[greydor]

My wife and I close on our house this week, and the first thing I will do before we move in is to hardwire the house. Here's my plan. I want to have network box on an internal wall (similar to a breaker box), so that when I'm installing the wires and dropping cables, I won't have to worry about insulation. I need help from you all naming the parts that I need. I honestly don't know what to call some of the parts, so I'm having a hard time googling my thoughts. Also let me know what I'm missing. Thank you all very much for reading/helping out with this.

Things I Own:
- Cat5e cable (500ft)
- Crimper
- Couplers
- Drywall tools (for cutting)
- Faceplates (not yet, but I know what these are, lol)

Things I need:
- In-wall "box", like a breaker box to run the wires to.
- I'm assuming I don't need a switch, but rather some sort of ethernet connection box. I don't know what I'm talking about, but it looks like a black bar that you wire each cable into (uncoupled)?
- Anything else? You all know better than I do.

Anyway, point is, I can drop the cables and wire the outlets. I just need to figure out the connection part. I'm also not running power to the 'box', so I'll have one line reserved specifically for the modem in a random part of the house.

 

[beers]

You generally run any house wiring to a patch panel in a closet/server-room-somewhere, and from there connect to a switch. You don't HAVE to have a patch panel and can simply terminate the ends into a switch directly, but it will be more of a PITA if you ever need to change equipment or move things around.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812998069&cm_re=patch_panel-_-12-998-069-_-Product

Would also need one of these if you take this route:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16899888402&cm_re=punch_down-_-99-888-402-_-Product

 

[Jen]

patch panel as suggested is good idea to have.

Jen

 

[Noctizzle]

i do this almost every day at work, and i can say straight away that a patch panel is a must.

you'll also need a punchdown tool, but they may be called something else in america

you getting shielded or unshielded cable?

 

[greydor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by beers;13063816
You generally run any house wiring to a patch panel in a closet/server-room-somewhere, and from there connect to a switch. You don't HAVE to have a patch panel and can simply terminate the ends into a switch directly, but it will be more of a PITA if you ever need to change equipment or move things around.

Awesome. Thank you for the help. However, out of curiosity, why would I use a patch panel and then go to a switch? Wouldn't the patch panel just act as a pass-through? I've never had to research this until now, haha.

 

[Noctizzle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skitzogreg;13063898
Awesome. Thank you for the help. However, out of curiosity, why would I use a patch panel and then go to a switch? Wouldn't the patch panel just act as a pass-through? I've never had to research this until now, haha.

The major difference has to do with traffic/performance. A patch panel has no "intelligence". It's simply a connector meaning if you were to reroute some of the wiring in the future, you would save yourself a massive amount of hassle.

 

[greydor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Noctizzle;13063890
you getting shielded or unshielded cable?

I'm actually not sure if it's shielded or not. I've attached my spool and UPC info in pictures. Let me know if you can tell if it is or isn't.

 

[Jake_620]

And a Labeler to label all the cables you will need that if you ever have to go back into the closet or box. IMO. cause tracing back a wire can turn into a mess

 

[systemaxd]

I will give you a few tips and or parts for it i helped my dad do their 2 story house + basement wired took a few months to do

http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-Voice-Data-Communications-Connectors-Adapters-Splitters/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbm2t/R-100136276/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

multiple 4-8 port cat 5e punch down blocks home depot has these http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-47605-C5B-Category-Module-Bracket/dp/B000U3DXM4]Amazon.com: Leviton 47605-C5B Category 5 Voice and Data Module 6-Port, Bracket: Home Improvement[/URL]

while your at it consider pulling lan lines (phone) and TV cable so to have a 3 wire bundle at each outlet.

tryint to describe what to do is tough so here's how we did it long ago see image

so from the attic you can hook up in this example up to 4 line to anywhere in the house from the punch down block or drop 2 lines to the basement and branch out from there. Add 1 or 2 switches and keep going crazy to rooms with network.

Looks like he has non shielded wire that is fine for the average consumer home owner for businesses and areas of large machinery shielded would be recomended.

 

[Noctizzle]

only thing i can tell from that is that its a riser type -(the cmr)
Riser type cables are engineered to prevent the spread of fire from floor to floor or something, im not really sure if thats shielded or not, as its a slightly different format from british stuff.

