Posted: 5/16/2007 5:07:23 PM EDT
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Moved into a townhouse with mjohn. We want to run some network cable. The majority of the cable will go between the basement and the attic and into the top floor rooms of this 2 story apartment. I have 12 ft of fiberglass rod that I have been using to try and find a path. There is some ductwork, cables, and pipes that travel between the basement and attic, however, I have been having difficulty finding a path. It seems between all these levels there is a divider or floor. At the basement and attic this is a problem that be solved with a drill. However, getting through the divider between floors 1 and 2 pose much more of a challenge. I have tried finding out how the cable tv is getting up there. No go. I have tried the wetwall where most of the pipes run. again, I'm running into this divider. There is return ducting that goes up there but its hard to access that spot and the floor is tight against it. I can't run in the ductwork for building code reasons. Can anyone give me some suggestions please? -Foxxz |
Ahh yes. I knew someone would bring that up. Let me reiterate, I'm not going to run the cables through the ducting. -Foxxz |
Yea thats the plan is to run from the attic to the basement but there is something in the way in all cases when going from the attic down between floors 1 and 2. Need help figuring out how to get through it. -Foxxz |
With a drill. However it being a rental property that wouldn't be the greatest plan. |
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It may be time to give up on running cable and go wireless. Can you afford to purchase a pair of wireless bridges? One goes in the basement. One goes into one of the top floor rooms. You wire the top floors/attic to a switch connected to the bridge. It will be more expensive but it'll be done, with no major alterations necessary. Powerline adapters are another option, but they require the outlets to be on the same circuit, iirc. EX: (Assumes Internet gateway is in the basement) This downstairs: http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1166859512401&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper&lid=1240176789B05 And this upstairs: http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1126536803676&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper&lid=0367629416B02 |
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This is not a rental. I'm doing this to get at least gigabit so wireless is out. Unless i can find a 10 ft drill bit or put a hole in the wall its going to be difficult. Actually cabling up the place is going to be much more expensive then using wireless anyway. In fact, I may have found a place where I can put a HUGE hole in the wall on the 2nd floor and drill through to the 1st floor. The upstairs sink sits along the wetwall. I can take out the wall behind it. I think this will work depending on the plumbing. I plan to post a writeup and pics when this is complete. Just was looking for suggestions on getting between the 1st and 2nd floor when something is in the way that is not easily accessible. I appreciate the alternative ideas. Thats what arfcom is about.  Lets try to concentrate on the original request if we can. Mainly, how can you go between floors 1 and 2 of your only possible access is from the attic or basement. I'm hoping someone knows of a trick who maybe does this. -Foxxz |
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If it's not a rental, I ditto the "go up the outside". It's how most basic cable TV installations are done. Go to the basement, drill a 1/2" hole to the exterior. Run the cable out and up to the attic. Run it back into the house through a similarly drilled hole. The finer points of the installation are: 1. Sealing the holes. Use a grommet and lotsa caulk. 2. Hiding the cable. Depending on where you locate the cable, you can run it up under a downspout, run it alonside some edge molding, hide it in a conduit or just tack it to the house and paint it to match. Good luck. |
I deal with this stuff all day at work. I work for the Geek Squad. If you get a Wireless N router, and the cards to go with it, you can achieve gigabit connections quite easily. Just make sure the box says gigabit wireless on it. Now, just out of curiosity, are you running a server or streaming content to devices? If you aren't, then gigabit really isn't that necessary as the fastest internet connection available is around 30mbps. Even a wireless G setup with 3/4 bars can achieve 36mbps, which is faster than the internet. If you have any questions feel free to IM me or email me. I can help with figuring out which routers to get, and if bridges are needed I can steer you in the right direction. |
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Greenlee makes a diversibit with extensions to get between floors in wood frame structures. I have one with the 5' extension and it's done a good job over the years. The tip of the bit has a small hole in it to attach a pull string so you can pull the bit back through when you get to the floor that you want. Any electrical supply house will have them or maybe one of the home improvement big box stores. They cost a little but if you factor in your time beating your head against the floor trying to fish a wire bewteen floors, the cost isn't too bad. |
Gigabit Wireless? I think 802.11n can only support ~250Mbps (theoretically) and, more realistically, will be down around 74 Mbps. Maybe you are thinking of 802.11n routers with a built in 10/100/1000 switch for a wired network? My vote is for running a well hidden wire up the exterior of the house, maybe in some kind of conduit. |
They make paintable wire mold that you could run it in if you wanted to go that way... but the 6ft drill bits will also work with extensions. just make sure you take your time so you don't get outside the drywall... also going down an interial wall makes it easier cause you dont usually have insulation in those walls... just be careful of electrical outlets and switches |
| Drywall is cheap and easy. Cut a section out between 2 studs near the floor of the second story, insert drill into void and drill straight down through your bottom plate/top plate of the floor below. Go downstairs and cut the drywall between the same 2 studs at the ceiling so you can fish the wire, do whatever you want with it and patch the holes. Drill a big enough hole and put a piece of conduit in there and you can use it in the future for other projects. Easiest way to make sure there's a wall directly below you is to do it on an exterior wall. Hope this helps. |
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Keep in mind that you need to keep your cat5e cable at least 2 feet away from electrical cable. Electrical cable can cause interance in cat5e cable. If you must cross cat5e and electrical cable, do so at one point with minumal contact. Also cat5e cable is not rated for outdoor use, if you run it on the extrerior side of the house, you need to run in it gray pvc pipe. As suggested plenum rated cable is available and a good idea. If you are going from a lower floor to an upper floor, use RISER rated cable. |
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I only scimmed over the thread so if this suggestion has been made already just disregard. I assume you have heard of "power over ethernet" (POE)? There is some new stuff out called "ethernet over power". My partner and I have used it before. He is a network engineer so it is his ball of wax. Basicaly what happens is just the opposite of POE. There is an adaptor that plugs into the power outle and if I remember correctly it "lights" up all connected power outlets with ethernet. Now you will have EOP instead of POE. Every outlet becomes an ethernet jack. I think there is also an adaptor of course that you use on the outlet that allows you to plug in your CAT5 for whatever componant you need such as a switch. Hope that helps. |