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should I pre-wire my house with CAT6 cable?
March 28, 2017 at
06:35 AM
We are building a new home and need to decide on pre-wiring. Currently we are planning on having Ethernet jacks in family room, office, and master bedroom. The standard cable run is CAT5E, but the builder will upgrade to CAT6 for $60 per run (so $180 total). Is this a worthwide upgrade for future-proofing? The internet provider there is AT&T Fiber and they offer 1G service.
Also, the builder is suggesting they install a wireless access point in the upstairs level loft (cost of $570), and connect this to the planned structured wiring box in the basement. He says we should instruct AT&T to install the router next to this wiring box in the basement. They say this arrangement is the best way to get a strong Wi-fi signal on all 3 floors. Is this a worthwhile upgrade also?
Thanks.
Also, the builder is suggesting they install a wireless access point in the upstairs level loft (cost of $570), and connect this to the planned structured wiring box in the basement. He says we should instruct AT&T to install the router next to this wiring box in the basement. They say this arrangement is the best way to get a strong Wi-fi signal on all 3 floors. Is this a worthwhile upgrade also?
Thanks.
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That or just tell him you will do it yourself and he has nothing to say about it. What is he going to do, refuse to allow you to run the cables before the walls are up in your own house? Then you just bring a buddy to help you who also happens to be a handyman lol.
That or just tell him to go jump in a lake and hire someone to do it after the fact. The rates will not be any worse than what this crook is trying to charge you and indeed will likely be less, though it makes it a lot more difficult to do the entire house with the walls up.
If somebody doesn't know what they're doing, they can cause problems for other trades (plumber, electrician, hvac) or do something like forget to fire caulk holes or drill holes that are too big and cause a headache for the builder.
Builders nickel and dime people and cut corners on some of the stupidest things.
Walls that line up between levels especially closets and similar spaces are the easiest places to run wires after the fact. Identify places that are harder to wire after the fact and have them wire those at least.
I'd also prewire for a front door camera at around 6-8' off the ground, that's a location that can be harder to wire after the fact.
Cat5e is often used for phone jacks these days (but not always in the required star topology for ethernet), they may charge less for some phone jacks.
OP, if you want advice on locations that would be hard to wire after the fact post some blueprints.
That or just tell him you will do it yourself and he has nothing to say about it. What is he going to do, refuse to allow you to run the cables before the walls are up in your own house? Then you just bring a buddy to help you who also happens to be a handyman lol.
if he lets himself on property to do it, the builder can actually just rip them out and throw it away. it's actually trespassing too probably. the title probably hasn't been transferred until it closes.
not to mention the builder would be responsible for all the code violations if the homeowner did it wrong. which would be noticed since they normally do inspections before drywall is put up for plumbing and electric.
otherwise your advice is sound.
Running cables in exterior walls is harder, if there are locations in exterior walls you want wired also get the builder to do those. If your TV is on an exterior wall, have extra cables run to that location.
if he lets himself on property to do it, the builder can actually just rip them out and throw it away. it's actually trespassing too probably. the title probably hasn't been transferred until it closes.
not to mention the builder would be responsible for all the code violations if the homeowner did it wrong. which would be noticed since they normally do inspections before drywall is put up for plumbing and electric.
otherwise your advice is sound.
I am sure there is a contract with the builder. However, it really comes down to whether the OP owns the property currently or is just under contract and waiting for completion to close on the home. In the latter, you pretty much are at their mercy unless you want to threaten to walk away. I would just do it after the fact for all but the most difficult stuff then.
Other things to consider:
1. If you plan on doing surround sound in your living or family room, then figure out where you will place the TV and AVR and have the rear speaker wires run. There is nothing more of a PITA then running the rear 2 or 4 speaker wires across a room either by going under the floor and up the rear walls or up and over the ceiling and down the rear walls once the walls are up.
2. If you are mounting a TV over a fireplace, have the HDMI cables properly run through the wall ahead of time while the walls are open.
I went overboard.
