running ethernet cable

[Mo125]

I was wondering how hard it is to run ehternet cable through the walls of my house into my basement. For you people who have done this, is it a very difficult task? Should I call an electrician, or can I do it myself? How much time would it take for me to do it myself?

[glc1]

The answers to your questions are dependent on access (crawl spaces, etc.), tools, and run length.

[annoyingrob]

I ran ethernet cable through my house, from one corner upstairs, to the oposite corner in my basement.

It's really not that hard(Atleast in my house). The main thing you should keep in mind, is to make a detailed plan of where you are going to run the cables before you start. Make sure you try not to run them parallel to any power lines.

Ventalation systems are great, but try to stay on the cold return, as the other vents can get too hot. Attics are great too.

What I did was cut a hole in the wall in the room upstairs, then went up into the attic, and drilled down, through the wall (Careful measuring here), I then puled the cable across the attic, and down through another wall which had a cold air return in it. I then ran it straight down the cold air return, al the way into the basement. From there I cut open the vent(Just unscrewed it, as it was a piece of metal enclosing 2 raftors), then just ran it through the false celinf, and down through another wall.

[RoundEye]

It's not too hard. Just remember you have electrical wires and plumbing in the walls, so you will have to be careful where you drill. Keep in mind whats on the other side of the wall, if you are drilling in the bedroom and the kitchen is on the other side, there may be water pipes. If you are drilling in the garage, the main electrical box might be on the other side.

You will need a drill, a long drill bit, and a wire puller (fish tape), crimpers and the connectors.

Fish Tape, to pull the wires up/down walls.
http://www.dale-electric.com/glpulb08.GIF

18 inch drill bit, to get through the walls
http://www.dale-electric.com/glbitc03.gif

[glc1]

Make sure you don't drill into any electrical or plumbing. That could be very bad. :)

[nightowl]

man, i had to run a eathernet cable from my second story room, outside then to the basement though a wall to my router and my dsl modem

[waferdog]

Ummm, running Ethernet cable outside the house is not a very good idea. First off, it is not designed to handle weather. Second, I hear that lightning has a certain attraction to it. You might want to rerun that stuff, nightowl.

[prohidium]

Running cable through existing walls etc. requires some creative thinking. You should have an understanding of construction and what is "beyond" the drywall.

In the case of second stories, you can use cold air returns and plenums, closet floors through joist caveties etc.

Example: in my rec room, I ran a fish tape (actually a tape measure) through the wall between a wall mounted heat register and the drywall and down behind the stud wall as it was framed away from the concrete wall. This allowed me to reach the open basement area. I put a server in the basement and ran the network from there.

Keep in mind a good location for your "hub". This position will determine how much wire you will need to put through walls. Remember, you can run one wire to the general location and then plug in a hub to feed your pc's outstide of the walls.

I have seen some posts about outside wiring. This is OK but over time (a couple of years) the outside casing will deteriorate and will become very brittle. At this point you will introduce moisture and then you will have problems. The sun is the biggest problem as the UV rays will break down the PVC casing on the wire. Next, hot and cold cycling cause the casing to crack. As far as lightning is concerned, don't be concerned. If your house is going to be hit, it is going to be hit.. simple as that. A wire running outside of it will not significantly contribute to attracting lightning. Buy insurance. Great way to ugrade.