What is the usual structure of the phone line setup in a home? And how to pull wire?

[Eug]

Ie., in a small home is it usually that each room has an independent wire to a central splitter box, or are they usually daisy-chained off one another?

And are most homes built so that pulling wire wouldn't be that hard? How does it work anyway? Is just a string or something that's left in the walls (if the builder has foresight)?

Sorry if these questions seem kinda stoopid. BTW, I can't check my setup until I move in Jan. 31

I have a setup for HomePNA 2 (up to 10 Mbps), but for certain purposes, I'd REALLY like Fast Ethernet.

 

[FirmPete]

For the phone topologie, I don't think it matters. At my place we have separate cables.

Pulling a line: I have a thing that's a long fiber-ish line with an eye at one end wich you can actually push trough the wall openings. (With a LOT of wiggling) Attach the line when it comes out and pull back.

I really have no idea how to call this thing. You should be able to buy em at an hardwarestore.

 

[Eug]

Hmmm... wouldn't that thingy only work for short runs? I can't see how it could possibly work going around corners, etc. The way I'm understanding you is that you push it through one hole and wait until it comes out another.

As for the topology question, I was just asking that if the string stuff wasn't already in place, couldn't one use the existing phone line to pull both another phone line or two to replace it, along with CAT-5, if it was based on a star network? I know it sounds kinda risky but if it were daisy-chained this would not even be a remote option.

 

[MrPALCO]

A few years back, I bought a small book at Radio Shack titled, "The Telephone Book, AT&T guide to installing telephones and accessories". It is a pocket sized reference book that details all operations involved in wiring the home for telephone (also useful for CAT5). The publisher is AT&T.

The book has a lot of diagrams and illustrations, complete with wire pulling techniques.

 

[Workin']

The "thing" is called a "fish tape" and it doesn't work too well around corners.

You could try using the existing phone line to pull a new phone line and other wires along the same path. Depends on whether the original wire is stapled anywhere and how big the holes in the wall studs are. I have done this before, but just to pull 2 phone lines instead of 1. And some places it just would not go.

It would be shocking if the builder left pull-tapes and pathways for upgrading wiring.

In my 55 year old house, some phone lines are direct runs from the interface, others are daisy chained. About all you can do is start pulling on wires and see what you find. It helps if you own the house and are not renting it, because then if you break something it is only your problem and you can fix it when you get around to it.

It can be a real challenge to get wires everywhere you want them. Good luck!

 

[MrPALCO]

A common method for bringing wire inside a wall around the corner is to remove a small hand size section of wallboard to gain access. Then patch, finish and paint.

One method I use when trying to "stick" a wire through multiple surfaces, is a piece of small diameter auto brake line (be sure to cut the flare off), pass it through first, then pass a thin stainless steel pull wire through the tubing, with draw the tubing back out, leaving the SS wire, hook the wire to be pulled to the SS wire and draw it through the area.

Slick.



edit...spell

 

[randomlinh]

just for a referecne point, my old townhouse (20 some) is daisy chained. I just ran cat5e cable up the side of the wall into the attic, and dropped it into my room, folling the cable. Knowing i can do that, i can drop a wire into every room upstairs and the living room probably too.

 

[MrPALCO]

Yep, the easiest runs are down between the studs.

 

[Harrald]

Hi. Two things.

1) Do you have a basement?
If you do then you can just run homeruns to a central location. This is the easiest method. Get a T-25 staple gun and go to town.
A small hole in a floorboard or behind a baseboard will be hidden behind the jack you install. If you install flush mount jack then cut the hole and drill down.


2) Do you have an attic?
If you do, use the same method except you need to run the whole bundle to where ever the phone line comes into the house.

Get a fish tape (it'll help)

Drag a thin wax covered string first

Then drag whatever you need Cat3,Cat5 or video

I use Cat5 for my phones also (Never know when you'll want a network drop there)

Get some electrical tape (After you tie the cable to the string use the tape to make a smooth bullet shape so it can't snag as easy)

On every single pull drag another string (for the future)

On every multi-pull drag a string also (same as above)

If you don't have access to the basement of attic then try and run cable behind baseboard molding.


Good luck and try and have fun (yeah right that's going to happen)

 

[Eug]

Ack! This seems far too complicated for the time being then. Thanks guys, but I might wait until later this year or maybe next year and just pay someone to do it. I shall keep this info just in case though, since I already own over 1000 feet of Cat-5. (The electricians at work had tons of 100 ft lengths, which were useless for them so they gave a bunch to me.)

It's a townhouse, of which I have the 2nd and 3rd floor. The 1st floor belongs to someone else. The "basement" level is my garage, and yet a third occupied unit, and the attic level is my rooftop patio (which is a good thing ). So, in other words, I have the roof, the 3rd floor, the 2nd floor, but not the 1st floor or the basement (aside from half of the garage).

If I start messing around too much, I'm sure my neighbours will not be too happy, because it potentially affects them too. (I do own my parts of it though.)



<< I use Cat5 for my phones also (Never know when you'll want a network drop there) >>

How? Did you reterminate all your phone cables? I do note however, that my current upstairs neighbour has ultra wide phone jacks that look suspiciously like RJ-45 jacks but smaller I think, but the RJ-11 plugs work fine in them. What are those?

 

[Harrald]

<<How? Did you reterminate all your phone cables?>>

Whenever i run a new phone drop I use Cat5 instead of Cat 3. I didn't replace anyof the old stuff. I'll wait till I need to.

Abou the townhouse you should try the baseboard thing. Get a pinch bar(a short wide prybar) pull off the moulding and tuck it in the space between the wall and floor that the moulding is hiding. You might want to have some paint and if there's not a lot of moulding it may be a good time to replace it all for a cleaner install.

Pulling between floors is a pain. If you have a closet over a closet then do it in there.

It's not as easy as drilling and stapling but it'll get the job done.