In all honesty i just finished wiring my current work offices with Cat5e to VGA... sounds crazy but honest to god it works.

saved my company something like 600 metres of cable, loads of money and time too. Just sharing ideas lol

http://www.electronics-lab.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/hd15torj45.png

 

[prjindigo]

Draw a diagram of EVERYTHING. Even if its not precise having it can make the difference between being OK'd and having to rip it all out.

Dunno where you live but building inspectors around here are hellish and don't care if you own the place or not. I got cleared for replacing a breaker box and discovered my wiring still had aluminum so I replaced every millimeter of the house and drew it up carefully. Inspector loved it and signed off right then.

Also, be aware of pest control concerns. Just get some "great stuff" from local hardware and fill any gaps you made to pass wires through by running a twist of plastic wrap up the wire then using a cardboard shield to keep the insulation in place while it dries.

 

[X-Nine]

I wired homes for about 6 years, some of the largest, most expensive homes in all of Colorado, actually.

Some tips:

• Black Sharpie. Label Each wire pull. That way at your termination panel you know what is what, and it will make life easier if you know which cable to re-terminate if something goes wrong.
• START at the room the wire is in, and wire directly to the termination point (where your patch panel will be).
• Stay 3-4 feet away from any electrical wires for any length greater than 12 feet.
• If you have to cross any electrical wires, make sure it's at 90 degree angles, and make sure to stay as far from it as possible. This will also eliminate any electrical interference.
• Stay off of plumbing pipes. No matter what, do not lay your wire on them, wrap around them, etc.
• Do not drill through house support beams. Usually they are made of VERY thick wood. Drilling through it will automatically cause any inspector to flag the house unlivable.
• Try to get the wire pulled AFTER inspection is done. The reason, you're not licensed or work for an A/V company. and superintendents don't usually like home owners running their own stuff.

I hope that helps. I would also avoid staples and go with nail-ins as you're less likely to pinch a wire. Also, make sure each box on the wall is the same level as the electrical boxes in the room.

Other than that, have fun.

 

[Shadowrunner340]

In addition to all of the above, get a toner wand. Use this to help label your cables. Get a cable tester, as well.

EDIT: If you don't already have them, get some zip ties. They are invaluable for this kind of work.

 

[Noctizzle]

can i also suggest, if you plan to make a project of this, to lay trunking instead of staples, as this comes in useful later if you want to add a phone faceplate or another powerpoint or anything else of that sort later. It also stops wear and tear on the cables and makes the whole setup more aesthetically pleasing. Obviously this would take time but you know, if a jobs worth doing its worth doing right.

Also, at the patch panel (before wiring into it) leave a fair amount of slack on the cable as the worst thing in the world is finding out the wiring on one end of the cable is a no-go... the slack means you can cut and try again

 

[spartacus]

Already mentioned above, but a few thigns I learned from helping my dad wire our house:

- definitely draw a diagram of how you want everything laid out. It will save time and you can use it as a reference card in the future.
- label all of the wires so you don't spend time later trying to figure out which is which.
- tape a piece of string along each cable to use as a snake for future cables (or use tubing so you can push multiple cables through quickly)

Does the house have tv/cable wired through it? When we installed our networking we taped a Cat5 cable to the end of the coax wire (for pulling back through), pulled the coax wire down to the distributor (where our router went), taped another Cat5 wire to the coax cable, then pulled it all back through so the Cat5 ran alongside the coax. It saved a lot of time over just dropping a cable through the studs and trying to find it, and we found 2-on-1 faceplates with both a TV jack and Cat5 (didn't need to cut drywall and install additional in-wall boxes).

Good luck with the project.

 

[greydor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spartacus Does the house have tv/cable wired through it? When we installed our networking we taped a Cat5 cable to the end of the coax wire (for pulling back through), pulled the coax wire down to the distributor (where our router went), taped another Cat5 wire to the coax cable, then pulled it all back through so the Cat5 ran alongside the coax. It saved a lot of time over just dropping a cable through the studs and trying to find it, and we found 2-on-1 faceplates with both a TV jack and Cat5 (didn't need to cut drywall and install additional in-wall boxes).

The house does have phone/tv wired. I'll keep this tip in mind. Thank you!