Networking 1990s house.

mc_teo

Hi all,


I've just moved out of an apartment that was already wired for ethernet to each room, and it was a game changer. I've just bought an early 1990s house, and was looking at adding some cat6 before I moved in (probably easier to sort it out before moving in furniture?).


As it currently stands, there's an old UPC connection in the front facing living room, and a phone point that was extended from the original point just inside the front door (this is extended by a wire along the top of the skirting board, so a bit ugly, IMO).


Each of the bedrooms have an old analogue antennae port in it, so was wondering if these could be used to make things easier somehow? Even if not directly, could they make life easier by allowing to add a bit of string to it, and pull up the cable in the attic, and and drop back down the cat6? Could reuse the port housing then too, hopefully.



And how about recommendations for where to place the networking equipment in the house (and in future, possibly media server, storage, and some other servers)? Possible options are 1) in a small storage room (think coats + hoover) across from under stairs toilet, 2) small crawl space under stairs, or 3) I'm thinking of converting a bedroom at the back of the house into a office.



What kinda trades-person would I even contact about looking at this? Will electricians know what I'm on about, or are there some people more specialised?



Thanks!

Johnboy1951

Definitely allocate a specific media press or closet for the purpose.
You might well be surprised how much space will eventually be taken up by the various devices and wiring if you centralise everything ...... router, switches, file server, tv tuners etc etc.

If possible have that space easily accessible and in a reasonably central part of the house.

Definitely run at minimum one cat5e/cat6 cable to each room and back to the media press. Preferably run more than one as room use can change over time.

I would think it unlikely that you could pull out the coax, it most probably is not in ducting or piping which might facilitate that.

Plan everything now and be prepared to disrupt the place to get things right from the beginning.
Retrofitting in a couple of years time will be so much more disruptive.

Static M.e.

mc_teo wrote: »

Hi all,


Each of the bedrooms have an old analogue antennae port in it, so was wondering if these could be used to make things easier somehow? Even if not directly, could they make life easier by allowing to add a bit of string to it, and pull up the cable in the attic, and and drop back down the cat6? Could reuse the port housing then too, hopefully.

Thanks!

I did just this recently, mind you it was only one connection, it was relatively easy once I found where the cable came into the attic.

Seeing as you own the house, you might be better off getting an network electrician to come in and run a two cables for you to every room. It will need to cut some holes into the plasterboard in a few places but don't worry too much about that as it can be fixed easily enough.

You could try and replacing the coax yourself but it still might require you cutting holes in the plasterboard and it is likely you that you might not be able to run more than one cable to each point. The other point is that you will need to borrow or buy the tools to do the job - cheap enough individually but it all adds up..

You need an electrician who has the right networking equipment, Fluke testers, to test each line.

mc_teo

Thanks for the replies.

I assumed the outlets in each room would be connected to a splitter near the aerial, and therefore be dropped from the attic (based on parent's house), but I've just noticed, in the master bedroom, the outlet is marked as a "CableLink" connection. A quick google search says this is an old NTL connection, so might be the original TV entry point, and therefore not be as useful for replacing with cat6?

Any recommendations such a electrician in south county Dublin?

Johnboy1951

I might be inclined to engage the services of a small builder/building repair person after I had laid out exactly what I required and where the outlets should be positioned.

The actual wiring of the connections at either end of the cable is something you can do yourself, if you wish.
Else that is when you need the services of a network technician.
The tools to do this are very cheap.
Instructions are very clear.

You might need to consult someone knowledgeable about your plan before work starts, to ensure you have not erred or forgotten something.

It is mostly a 'building' exercise routing the cables from one location (media press) to another (ethernet socket in rooms).

Static M.e.

Agree with above post from Johnboy.

You could also consider running the cables through pipes on the outside of the house. It could save you running the cables down the walls.

Static M.e.

mc_teo wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.

I assumed the outlets in each room would be connected to a splitter near the aerial, and therefore be dropped from the attic (based on parent's house), but I've just noticed, in the master bedroom, the outlet is marked as a "CableLink" connection. A quick google search says this is an old NTL connection, so might be the original TV entry point, and therefore not be as useful for replacing with cat6?

I would be surprised if cablelink and wired each room. If the cables are in the walls then I expect the house was wired for coax. It might be worth looking into again. The coax cables are often hid under the attic insulation so you need to really reach forward to check when the cables come up

Static M.e.

I've attached a picture what the cable \ faceplate looked like in my house.

MarkR

It looks like a plaster wall, so if you can find where it comes out in the attic, I think you should be able to use that wire to pull up another cable.

I'm not electrician or builder by the way, would just like to do something similar!

Mango Joe

Some thoughts, all just my opinion and open to correction.

1. You're basically hoping that the co-ax to the bedrooms was only 'fished' down and not stapled or otherwise fixed to the timberwork. If its free to pull in either direction then its invaluable as you may be able to use this to attach on any number of subsequent cables and pull them through. You should be able to easily test by tugging on either end - But be very careful to always have an end sticking out or you're in trouble - fix some strong twine on the ends (minimise any snagging edges!) so you always have the option of drawing back on the cable.

2. Don't aim to run CAT 6, 7 or 99 - Aim to have adequately sized conduit from the attic to a sensible point(s) each room and then you're free to run whatever you like in there forever - eg optical fibre cable, speaker cable etc.

3. Do bear in mind that the existing co-ax cable is most likely perfectly adequate for running a digital TV/Saorview signal or satellite tuner box. People may tell you it has to be last months spec or whatever but that's a purists approach only. I had to run co-ax to a few bedrooms recently for Freesat SAT TV you don't want to rip it out just to be putting it back in......

4. Most important thing for your networking cabinet is ventilation/ambient temp - Most of the attic nooks and cubby holes in small cupboards that are initially attractive are sometimes found to be hot-boxes where your networking kit will soon overheat, malfunction and prematurely die.

5. Someone else mentioned doing the work now rather than later - 100% get the messy, dusty work done now, replaster, repaint.

Johnboy1951

You might also consider distributing the TV signal data over Cat5e/Cat6.
It would save a lot of retro fitting of coax cables and at the same time make such media available to wireless devices.

daheff

can i ask a dumb question?

what would be the benefit of adding all these cables to rooms?

I get you can wire up for a tv box...but what else can you do (or have people done)?


I ask as I've a relatively new home with lots of cables wire to rooms (and a big jumble of cables in the hotpress). I'm sure they are there for a reason...I just dunno why or what to do with tem.

smuggler.ie

daheff wrote: »

can i ask a dumb question?

what would be the benefit of adding all these cables to rooms?

I get you can wire up for a tv box...but what else can you do (or have people done)?


I ask as I've a relatively new home with lots of cables wire to rooms (and a big jumble of cables in the hotpress). I'm sure they are there for a reason...I just dunno why or what to do with tem.

sample1: Compare it to cordless tools - its purpose to be more mobile and in places where you have no mains power supply. At early stage, same as WiFi, they where better than hand tool, but weaker than corded. Technology move on and improve, however, wired connection is more reliable, leave WiFi for mobile devices and wire static devises, especially if infrastructure is there already.
sample2: Why everyone want FTTH, not just mobile broadband(WiFi effectively on global scale)