Wiring a new home.....Should I bother or go wireless?

[homeby5]

Hey Guys,
My name is Tom. I am building a new home and I am going crazy trying to figure out what network cabling to run . I keep reading about all of these endless wired devices that I should plan for but I don't know why.

To start with, I am not a bandwidth hog. I currently only use basic cable TV service and internet. I don not have a land line. I also have a home theater system but use regular speaker cables and don't have different "zones".

I understand about planning for the future and all but to spend $500 or more and pull a mile of cable providing 2 ethernet ports and 2 coax ports in each room seems excessive to me...especially since many things are going wireless.

So....should I just run a Cat6 and RG6 cable into a central hub in my house and from there simply rely on wireless networks? I know that my cable company offers wireless receivers. Also, I don't even own a desktop computer anymore. It's just my wife and I and we both use wi-fi for the internet. Remember...I'm an older non-tech savy dude that doesn't use gaming systems or stuff like that.

Thanks guys Be easy on me and rest assured that I respect the time you take to help me.

 

[BeeBoop]

Nobody uses landline telephone anymore but I believe it is required by law to have it installed in all rooms during construction. Landline wires for phones use the same cat5e for networking in new homes. You can actually have both the landline telephone and Ethernet cable running through he same line. My suggestion is to have them do exactly that, run both telephone and internet through the same line. It might be cheaper.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Hack-your-House-Run-both-ethernet-and-phone-over-/

 

[Crab Balls]

Sounds like you got a good idea where to start. Buy good quality CAT6 and RG-6 cable and pull two home runs from the centralized hub location to each room. Strategically place your boxes on opposite sides of the room or where you know they will get the most use. Since your walls are open, use 3/4" PVC conduit between the box to the other side of the floor or where you have easy access to. This is to make future pulls easy should you want to change something to accommodate new tech. Also, install several runs of 2" PVC between floors from the basement up to the attic. This is helpful for future installs too. This made life so much easier when I installed a CCTV system. I also put my wireless access point in the attic. Conduit and cable are cheap, run what you can while the walls are open. Only thing that uses wireless are our smartphones and tablets. Keep everything you can connected via wire, it is more reliable, faster, and more secure.

 

[homeby5]

@ BEEBOP Thanks...
That's a great point about phone jacks. I'm doing the work myself so it's up to me to determine what is actually needed or a waste of money. If the phone jacks are needed should I just run Cat6 to cover the future?

Am I overlooking something serious by not running all of these wires for wired networks? I know wireless isn't hit it's peak yet but it works for me now without any issues.

What about coax cables? Is this a waste of time? Cat6 is easy and cheap but RG6 is more expensive and difficult. I'd rather not pull this if I don't have to.

If I do need coax then what about those combo cables? Are they good?

It just seems that all of the articles I read and some of the forums are suggesting several ports in each room. Really?

 

[Crab Balls]

Phone wire is actually CAT3. Run the phone wire as well, you can use CAT5, just keep it a different color so you don't add confusion. You can get modular wall plates to build whatever hookups you desire. Don't skimp, run the cable now and never have any worries in the future.

 

[homeby5]

But why run these cables for what I use or foresee any future use? Isn't wireless taking over?

 

[VirtualLarry]

When you have kids, and they all want to stream 4K UHD videos over the network, to multiple locations, you'll be glad you had a wired network. Or if you have a multi-PC network, and want to have them all back up to a centralized server or NAS, every night. Helps to have wired. Or you don't want your neighbors or, well, "others", sniffing and recording all of your network traffic. Just because they haven't cracked your current wifi password (and really, you have no way of knowing, if they are just sniffing), doesn't mean that they aren't storing all your network transmissions for the future, when cracking a WPA2-PSK password will become a trivial exercise.

 

[Crab Balls]

But why run these cables for what I use or foresee any future use? Isn't wireless taking over?

Sounds like you want validation and a reason to not run cable. I don't see wireless taking over any time soon, though the industry would like you to believe it. For future use, you have options with wiring and possibly conduit should take on the task. Plus, if you put the house on the market you have a good selling feature. Your only downside is spending about $500 and burning a little time if you do it now. I don't see a reason not to. I did and I'm glad I did.

 

[heymrdj]

Wireless hasn't solved the spectrum problem yet. For single and two person homes it works, more than that and I see wireless fall apart often.

