishes IS usually called fish tape.

If you're worried about obstructions in the wall... use a stud finder to find the i-beams.

how much do those go for? whats an i-beam?

<---clueless

edit: anyone know where to find a directory of contractors online that would do this in my area? Im in northern illinois

 

[vi edit]

Northern Illinois? I think that's where Evadman is. He'd prolly do it for a case of beer or something

 

[MaxDSP]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Northern Illinois? I think that's where Evadman is. He'd prolly do it for a case of beer or something

hey, theres an idea. Should I give him the case of beer before he starts the job, just for the hilarity factor?
Is he familiar with this kind of stuff or anything? Ill PM him later on tonite and if he gets pissed, Im blaming vi_edit.

 

[Keego]

Originally posted by: MaxDSP

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Northern Illinois? I think that's where Evadman is. He'd prolly do it for a case of beer or something

hey, theres an idea. Should I give him the case of beer before he starts the job, just for the hilarity factor?
Is he familiar with this kind of stuff or anything? Ill PM him later on tonite and if he gets pissed, Im blaming vi_edit.

yeah, before = 11ty billion holes in all the walls, then you'll figure out later that he crossed two wires, grounded the main power line, and made it so your dishwasher acted like a microwave

 

[Rallispec]

Originally posted by: Kyguy

Originally posted by: MaxDSP

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Northern Illinois? I think that's where Evadman is. He'd prolly do it for a case of beer or something

hey, theres an idea. Should I give him the case of beer before he starts the job, just for the hilarity factor?
Is he familiar with this kind of stuff or anything? Ill PM him later on tonite and if he gets pissed, Im blaming vi_edit.

yeah, before = 11ty billion holes in all the walls, then you'll figure out later that he crossed two wires, grounded the main power line, and made it so your dishwasher acted like a microwave

i'd like to buy one your dishwasher microwaves. do you take paypal?

 

[Squisher]

Originally posted by: MaxDSP Would they even do a job as small as this?

Yes, but they're going to charge you some just for coming out to the house.

What kind of cable is this(electrical, tv, cat5)?

Is there some heat vent, cold air return, water pipe(or drain) that you chase along side of?

 

[MaxDSP]

Originally posted by: Squisher

Originally posted by: MaxDSP Would they even do a job as small as this?

Yes, but they're going to charge you some just for coming out to the house.

What kind of cable is this(electrical, tv, cat5)?

Is there some heat vent, cold air return, water pipe(or drain) that you chase along side of?

It is just some Cat5 cable. I wanna hook up my PV in the basement to my bedroom PC to share Internet access and transfer files. Wireless and other options are too slow for transferring, not to mention expensive. The way I see it, I can either spend $100+ on a WAP and a wireless card or I can spend less than that to have someone just pull a cable 2 floors.

 

[stev0]

Well I had a 50ft Snake but after I unwraveled about 48ft into the wall, I knew I was going nowhere.

muhahahaha i know how this goes

 

[PHiuR]

having someone pull a wire 2 story is expensive... a professional will prob charge around 100.. you should just do it yourself... it cant be that hard

 

[Evadman]

Originally posted by: MaxDSP

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Northern Illinois? I think that's where Evadman is. He'd prolly do it for a case of beer or something

hey, theres an idea. Should I give him the case of beer before he starts the job, just for the hilarity factor?
Is he familiar with this kind of stuff or anything? Ill PM him later on tonite and if he gets pissed, Im blaming vi_edit.

I got nothing better to do

To have someone come out and pull that wire, it would be more than a 100 bucks. You are paying the contractor for his time to drive out there too. Most have a $100 to $250 minimum cost

I would be more than happy to talk ya though it, send e-mail pictures, whatever. This is the basic procedure is easy as hell.

#1 cut hole in drywall using a drywall saw. Make it about 4" tall by 8" wide. Make sure to cut between the studs.
#2 Drill a hole into the stud in the bottom of the wall. Use a 1" spade bit.
#3 Cut another 4" x 8" hole in the wall on the next lowest floor directly below where you just drilled.
#4 Drill upwards till you can see light from the hole you drilled above.
#5 have helper feed cable down till you can grab it.
#6 have a beer, you are 1/2 done.
#7 repeat step #1 through step #5 for eaach floor you have to go through
#8 patch the drywall before the wife comes home.
#9 Have another beer.
#10 Start downloading porn in the basement.

Very simple, but time consuming.

Stuff you should know:

#1 The floor is 10-12" thick on average.
#2 you will have to caulk the holes you drill though the studs with fire rated caulk or you can be heavily fined. ( cost about $3 a tube. you will use one. )
#3 You will make a mess when you cut the drywall.

Any other questions, PM me or ak here

 

[MaxDSP]

so your saying Ill need to make like 3 holes in the walls? Its not so much a problem in my room and the basement but if I make one in the livning room, my dads gonna go apesh!t on me. Im 20 and still live at home so I gotta live under his rules. I also dont have the tools your talking about, like the drywall saw. Patching up the holes would be another problem too. How long would all this take? I have a span of about 5-6 hours to do this, and make it as inconspicuous to my dad as possible.

