• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Looking for home networking resources

W

WhiteKnight

Platinum Member
I'm going to be setting up wiring for a home network soon, and I'm looking for guides for running in-wall ethernet in an existing house. I need to run wires both vertically (floor to floor), as well as horizontally. Does anyone out there have any recommendations? Thanks.
 
Thanks, Jack. Do you have any advice on running cables horizontally? I understand vertical runs using the empty space in walls between studs but I have no idea how to neatly manage the horizontal runs on each floor.
 
The links posted by JackMDS talks about buying solid wire for in wall and stranded wire for patch cords, and mentions crimping plugs. I'm a professional and corporate standard is solid wires terminated on jacks and factory build and tested patch cords. Except in rare exceptions I do not place plugs on cables.

As for the actuall wiring -- laying out where you want the jacks and how you will run the wire -- that it extremely varible according to your specific situation. I have a single story house on a crawl space; my wiring is run in the crawl space suspended on D-rings. If you are on a slab, you can run in the attic. There is also the option of running the wire thru the walls to the outside and wrapping the house. You talk about floor-floor wiring, implying a two-story house. Hopefully the lower floor's wire can be run in the crawl-space/basement while the upper floor can be run through the attic. I have not run such. I would look to running the connection between basement and attic through an existing passage, such as alongside the main soil stack.
 
The problem is that the closet has to be in the (finished) basement. It's looking more and more like this will either have to be a profesional job or I'll have to figure out another way of doing it.
 
There i$ ju$t one $mall problem with hiring a profe$$ional. The sign in my van says "Pick two: Fast, Cheap, Correct." You can do it right the first time or do it again later.

With a professional the big cost is labor. Materials are negligible in comparison. Assuming your own home, assuming you intend to stay a while, assuming technology will continue progressing forward, I would strongly suggest that if you have a professional run in the cabling to a basement communications closet that you have him run
a combo-6 bundle so you will be ready for whatever the future brings. (At least for the next decade anyhow.)
 
If you can get the cables up to the attic from the basement then you should be set.

closet in basement --> attic --> down to ports in walls

Then all of the lateral / 'horizontal' can be done in the attic.

I'm beginning to be pretty glad I bought a 1 story house... wiring my house was pretty easy.
 
Make a hole in one wall in the basement near the ceiling big enough to get a drill to make enough holes for your wires to go up, maybe 2' x 2' or so, not huge. Use this hole to help you route your wires to the attic.

use the piece of wallboard you cut out as your patch, then tape, putty (if needed), texture and re-paint.

Making one small hole in the wallboard is not a huge deal. I mean it takes a certain amount of being handy, but I assume anyone who would take a shot at DIY wiring is at least a little bit handy.

You don't have to rip out a whole wall, just one hole near the ceiling to make holes and give some help with the fish tape.

I, of course, assume there is an attic. Without an attic you're screwed whether you hire a professional or not, as the professional would have the same accessability issues.
This is when you have to start thinking seriously about wireless + repeaters to keep the signal strength very strong.
 
On the first floor -- cut a hole in the wall for the network jack. Take your 18" long 3/16" (single cat-5) or 3/4" (bundle-6) diameter drill and drill down into the basement. The drill will come out somewhere. Where? Without the finished basement you spot the end of the drill, attach your cat-5, pull the drill plus the cable up into the cutout for the wall jack. With the finished ceiling you need to measure carefully to locate that drill, make a big enough hole to work on it, run the cable somehow to your network closet. Running the cable most likely by going with the joists rather than across, but in any case will require more access holes.
 
I took a look at it again last night and I think this may be workable. It turns out that part of the basement ceiling is lower than the rest. It's not a drop ceiling like in an office, but it is a lower section with air duct in it. There are already a few access panels and I stuck my head up into one. There's a good 8" of clearance between the first floor and the lowered section of basement ceiling, so I don't anticipate too maybe problems there. The only issue that I have now is that the drop coming from the second floor will not be directly above the closet, nor above the lowered section of basement ceiling (this is impossible simply due to the layout). I have to figure out how to cross the last few horizontal feet in the basement.

One question... is it typical for studs to run verticly from floor to floor (provided that there is a continuous wall on both floors) without any horizontal obstructions? Basically, I want to know if I can just cut a hole in the second floor wall, and have a reasonably unobstructed path straight down between those two studs to the basement.
 
usually ..no
is it typical for studs to run verticly from floor to floor (provided that there is a continuous wall on both floors) without any horizontal obstructions?
Click to expand...
1st floor then a header tying it all together with trusses/beams/etc. then a subfloor/ceiling then the next level ..pretty much the vertical studs are tied/nailed to each other at some point by horizontal pieces..i.e. bracing/reinforcement and such ..I'd go for the closet and go up from there checking how the back wall of it is and the back ceiling thereof..gl
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top