 

[BeeBoop]

I asked my electrician to change my phone jacks to Ethernet jacks because my landline phone was already using cat5E. It worked out well for me. The main reason I did this is because I needed a more stable network to play my Blu-ray movies from my pc located in a different room. I was getting buffering times using powerline adaptors.

I never tried wireless for my Samsung 8550, so it honestly might have worked. I'm not sure. Maybe I'll give it a go later to see if I wasted 300$ on an electrician. lol

 

[homeby5]

Wireless hasn't solved the spectrum problem yet. For single and two person homes it works, more than that and I see wireless fall apart often.

I guess that's the thing. I'm older and it's only my wife and I. I do have a couple grand kids. I will NOT start using wired computers just for security or whatever. I made the switch a while ago and will not go back.

My concern is if I am overlooking something that is coming down the pike that will make me wish I had Ethernet ports everywhere. I don't see it but you guys know a hell of a lot more than me.

I'm leaning on installing Ethernet cable in a few rooms (it's cheap and easy) and will leave conduit for future use or for re-sell. But what about Coax? Is that used anymore or for things that Ethernet can't handle?

Thanks

 

[heymrdj]

At minimum you'll want some very well placed drops to run a grid of access points. Start with a Ubiquti radio, and go from there. If you want mainly wireless you need to start with a system that's designed for expansion, and it's a good value, about 60-90$ each.

I didn't run much ethernet, and now I have multiple 50ft runs around the corners of rooms to support my server habit and stuff :/

 

[BeeBoop]

Okay, I just tried the wireless and it works great playing my Blu-ray movies. I pretty much wasted 300$ on a home network. Lol. So I'm really not seeing much of a reason to network your entire house. The same goes for Coax. Coax carries the internet into your home though, so that would have to be in the middle of your home.

Edit:
My television sits right next to my wireless router and cable modem so it receives good signal. I can run 4k Netflix wirelessly to my television and my Blu-ray movies look really good too. I'm not seeing a reason to network the entire home. Just setup some key Ethernet locations.

The only reason you'd need wired connections is if you plan to play PC games in any particular room. Nobody wants wireless for games.

 

[inachu]

Either way the future is all Category 6 or better. So you better wire for CAt6 no matter what. This way no matter how you upgrade your computer technology infrastructure it will always work fin on Cat6 and will not have any hissy fit about not having enough bandwidth.

You may not be a data hog but normal communication may randomly demand more or less that you think you need. I do not know your house layout blue print but if you have a basement where all the wiring starts then I would at least wire from basement to living room and 1 extra room as CAT 6 and the rest as CAT5.

The argument no longer fits such as "I AM NOT A GAMER!!!" I do not need a fancy pc!

That may be true but if you are a Microsoft Office user then upgrading office on that once fast pc that is now slow when using Office 2010 -13 is the reason you upgrade to a gaming pc because those apps are now graphics heavy even though they are not a game. The same is true for a network. Applications today love chattering on the network phoning home for what ever reason.

Just saying you are shooting yourself in the foot if you just go pure wifi.
Now if your home will be small then you could just go for a new AC wifi router and you could pass for using that for 5 years or so.

 

[brshoemak]

CAT6/6A is pointless unless you're going to have someone terminate the runs professionally - and certify them afterwards. You will see no benefit over CAT5E unless they are terminated to spec, which your average joe schmo will not be able to do reliably.

At minimum I would run at least 1 CAT5E run and 1 RG6 run to each room - regardless if you think you need it or not. Someone else could always put in a small switch to connect a few devices or run a patch cable around the edge of the room - but no one want 50' patch cables running throughout their house.

I would run conduit though, and add a pull string inside it along with the cables - really cheap stuff - kinda like dental floss but thicker. It allows you or a future owner to tie a cable to it and pull a new run through the conduit if desired.

Whatever you decide, understand that once the drywall is up you can't go back and easily change things unless you REALLY like spending money.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Definitely run wires, better than wireless and more secure. Keep wireless on a separate vlan with restricted access to the rest of the network. Nice to have a guest network that has even more restriction and an easy or no password but that's stuff you can always setup in the future anyway. All the important stuff stays on the wired network.

I would run phone jacks too but use cat6 that way you can easily convert to ethernet. Really you can probably get away with only a few phone jacks in central locations where you may want a basic desk phone while you can use cordless sets for rest of locations.

