Adding new RG6 runs to existing house

[aec4]

Currently, since we have DirecTV 3 LNB dish, I have my cable modem and satellite running into my home office on 1 line via a diplexer. With the 5lnb dish, that's not possible anymore, so I was going to run a new line to the office. At the same time, I was going to run an additional line to the family room for TiVo.

How would I go about doing this? I've run wire before, but never into existing walls. The existing lines both run from their wallplate down to the basement, and then run around the basement to the outside area.

The office is on the 2nd floor, and the family room is on the first floor (obviously easier I can imagine). I have found the line that runs into the office in the basement... basically runs to a point directly below the office and runs straight up to the office.

How would I go about dropping another line from the wallplate here (I'll go buy a new 2 RG6 wallplate) down to the basement? Is there a special tool to use? I see there is a box behind the wallplate that allows 1 wire through each of it's 4 corners... I can get a coax rg6 through another hole, but I don't know how to force it down the 12 feet or so it has to go. Same goes for the family room, but the drop may be 2 feet. Do you know what I'm asking?

Once I run the wire, everything else would be quite easy, then I can have directv come, put up the 5lnb dish, and they also said they'd put in a 4x8 so I can have the additional line for TiVo in the family room. None of that is a concern... Im just wondering how to run the lines into the existing wallplates, and then swap out the actual plates.....

Sorry if I did not use all the exact terminology.. (wallplates/etc)

 

[ShadowEKU]

the office one is going to be very interesting... why? Wall caps and such... if im reading correctly the office runs down through the floor on story 2, all the way down the inside of the wall on floor 1 and comes out throught the ceiling of the basement? Ill assume a drop ceiling so the wood subfloor is easily accessible..


There are several problems... and would likely take a miracle to succeed (let me put it this way I Would charge a lot of money to do it)

there are tools for wall fishes... they are called wall fishes... lol you can buy them at home depot... these work fine for single story top down fishes with no insulation in the wall... you can use them with insulation but it is a pain...

There are also "fiber Fishes" which are basicly a strait rod that you can fish down (or up in your case) with these fishing is easier (they can be fairly expensive).

Now in your case you could run into a myriad of problems... i wouldnt even attempt it without a fiber fish.

1 problem is the hole size between floor 1 and 2.. a lot of builders make a tiny little hole that you couldnt fit another cable through... at that point your cable will not be going that direction... period... unless you want to be re-drywalling

next issue is that if the hole below the box isnt directly below the wall box then you can fiber fish all day and never hit the inside of the box.

an attemptable thing to do IF and only IF you are sure the holes are big enough and the cables are not stapled insid ethe walls to the studs (50/50)

Dremel out the bottom of the in wall box... tie some heavy duty wire or string (minimum tensile strength 100lbs) to the top of the cable... have someone monitor the top of the cable while someone in the basement pulls on it gently (very gently) if it moves freely (only IF) then it is possible that you could tie 2 rg6 cables to the string and run those 2 lines down the wall using the existing cable as a pull... this is very dangerous as you may end up with no cables in the wall if the string fails and you cant get the cable back up if you hit a problem. you would want to discard that old cable as after pulling it most likely will be unsuitable...


this would be a last ditch effort by me...


If I were you I would hire an expert to come in and do this...

if you have and attic and vinyl siding I would probably put a new outlet (box and plate) in and go up to the attic, then down the inside of the siding, and then into the basement.... even better if there is a wall with other cables (not electrical) that runs from the attic to the basement.

Boy is that a difficult one... before i spent all the money I think ide relocate the cable modem and use the powerline network devices... i think about 200 total and you can put the cable modem at your point of entry and a powerline adapter about anywhere in the house.

 

[aec4]

1) It's not an option to relocate the cable modem. Cable modem includes our phone service.

2) Hire an expert.. please don't take this the wrong way, because no offense is intended... but, in my opinion from what I've seen, the difference between an "expert" and me in this case is the expert gets paid and I don't.. I've had some morons come out and do work before, and I'm not ready to pay a fortune for some moron to come out here rip up the walls and tell me that's the best he can do. Obviously, there are experts that can do this type of thing, but good luck finding one. I'll live without the line then and not get the 5lnb dish.