Im also looking over this article at arstechnica

 

[Salvador]

so your saying Ill need to make like 3 holes in the walls? Its not so much a problem in my room and the basement but if I make one in the livning room, my dads gonna go apesh!t on me. Im 20 and still live at home so I gotta live under his rules. I also dont have the tools your talking about, like the drywall saw. Patching up the holes would be another problem too. How long would all this take? I have a span of about 5-6 hours to do this, and make it as inconspicuous to my dad as possible.

If you find a decent contractor that will do it for a decent price, pass it along to me please. I am in your area as well (Gurnee, IL). I've already made 2 attempts at running CAT5 into the basement and it looks like it would be a major PITA! My brother-in-law was even in town on the last attempt and he ended up going half way through my freaking ceiling in one spot. He couldn't see where he was crawling because of the overabundance of insulation in the attic and ended up kneeling on conduit and sending one of the hallway lights south a bit. There are still cracks around it in the drywall and I have to figure out how the hell to fix that properly.

Anyway.. I have all but given up and was even considering homeline, powerline or wireless networking, but would really love to get some old fashioned CAT 5 run down there.

Sal

PS.. I worked for an electrician one summer during college and I'm familiar with fish tape and running wire, but man.. What I have is biatch!! I'd probably charge myself quite a bit, that's why I haven't looked around for an electrician to do the job for me.

 

[MaxDSP]

Salvador, thats exactly why I dont wanna do it myself. Theres no telling what kind of damage Im capable of. Dont you have any hookups through the electrician job? Im in des plaines, about 45 minutes south of you

 

[Evadman]

And I am dead center between both of you in Bartlett / Elgin

Max: If I understand what you are doing, you will need to make 3 holes unless the basement is finished. then you will probaly have to make 4 or 5.

If you can describe how your floors and walls are laid out, I can help more. for instance: Are the walls lined up one over another? are you just going straight down, or across the house as well?

Youc an also run the cable outside if you get plenum cable or exterior grade cat5. I have a regular cat5e cable basicly circiling my house because I did not want to go though 5 walls

 

[BooneRebel]

I think you've answered your own question. Given the short install timeframe, need to be inconspicuous as possible, $100 budget, and -hopefully- just a temporary need since you're 20 and still living at home: I would recommend just buying a wireless NIC and access point. If you shop around you can find a package deal for $100 or so. A contractor will likely charge you more than this to run a single CAT5 line, $200-300 per drop is common in business. Having just finished running CAT5 throughout my house, personally I would run my own cabling. But since you don't have any experience with it, don't have a fish tape or long drill bits, etc., etc., you're looking at quite a bit of effort. Buy a WAP now and save the wiring for your own house. (You're moving out soon, aren't you?)

 

[amdskip]

Hmmm, need more of a description of your house and what floors you are gonna go through. It's not impossible because I did my it here (living with parents still) and my dad would assrape me if I patched any holes in the wall. A hole is not necessary most of the time. I craweled through the attic on 2x4's through insulation, found the bathroom vent stack (sewer gas pipe), and drilled a huge hole right into that wall. The wall was extra wide because of that pipe and the bathroom on the first floor is directly on the other side of my computer. I attached a nut to a piece of string and dropped it down into the hole. Someone was down in the computer room while I dropped the nut against the bottom of the wall cavity from in the attic. I now knew where to drill a hole in the wall in the computer room. I made it very small just in case it wasn't the correct location and then enlarged it when I found out I was right on. I did not install no electrical box but simply just carefully screwed the wall plate right to the drywall. It's not the correct way of doing it but now I don't hae to deal with patching any drywall and it looks very professional IMHO.

 

[CPA]

here is another tip that I will be doing soon, but out of the realm of what you can do i am sure.

I plan on running speaker wire from my family room to the backyard. I will cut the top inch or two of sheetrock (where the wall meets the ceiling) completely off. Then run the wires by either drilling holes or just stapling the wire to the I-beams. to cover the mess I plan on installing crown moulding over the hole. Two benefits: the outside speakers and beautiful crown molding in the family room, for about $50 max.

 

[MaxDSP]

I live in a townhouse complex so I have 3 houses connected to the right and 4 connected to the left. I dont have an attic. The cable will have to go sideways once I get it down to the basement, but I already have that much figured out. If I am able to drop the cable 2 stories straight down, I am set. After that, I can string it along on top of the ceiling panels to the PC. When I drop the cable, it should go through the living room wall and then down to the basement. I also have a heating vent on the floorboard but someone else told me that running it through there would be dangerous. The cable would melt when there was heat coming through there and the fumes would kill us all. I dont think my dad would like that. We dont have central air in the house tho.

My basement is finished, depending on the meaning. We have ceiling panels, carpeting, etc in one part of the basement where the PC is, and the other part is the unfinished part, where the water heater, washer, dryer, tools, etc are. If running plenum cable is an alternative option, how much would it be for like 75 ft? The distance straight down and across to the PC is about 40-50 feet, so I wanna have enough slack in case I mess up.

 

[Evadman]

I also have a heating vent on the floorboard but someone else told me that running it through there would be dangerous. The cable would melt when there was heat coming through there and the fumes would kill us all. I dont think my dad would like that. We dont have central air in the house tho.

that is what Plenum cable is made for. You can run plenum cable in the heating/cooling vents without a problem. It is more expensive though, I pay about $150 for a 1000' spool, where regular cat5e is about $55