I wired 2 RG-6 Quad and two Cat6 to every room in the house, as well as two cat5e and 14awg speaker wire in every room for whole home audio and intercom system. In the living room and activity room I wired for 9.2 speaker system, and each has 6 Cat6 as well. I also ran HDMI in every room that could potentially have a TV. I even wired my master bathroom for a TV.
It was cheap and easy with the walls opened up.
Here's my structured media box:
I went overboard.
I wired 2 RG-6 Quad and two Cat6 to every room in the house, as well as two cat5e and 14awg speaker wire in every room for whole home audio and intercom system. In the living room and activity room I wired for 9.2 speaker system, and each has 6 Cat6 as well. I also ran HDMI in every room that could potentially have a TV. I even wired my master bathroom for a TV.
It was cheap and easy with the walls opened up.
Here's my structured media box:
Wow...9.2. That is overkill. 7.1 is usually more than enough but I guess it does not hurt. After you get to 7.1\2, you are sort of just adding speakers for the sake of adding speakers imo, As it is, most of the time I find 5.1 to be almost indistinguishable from 7.1 let alone 9.1, but that is me. The rears need to be there for the surround effect, but having their sound come from 6 different angles is pretty much overkill in most cases imo.
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I went overboard.
I wired 2 RG-6 Quad and two Cat6 to every room in the house, as well as two cat5e and 14awg speaker wire in every room for whole home audio and intercom system. In the living room and activity room I wired for 9.2 speaker system, and each has 6 Cat6 as well. I also ran HDMI in every room that could potentially have a TV. I even wired my master bathroom for a TV.
It was cheap and easy with the walls opened up.
Here's my structured media box:
This is what i'd do if I were building a custom house + a hard wired alarm system and security cameras.
However this is overkill for most people. As few as 6 well placed cables is a huge improvement over a house with no network wiring.
My minimum would be 2 Cat-6 to each TV, surround sound prewire, 2 Cat-6 to the office, and 1 to any floor without a jack.
This is what i'd do if I were building a custom house + a hard wired alarm system and security cameras.
However this is overkill for most people. As few as 6 well placed cables is a huge improvement over a house with no network wiring.
My minimum would be 2 Cat-6 to each TV, surround sound prewire, 2 Cat-6 to the office, and 1 to any floor without a jack.
Also, I forgot to mention that I ran Cat5e and octopus cable for analog cameras all over the exterior of the house, and the builder pre-wired for an alarm system so I didn't have to do that.
Bah, had a tough time attaching it while mobile. Here it is.
Also, I forgot to mention that I ran Cat5e and octopus cable for analog cameras all over the exterior of the house, and the builder pre-wired for an alarm system so I didn't have to do that.
I went overboard.
I wired 2 RG-6 Quad and two Cat6 to every room in the house, as well as two cat5e and 14awg speaker wire in every room for whole home audio and intercom system. In the living room and activity room I wired for 9.2 speaker system, and each has 6 Cat6 as well. I also ran HDMI in every room that could potentially have a TV. I even wired my master bathroom for a TV.
It was cheap and easy with the walls opened up.
Here's my structured media box:
Example [monoprice.com]
I ran Cat5e for the security cameras, whole home audio, and intercom. I picked blue, black, and gray, again, for no particular reason (well, I had a bunch already, so I guess that's a reason).
Example [monoprice.com]
I ran RG-6 Quad shield, two runs per room. At the time, white was like $30 cheaper than black. So I ran white. If I were to do it again I'd only run one per room.
Example [monoprice.com]
I wouldn't bother with siamese cable for analog alarm system these days. I wish I wouldn't have run it as it would have saved me time, effort, money, and space in my cabinet. However, if you choose to do so, here it is [monoprice.com]. Honestly though, NVR for home surveillance is so much better, there's no reason to go analog these days.
I ran 14 AWG 4-conductor [amazon.com] from the panel to each room with a box for an audio controller. From that box in each room, I ran 14AWG 2-conductor [monoprice.com] to the speaker locations. Run one Cat5e Ethernet (blue, black, or gray from above) cable with the 4-conductor audio so it will be available for smart audio control panels, if you choose to go that route. It's easy and cheap to pull it even if you don't think you'll go the smart route.