Thanks for trying to help, and like I said, I apologize for any offense that may have been given..

 

[boba]

A fish tape is what is used in most cases for pulling wires electrical/telephone or TV cable. Visit your local Hardware Store Lowes/Home Depot ETC. They can usually give you tips on using tools. They may even recommend an electrician who is well qualified. If you like "This Old House" Allen Gallant has demonstrated fishing line on more than 1 show. Go to Home Improvement and Remodeling: This Old House search for fishing wires and you should find some help.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

Can't you run the wires Outside?,or in the basement?

 

[ShadowEKU]

Can't you run the wires Outside?,or in the basement?

that would be my recommendation.

by an expert I meant a well qualified electrician. not some joe installer (no offense guys I know there are plenty of great ones).

so why is it not an option to relocate the cable modem cause its tied to phone service? if its the cable companies phone service I can understand but if its vonage or something like that.. why cant my solution work? in my solution the power in the house becomes a long network cable... it will run fine for VOIP services.



a typical voip service setup...

CAble modem---patch cable---DTA (voip box)---patch cable---computer

my solution

cablemodem---patch cable---powerline adapter----in house electrical---powerline adapter---patch cable---DTA---patch cable---computer


the powerline adapters run at (At last look) up to 200 megabit, which is faster than most internet services.

D-Link DHP-301 PowerLine HD Ethernet Starter Kit if interested... if not sorry for wasting time.

 

[ShadowEKU]

A fish tape is what is used in most cases for pulling wires electrical/telephone or TV cable. Visit your local Hardware Store Lowes/Home Depot ETC. They can usually give you tips on using tools. They may even recommend an electrician who is well qualified. If you like "This Old House" Allen Gallant has demonstrated fishing line on more than 1 show. Go to Home Improvement and Remodeling: This Old House search for fishing wires and you should find some help.

For the record fishing with fishtape up through an entire story and hitting the hole would be...well hard to say the least... fishing down would be easier... but still a shot in the dark... and if the wall is insulated... a fish tape could take days of attempts to hit it.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

For the record fishing with fishtape up through an entire story and hitting the hole would be...well hard to say the least... fishing down would be easier... but still a shot in the dark... and if the wall is insulated... a fish tape could take days of attempts to hit it.

I agree !! Thats just crazy.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

I wouldn't even think twice about it. I would be running my wires on the outside, right to the rooms I needed a hook up.If you can't drill a 1/2" hole and make it look nice ,Then maybe you should Hire a Pro.

 

[aec4]

I wouldn't even think twice about it. I would be running my wires on the outside, right to the rooms I needed a hook up.If you can't drill a 1/2" hole and make it look nice ,Then maybe you should Hire a Pro.

I would love to, but the wife said NFW. She doesn't want to see the wires outside. I can do the work just fine... outside would be a piece of cake.. around the basement, then outside, up, and then in so the wire visibility is minimal, but the wife says NFW.

As for the cable modem... It's not vonage, it's directly from cablevision. Also, my network is HARD WIRED for a reason. Yes, I have wireless, but the network is considerably faster when run hardwired, and I use it for work. I upload GBs of data weekly... I can't afford to live with any other lag.....

 

[Hemi 6.1]

I would love to, but the wife said NFW. She doesn't want to see the wires outside. I can do the work just fine... outside would be a piece of cake.. around the basement, then outside, up, and then in so the wire visibility is minimal, but the wife says NFW.

You can't see any of the wires I ran outside my house.Got to be creative.Hide them under your Silplate,Up your corners,Under your siding if possible.Directv not going to fish tape them down your inside walls.

 

[ShadowEKU]

I would love to, but the wife said NFW. She doesn't want to see the wires outside. I can do the work just fine... outside would be a piece of cake.. around the basement, then outside, up, and then in so the wire visibility is minimal, but the wife says NFW.