 

[Crab Balls]

I guess that's the thing. I'm older and it's only my wife and I. I do have a couple grand kids. I will NOT start using wired computers just for security or whatever. I made the switch a while ago and will not go back.

My concern is if I am overlooking something that is coming down the pike that will make me wish I had Ethernet ports everywhere. I don't see it but you guys know a hell of a lot more than me.

I'm leaning on installing Ethernet cable in a few rooms (it's cheap and easy) and will leave conduit for future use or for re-sell. But what about Coax? Is that used anymore or for things that Ethernet can't handle?

Thanks

Not sure what cable providers you have in the area? I have Verizon FiOS and coax is a must. They use coax to go to each set top box, which uses a Moca bridge to connect ethernet from the ONT. The question you have to ask yourself is would you rather have the cable installed and hidden the way you want or would you like it stapled to the baseboard molding and around the doorways? Comcast uses coax as well to TVs.

 

[BeeBoop]

Yes, Coax is a must! That's how you get internet and television into your home. Your future kids will watch television through the internet so you wouldn't need Coax for all rooms, just wifi by ethernet in key locations. I personally only watch sports and live events on the biggest television, so I would only require Coax in the living room. My modem and router is also in the living room too, next to my television. So the TV gets good wifi reception.

One thing you might want to consider down the line is setting up your living room for a future 5.1 stereo surround sound system. My living room layout sucks because it's hard to get wires behind my couch without having to place a rug between the TV and couch. I can't have surround sound speakers behind my couch without using an ugly rug.

 

[CA19100]

If you're doing new construction, or even a remodel that has the walls open, I would absolutely run Cat 6. Do you need to do it to every room? Probably not, but that depends on how your house is laid out. I don't need it in the kitchen, for example, but each bedroom would be valuable.

My network at my current apartment is a hybrid of wireless for some devices, and a single Cat 6 cable (strung along the ceiling) running gigabit ethernet from my router to my office. It's then distributed with an inexpensive switch to my desktop machine, laptop, Xbox, and laser printer. I was originally just wireless, but it required an ugly external antenna for my desktop PC that lives on the floor, and I was lucky to get 50 Mbit on a good day due to various things interfering with it. The wired connection gives me every bit of the 100 Mbit speed I'm paying for, as well as gigabit speeds between my various wired devices.

Also, consider resale value down the road if you think you'll ever sell the place. When I was home shopping recently, several of the homes I looked at were wired with Cat 5 or Cat 6 to a central location. With all else being equal, those homes were worth a higher price to me. It's something to consider, because while it's a few hundred dollars now, it'll be much more if you decide to do it down the road and have to start tearing walls apart.

One thing you might want to consider down the line is setting up your living room for a future 5.1 stereo surround sound system.

Excellent idea! I had an apartment a few years ago that was pre-wired like that, and it was just fantastic.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yes, Coax is a must! That's how you get internet and television into your home. Your future kids will watch television through the internet so you wouldn't need Coax for all rooms, just wifi by ethernet in key locations. I personally only watch sports and live events on the biggest television, so I would only require Coax in the living room. My modem and router is also in the living room too, next to my television. So the TV gets good wifi reception.

One thing you might want to consider down the line is setting up your living room for a future 5.1 stereo surround sound system. My living room layout sucks because it's hard to get wires behind my couch without having to place a rug between the TV and couch. I can't have surround sound speakers behind my couch without using an ugly rug.

That's a good point too, and consider any other place that would be good to move/put a TV and put coax, ethernet and power there too. Ex: bedrooms, think of the most logical place one would ever want to put a TV and put the proper jacks. Keep in mind that lot of TV is moving towards ethernet now too so add an extra jack for that, but coax too.

It's better to overprovision than under provision. Also, networking aside, dedicated 20 amp power outlets can be nice near a window, for an AC unit or space heater should it be needed at some point.

 

[homeby5]

Okay, I just tried the wireless and it works great playing my Blu-ray movies. I pretty much wasted 300$ on a home network. Lol. So I'm really not seeing much of a reason to network your entire house. The same goes for Coax. Coax carries the internet into your home though, so that would have to be in the middle of your home.

Edit:
My television sits right next to my wireless router and cable modem so it receives good signal. I can run 4k Netflix wirelessly to my television and my Blu-ray movies look really good too. I'm not seeing a reason to network the entire home. Just setup some key Ethernet locations.