I ran three HDMI cables from behind the TV to behind the entertainment center. Now I think that is overkill, and two will suffice. You do want at least two in case one of your cables gets damaged at any point, so you have a spare. For in-wall, make sure to choose a high quality HDMI cable. NOTE: expensive does NOT imply high-quality. Do your research here.
Other items:
42" Structured Media Enclosure [amazon.com]
Surge Outlets for inside the media enclosure [amazon.com]
Keystone punchdown stand [amazon.com]
Punchdown Tool [amazon.com] - this one was cheap and worked well for my needs. There are much better ones out there.
Keystone Jacks [amazon.com] (various colors to keep things straight)
Recessed outlet boxes for the Patio TV [amazon.com] (I put in two, one for power, one for low-voltage stuff)
Various and sundry other items, but this should get you started.
This patch panel in my 19" rack [amazon.com]
For fewer (and a more sane amount) of network drops, this will fit [amazon.com] in the Leviton enclosure. Don't buy the Cat6 one, as there is absolutely no difference between the Cat5e and Cat6 Leviton panels except for the sticker. They use the exact same PCB and components. I verified this myself with my own two eyes, and returned the much more expensive Cat6 ones.
https://slickdeals.net/e/8154936-how-to-wire-whole-house-with-ethernet-ports?
I'm generally a fan of wired networks, but why isn't wireless an option? Performance, security, company policy, etc? Upgrading your wireless hardware could also be a viable solution.
I'll assume the basement is unfinished? It is a 1 story, 2 story, tri-level, etc? If it's more than one story, you'll want to run at least 1-2 wires to an upper level.
The basics:
- Make a drawing of the house and locations you want jacks, use a cad program like DraftSight if you want. Whenever possible choose interior walls! Think about home theater and security cameras too.
- Study your drawing carefully and measure. Consider drilling some small holes or driving in a finishing nail in front of the baseboard down through the carpet to help locate where things line up between floors. You don't want to accidentally drill through an electrical wire, floor joist, wall stud, gas line, duct work, or water pipe. Adjust your plan as required, the plan doesn't have to be absolutely perfect, but be careful when it comes time to actually drill
- Run 2 Cat-5e or Cat-6 cables to each location. You may want even more or jacks in multiple locations in certain rooms like an office or by a tv.
- If you want to add cable (RG-6 QS) to any of the locations it's easiest to do it at the same time
- Run all wires from a central or otherwise practical location that will serve as the wiring closet. You should run coax and Cat-5e/6 from this location to the area outside your house where phone and cable enter the house. If you want to future proof, running an empty conduit through the basement from the wiring closet to an area near where the cable and phone enter the house is a good idea too. Electrical power should be available in your wiring closet.
- Terminate all wires using punch down jacks not crimp-on connectors, use keystone jacks in the rooms and 1 or more patch panels in the wiring closet. DO NOT use cables with RJ-45 modular plugs!
- use spools or boxes of un-terminated bulk cable, preferably 2 spools or boxes so you can easily pull 2 wires to one location at the same time (different colors). Use solid cable not stranded for in wall use
- use mudrings when installing jacks in the rooms.
- don't bend the cable too sharply
- avoid staples as much as possible other types of hooks and hangers usually work better, when necessary use something large enough the cable can freely pass through. Try to plan your wires like a tree where the trunk runs parallel to the floor joists above you in the basement and the branches go to the various rooms.
- buy pre-made patch cables (to connect your devices to the wall jacks), making them yourself isn't worth the hassle.
- keep low voltage wires away from building wiring, preferably at least 1' away, perpendicular crossings with >1" space.
http://monoprice.com has pretty good prices and sells many of the things you'd needI wouldn't connect the jacks on the patch panel to a switch until you need them, if your needs grow you can upgrade your switch easily. I'd plan on putting a wireless router in the wiring closet and running Cat-5e to 1 or 2 locations fairly far from the wiring closet where you could setup an access point if you need to boost your wireless.