As for the cable modem... It's not vonage, it's directly from cablevision. Also, my network is HARD WIRED for a reason. Yes, I have wireless, but the network is considerably faster when run hardwired, and I use it for work. I upload GBs of data weekly... I can't afford to live with any other lag.....

okay now i understand the phone thing... with the powerline adapters it would still be hard wired... and also running at 200 mbs between them versus 100mbs (if that) you are currently running. most of my house is hard wired as well i have wireless for 2 laptops.

and just a heads up, cablevision just last week started traffic shaping... ide slack off on large uploads unless you want to be running sub 100kbps soon

 

[ShadowEKU]

I would love to, but the wife said NFW. She doesn't want to see the wires outside. I can do the work just fine... outside would be a piece of cake.. around the basement, then outside, up, and then in so the wire visibility is minimal, but the wife says NFW.

You can't see any of the wires I ran outside my house.Got to be creative.Hide them under your Silplate,Up your corners,Under your siding if possible.Directv not going to fish tape them down your inside walls.

Ive done it under siding, then up through the (dont know the proper term) where the siding meets the overhang slipped right into there and strait to the room, down the wall and bam. that was a 300 dollar job.

 

[aec4]

okay now i understand the phone thing... with the powerline adapters it would still be hard wired... and also running at 200 mbs between them versus 100mbs (if that) you are currently running. most of my house is hard wired as well i have wireless for 2 laptops.

and just a heads up, cablevision just last week started traffic shaping... ide slack off on large uploads unless you want to be running sub 100kbps soon

Thanks for the heads up, but I pay for a business line....

 

[ShadowEKU]

Thanks for the heads up, but I pay for a business line....

they dont care... all teirs of service... its in their AUP. I know it sucks. Time WArner is doing the same thing and I believe comcast has been doing it for a while now.

 

[Joe Diamond]

Ace,
Electricians don't screw with your type of job because of the ratio of risk to benefit. You are looking for a sat outlet for, I bet ..under $100.00. Electricians can do your work but won't. Installers will do your work but ( most) can't.
I have done my last wall fish. I cleared the price with the customer before I began and got lucky........got the wires through all ports first time. Installed the boxes, plates and jumpers......the customer asked if my price was just an estimate because he didn't see enough time to justify my bill.

It gets old.

Joe

 

[ShadowEKU]

Ace,
Electricians don't screw with your type of job because of the ratio of risk to benefit. You are looking for a sat outlet for, I bet ..under $100.00. Electricians can do your work but won't. Installers will do your work but ( most) can't.
I have done my last wall fish. I cleared the price with the customer before I began and got lucky........got the wires through all ports first time. Installed the boxes, plates and jumpers......the customer asked if my price was just an estimate because he didn't see enough time to justify my bill.

It gets old.

Joe

didnt see time to justify the bill? thats BS, when i do low voltage stuff I dont charge on time alone I charge on time and difficulty. IF i get it done quick I may drop some off the bill but its not likely.

 

[aec4]

No, I'm not looking for it under $100... I'm looking to do it myself, which is why I asked for advice. No offense, but my experience with people that come here from DirecTV to do something extra is they try to rip me off. Joe Diamond, no offense but I get that impression from your post as well.... I'd prefer to do the job myself... It'll be done with more care.

As for Cablevision, I already have it in writing the bandwidth, both up and down, I'm using is within the limits I am allowed..... Thanks for worrying about me though.

 

[aec4]

No, I'm not looking for it under $100... I'm looking to do it myself, which is why I asked for advice. No offense, but my experience with people that come here from DirecTV to do something extra is they try to rip me off. Joe Diamond, no offense but I get that impression from your post as well.... I'd prefer to do the job myself... It'll be done with more care. It could cost $5.00 to have you come in, and I'd prefer to do it myself.

As for Cablevision, I already have it in writing the bandwidth, both up and down, I'm using is within the limits I am allowed..... Thanks for worrying about me though.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

No, I'm not looking for it under $100... I'm looking to do it myself, which is why I asked for advice. No offense, but my experience with people that come here from DirecTV to do something extra is they try to rip me off. Joe Diamond, no offense but I get that impression from your post as well.... I'd prefer to do the job myself... It'll be done with more care. It could cost $5.00 to have you come in, and I'd prefer to do it myself.

As for Cablevision, I already have it in writing the bandwidth, both up and down, I'm using is within the limits I am allowed..... Thanks for worrying about me though.

I would do it myself as well. Save your money! I'll come over and run all your wires for $100.