The only reason you'd need wired connections is if you plan to play PC games in any particular room. Nobody wants wireless for games.

So Blue Ray uses a network? Mine just plugs into my Home theater using HDMI. Shows you how out of touch I am :LOL:

OK...you guys have convinced me to run Cat6 wiring. As far as Coax goes....my cable company uses Ethernet (Uverse). Some still use coax?
Thanks again guys. You've been a big help

 

[inachu]

CAT6/6A is pointless unless you're going to have someone terminate the runs professionally - and certify them afterwards. You will see no benefit over CAT5E unless they are terminated to spec, which your average joe schmo will not be able to do reliably.

At minimum I would run at least 1 CAT5E run and 1 RG6 run to each room - regardless if you think you need it or not. Someone else could always put in a small switch to connect a few devices or run a patch cable around the edge of the room - but no one want 50' patch cables running throughout their house.

I would run conduit though, and add a pull string inside it along with the cables - really cheap stuff - kinda like dental floss but thicker. It allows you or a future owner to tie a cable to it and pull a new run through the conduit if desired.

Whatever you decide, understand that once the drywall is up you can't go back and easily change things unless you REALLY like spending money.

Not everything needs to terminate. He does not need to learn color coding. They sell very long wire premade so it can plug into the backside of a wall jack on either end. But yeah would be nice to learn to terminate and stuff if he has time.

 

[BeeBoop]

So Blue Ray uses a network? Mine just plugs into my Home theater using HDMI. Shows you how out of touch I am :LOL:

I rip my Blu-rays and store them on my computer so I can stream the movies anywhere throughout the home. Someone mentioned a NAS server earlier. NAS servers are made specifically for how I use my Blu-rays but I'd rather just use my home PC. Example of NAS server. The NAS server can be anywhere in your home. It doesn't have to be next to your television.

OK...you guys have convinced me to run Cat6 wiring. As far as Coax goes....my cable company uses Ethernet (Uverse). Some still use coax?
Thanks again guys. You've been a big help

I'm almost 100% sure you will need Coax cable if you want internet. Ethernet cables like Cat5 and Cat6 are made for indoor use. Coax cable is thicker and tougher than Cat6 because Coax carries both TV and internet throughout your entire city connecting homes and businesses. Coax cable is made to withstand outdoor conditions. If you don't have one Coax cable, you will not have internet. You better double check this.

Edit:
Just doing a quick google search it seems like Uverse also uses Coax (Fiber)to deliver internet to homes. I don't know where you live but any place that I have ever lived at always requires the modem be first connected to a Coax cable and then I can connect my cat5e lines to computers.

Edit 2:
Coax cable connects to the cable modem and the cable modem connects to the Ethernet. That's how it's always been in my experience.

 

[matricks]

So Blue Ray uses a network? Mine just plugs into my Home theater using HDMI. Shows you how out of touch I am :LOL:

Networking adds some benefits, but isn't needed to play Blu-Ray discs themselves. Internet surfing on the TV, Netflix streaming, Airplay and similar content streaming from various mobile devices, modern multimedia equipment like TVs, receivers and players can do all of these things - if they have Internet access.

I see you're already convinced, but to add if you have second thoughts: Ethernet has the connect-it-and-forget-it advantage. You connect the cable, bam, Internet. No figuring out which Wi-Fi network is yours (an issue for guests sometimes), mistyping the passphrase, messed up network profiles on devices. Device compatibility issues with Ethernet is close to non-existent, with Wi-Fi on the other hand playing around to find exact settings that device X will work with can be frustrating.

As for coax, it isn't used for local networking anymore. Just TV/STBs and cable modems. It might be more widespread on your side of the Atlantic. I would wire Ethernet everywhere, but I wouldn't bother to run coax in lots of rooms. If your modem, TV(s) or set-top boxes need it, wire coax where they are (and to potential future spots they might be).

I think this will be the $500 you will regret the least about spending on your house in your lifetime.

 

[Cerb]

CAT6/6A is pointless unless you're going to have someone terminate the runs professionally - and certify them afterwards. You will see no benefit over CAT5E unless they are terminated to spec, which your average joe schmo will not be able to do reliably.

So you'd save a negligible amount of cost with Cat5, and then have it ripped out and replaced, later, with closed walls, instead of just running the latest spec to start? Penny wise, pound foolish is the most polite way to describe that, IMO.