Here are some related threads to read through:
https://slickdeals.net/e/2005384-structured-wiring
https://slickdeals.net/e/1985986-wiring-home-for-ethernet-and-speakers
https://slickdeals.net/e/1612651-wiring-a-home-for-ethernet
https://slickdeals.net/f/3695944-wired-home-network-question
https://slickdeals.net/e/2234365-wired-home-networking-need-advice
https://slickdeals.net/f/2798927-how-hard-is-running-ethernet-cable-through-your-house
https://slickdeals.net/e/4297080-ethernet-connection-problems
https://slickdeals.net/e/3814968-home-networking-gigabit-switch-crossover-cables
https://slickdeals.net/e/4950988-home-network-set-up-help
There were a couple other good threads I can't find at the moment and may link to later.
I found one of the two threads I was looking for. It has more information and useful discussion than a lot of the others in a large part because the OP participated regularly in the thread and listened what was being said.
https://slickdeals.net/e/7180838-need-help-on-how-to-wire-new-build-home-with-network-cabling
For many people HomePlug AV2 adapters, MoCa adapters, or better wifi routers/adapters are enough. If the basement's unfinished it isn't too hard to run ethernet. If the house is old enough to have lathe & plaster, cutting holes for your wall plates will be more difficult.
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Example [monoprice.com]
I ran Cat5e for the security cameras, whole home audio, and intercom. I picked blue, black, and gray, again, for no particular reason (well, I had a bunch already, so I guess that's a reason).
Example [monoprice.com]
I ran RG-6 Quad shield, two runs per room. At the time, white was like $30 cheaper than black. So I ran white. If I were to do it again I'd only run one per room.
Example [monoprice.com]
I wouldn't bother with siamese cable for analog alarm system these days. I wish I wouldn't have run it as it would have saved me time, effort, money, and space in my cabinet. However, if you choose to do so, here it is [monoprice.com]. Honestly though, NVR for home surveillance is so much better, there's no reason to go analog these days.
I ran 14 AWG 4-conductor [amazon.com] from the panel to each room with a box for an audio controller. From that box in each room, I ran 14AWG 2-conductor [monoprice.com] to the speaker locations. Run one Cat5e Ethernet (blue, black, or gray from above) cable with the 4-conductor audio so it will be available for smart audio control panels, if you choose to go that route. It's easy and cheap to pull it even if you don't think you'll go the smart route.
I ran three HDMI cables from behind the TV to behind the entertainment center. Now I think that is overkill, and two will suffice. You do want at least two in case one of your cables gets damaged at any point, so you have a spare. For in-wall, make sure to choose a high quality HDMI cable. NOTE: expensive does NOT imply high-quality. Do your research here.
Other items:
42" Structured Media Enclosure [amazon.com]
Surge Outlets for inside the media enclosure [amazon.com]
Keystone punchdown stand [amazon.com]
Punchdown Tool [amazon.com] - this one was cheap and worked well for my needs. There are much better ones out there.
Keystone Jacks [amazon.com] (various colors to keep things straight)
Recessed outlet boxes for the Patio TV [amazon.com] (I put in two, one for power, one for low-voltage stuff)
Various and sundry other items, but this should get you started.
This patch panel in my 19" rack [amazon.com]
For fewer (and a more sane amount) of network drops, this will fit [amazon.com] in the Leviton enclosure. Don't buy the Cat6 one, as there is absolutely no difference between the Cat5e and Cat6 Leviton panels except for the sticker. They use the exact same PCB and components. I verified this myself with my own two eyes, and returned the much more expensive Cat6 ones.
Also ran 12 Gage speaker wire between possible speaker locations and two different central TV points. 12 Gage was probably overkill but I got it a good price and of course it would have less resistance.
Long story short .. when I built a two story 1200 sq foot addition instead of running all the wiring as I did the original house I ran interduct from the possible locations I may need an outlet of some type (1st and 2nd floor) extending up thru into walk up attic and sticking up ~4 foot above the attic floor. This way I ONLY need to run cabling to where I needed it at that moment (easy pull thru the innerduct) as well as only running the type I need PLUS it is easy to update as technology changes For example it would be easy to run fiber to any of the new outlet locations when and if it is needed.
I guess what I am saying is instead of running cabling if you run innerduct you are future proofing for new technology as well as only running the actual cable you need at the time.,