Running cat 5 in house questions

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

sw_ross

Senior Member
Location
NoDak
I’m getting ready to wire a new construction home. It’s been about 4-5 years since I did whole house new construction and had to run cat 5 in a house. I know a lot have changed as landlines have diminished and wi-fi has increased.

The local area phone company provides fiber to the residence for landline and internet options.
RG6 will be run to all tv locations from mechanical room and a stub out for satellite, as that’s the only option for television, other than streaming online.

I’m planning to run cat 5 to each of the television locations also and terminating with an 8-pin connection from the mechanical room for any smart tv streaming requirements. I’ll also talk to the HO about possible locations for a landline, if needed, and run a cat 5 to each of these locations and terminate with a 4-pin connection.

Usually the cat 5 home runs to the mechanical room are terminated by the phone company.

Am I missing anything here with my cat 5 runs and terminations?
This home is a mid-priced home, not high end custom or low end tract home.

Thanks
 
I suggest using two different colors, also, to keep things separated and organized.

The best future-proofing is conduit. A stub up or down from each outlet, and an attic-to-crawl pipe just in case.
 
A lot of times customer is unsure of what they want but want something, I will usually just run smurf tube from mechanical room to usual locations bedrooms, livingroom etc. during roughin, and then they can decide if want cat cable or coax even had customer later want a sound system tied in and it made for easy runs.
 
I even run a 2” pvc from the basement to the attic for the future. On houses with cathedral ceilings in the middle, I run a 2” between both ends if there is attic space.
 
If it's just a mid-priced home, you probably have some kind of attic and basement access or later upgrades. I wouldn't worry so much about trying to cover every base.

If you want to be safe, run a single RG6 and two Cat5e or Cat6 to each location

As others have said, use different colors of cable. Preferably something you can match with your jacks on the finish, like white and blue.

Number or letter your home runs on both ends because that makes it a lot easier for whoever sets up to networking.

Use a low voltage ring of some kind, or a 1900 single gang mud ring screwed on the front of the stud. That way if you end up fishing in something later oh, you're not trying to fish into a box. It also gives you full depth of the wall for whatever devices and wire slack you're going to have.

Leave extra wire on both ends. 3 extra feet at the TVs or other locations, and 10 extra feet at the equipment.
 
I did a friends house about a year ago and used CAT6e for everything. That was the most current and I believe still is.
They didn’t want jacks tho... just runs to each TV location, 4 in an ‘office nook’ and one on both floors in the ceiling for WiFi hotspots.
They also had me run to each corner of the home and a few other locations for exterior cameras which they actual use now.
I did research phone lines but just ran the same cable to the same patch panel. They make cables that plug into an RJ45 and the other end is RJ11. That way they’re not saying. What a waste a phone line was here when I really need another data jack...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
dpcarls1598 said:
I did a friends house about a year ago and used CAT6e for everything. That was the most current and I believe still is.
They didn’t want jacks tho... just runs to each TV location, 4 in an ‘office nook’ and one on both floors in the ceiling for WiFi hotspots.
They also had me run to each corner of the home and a few other locations for exterior cameras which they actual use now.
I did research phone lines but just ran the same cable to the same patch panel. They make cables that plug into an RJ45 and the other end is RJ11. That way they’re not saying. What a waste a phone line was here when I really need another data jack...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...

Cat 7 & cat 8 are both available:

www.fiberopticshare.com

Cat6 vs Cat7 vs Cat8: What’s the Difference?

Ethernet cable can be divided into Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a, Cat7, Cat8, etc. However, not everyone knows Cat6 vs Cat7 vs Cat8 differences.
www.fiberopticshare.com
 
retirede said:
Cat 7 & cat 8 are both available:

www.fiberopticshare.com

Cat6 vs Cat7 vs Cat8: What’s the Difference?

Ethernet cable can be divided into Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a, Cat7, Cat8, etc. However, not everyone knows Cat6 vs Cat7 vs Cat8 differences.
www.fiberopticshare.com
Click to expand...

I guess it’s the old story of bringing home the latest computer only to see an ad the next day for a faster, cheaper one...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top