What cable types make sense for in-wall/attic house wiring?

[drunkgamer]

Hi all,

I'm debating trying to wire all the rooms of my house myself vs. hire someone to do it. I'm not as opposed to spending $$$ as I am worried about how bad the walls get ripped up to get the job done (portions of home have no attic or crawlspace).

Part of my confusion is to what type of cat6 cable do I want?

One installer suggested:
CAT6 500 Mhz (or it was 550Mhz) 23AWG UTP PVC jacket

I really don't know what matters or what I need to consider, even from Googling different cat6 cables.

I think I've seen some 24AWG. And some 400 Mhz. Also riser rated which I don't need from what I can tell.

Is there anything in regards to Mhz or AWG I need to consider if pulling through walls and attic? This will not be inside of conduit and mostly used for high-speed internet (data).

ALSO - I've been looking for a best-of-breed manufacturer for this type of cable if I do it myself. Monoprice has good prices but I'm not sure what I'm buying. Not sure where else to order such stuff, or does it not really matter? Thanks!

Thanks

 

[Mark R]

You may as well install Ca6a cable. That's the highest practical standard today, so should be ideal for future proofing. Cat6a offers 500 MHz bandwidth.

The gauge of the wire is largely irrelevant. It needs to be between 22 and 24, but there's no real advantage to it.
UTP is easier to work with than FTP, as well as cheaper. FTP offers little practical benefit.
Most domestic cabling is PVC insulated. However, it emits highly toxic smoke in the event of fire (so cannot be run through air-ducts). If you prefer a low-toxicity cable, then get one plenum rated and LSZH specified (but bear in mind that this is more expensive and more difficult to work with).
If you have the option of stranded or solid wire - you should use solid wire for a permanent install.

If you're doing the job properly, and the wiring won't be easily replaceable, then go for a well-known brand of cable. E.g. Brand-rex, Nexans. You'll pay more, but if you're spending $$$ ripping up walls and stuff, then in the grand scheme of things, it isn't much.

You should also consider doubling up on cables - so run 2 cables to drops in "important" areas - even if you don't install a jack at the outset. This will make upgrading easier if you later find yourself short a jack. If you use modular faceplates then upgrading from 1 to 2 jacks is trivially easy if the cable is already there. You also get a degree of redundancy in case a cable is damaged during installation, or by mice, etc.

Don't forget that to get full cat6 compliance, your jacks, cable and patch-panels all need to be cat6 rated, and installed correctly. If you've decided to do it properly, don't forget to get these components from a reputable supplier.

 

[kevnich2]

I would definitely go with Cat6/a UTP. For each jack you think you want a cable, run two cables. In each room, run 1 cable on each side of the room. In your living room where your entertainment system is, I would suggest running 4 on each side of the room. You can also use the same cat6 cable for your telephone as well.

Pull all the cable to one central spot and then terminate to a patch panel there and you can plug it in to either a network switch or a telephone system and mix/match as you need.

 

[imagoon]

FYI make sure you check your work, Installing CAT6a is a pita while still having it meet specs. Unwrapping wires to far etc is really easy to do.

 

[skyking]

One of the strategies I use with no attic or crawl access is closets. May times you can work the inside of a closet to your advantage. I surface mounted cable or two across the ceiling of a closet is totally out of sight, for example.

 

[drunkgamer]

Thanks guys for the responses!

I'm sorry to have taken so long to respond but with a 5 month old...I'm happy I can still take a shower from time to time :/

So your points make me ask a few questions:

1) I was tempted to go with cat6a vs cat6 since why not future-proof - I don't plan on cutting through all my walls again in the future. But I don't find many 'hardware' (connectors, jacks, etc.) that support 6a. Are those rated for 6 the same as 6a?

Is pulling 6a any more difficult than pulling 6? I've never done this before so...

2) Thanks for suggesting brand-names like Brand-rex, Nexans. I'll look for them. I'll just purchase 1000 feet to be safe. Any particular seller to look for?

3) Excuse my ignorance, but I've read that I should not pull wire parallel to electrical wires. The thing is, many rooms that I need to pull this down the wall, I have an electrical outlet nearby and so even if it's on the other side of the stud, I have the pull the cable up the wall in the same fashion so is being 1 foot away yet parallel ok?

4) I planned on just getting some Leviton cat6 quickport f-connectors and quickport jacks since I'll be buying a Leviton 42 inch panel. Is there anything else to consider when buying this simple hardware?

 

[notposting]

I usually see Commscope, General Cable, and Belden on the job...granted that's industrial and commercial. Pulling the cable shouldn't be anymore difficult really. Cat-6 should be fine for future proofing really...by the time it's outdated so will 6a. Probably have holodecks by then.

Yes 1 ft should be fine....get a decent punch down tool for the project. I have a 14 month old now. These projects are a lot of fun now 😛

Oh yeah, always pull in a string with the cable so you can pull future cables in easier. They should sell pull string at the local big box hardware store.

 

[drunkgamer]

Oh yeah, always pull in a string with the cable so you can pull future cables in easier. They should sell pull string at the local big box hardware store.

Hmmm didn't think about that. So I tie a pull-down string to the end of the cable im pushing down so that if I need another I have an end sitting in the attic?

I guess that makes sense for the runs where they do just drop down from the attic. The painful one in the bedroom (flat roof, no attic) or the big problem in the living room (our family room) will require me to go around corners, cut the roof and walls, etc. so it won't really help there but I see the idea.

One thing I don't clearly get yet is...when I'm ready to go down the wall in a given room, how do I know where to drill down from the attic? In some cases, I see electrical wire maybe already going down from the attic so I can approximate, but if not...do you need to tear open a small opening near the roof and drill up so you know where to come down with a bigger hole?

 

[Modelworks]

One thing I don't clearly get yet is...when I'm ready to go down the wall in a given room, how do I know where to drill down from the attic? In some cases, I see electrical wire maybe already going down from the attic so I can approximate, but if not...do you need to tear open a small opening near the roof and drill up so you know where to come down with a bigger hole?

You need to buy a fish tape.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_kk_1?...qid=1320775999

It is a really stiff but flexible wire that will not break and you can feed it through the hole in the attic , down the wall and out the place where you intend to put the jack. It is what all the pros use for pulling wire. It needs to be at least twice as long as the distance the wire you are installing will need to cover.

Then when you see electrical wiring in the attic drill a hole slightly larger than the cable about 1ft away from the electrical wire, feed your fish tape through to the outlet point, then tape your wire to the fish tape wire in the attic and pull it through the outlet using the fish tape wire. That is why you need the fish tape twice as long as the wire distance you are installing, you feed the tape wire first so it is easy to guide it through, then attach your cable to the side of it and pull it out. You want to keep the electrical and the network apart to prevent interference issues.

One easy way to locate where you need to drill in the attic is to have a second person tapping on the wall or the ceiling directly over the point where the jack will be located. You can do it by cutting holes in the drywall, but then you add a lot more work to the job of patching drywall when you really don't have to. Another option is to use a measuring tape. Measure from the corner in the room and then locate that corner in the attic and measure the same distance over.