The contractor asked me how I want things wired and I didn’t really know.
I was thinking Cat6 ethernet cable with a wall plate in each room. They would all run to the crawl space where I’d have my modem and NAS.
It’s a small house. Only 5 ethernet wall plates throughout.
Is there anything I should ask for? I use Plex and IPTV.
Thanks.
Checkout the pinned comments for tips on planning and layout Home Networking Basics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjRKID2ucPY&list=PLqkmlrpDHy5M8Kx7zDxsSAWetAcHWtWFl
Maybe do two drops per wall plate. Ethernet crushed WiFi performance so it’s nice to have wherever you want it.
Two drops per plate. Shouldn’t cost more except for the extra cable. Buy it yourself if you have to.
Also two is smart just for redundancy. Even if you only need one, if Jimmy puts a ringshank through one cable you’re still good!
You mean Jose or Jesus…I haven’t seen a white dude at a residential construction site in almost a decade now (sad to say)…
Depends on your region… Lots of white and white adjacent dudes up here in WA/OR
Run a hardwire to each of your tvs for your streaming box or tv directly. Keep them off the wifi
This!
First check the speed of your card in the TV. My Samsung TV only has a 100 mbit card, so using WIFI is much faster than using LAN.
I recently finished my basement (~150sq.m. / 1500sq.ft.), I’m nerdy so be prepared. I bought a 300m spool of CAT6a, and ran about 13 drops.
I ran (myself) network to about every other power outlet, 1 stud away from the power. And one to my ceiling (central) for a WiFi access point. This is hands down the most important one for me. Super clean looking and powerful WiFi. I also included power and network in 3 closets (never know where I’ll want my NAS) and to the outside corners directly into weather resistant junction boxes so no wire is exposed (cameras). Each of the 3 rooms got 2 (opposing corners), the kitchen, all along the main room wall, and to a built in bookshelf that has become my TV cabinet (receiver/amp + Nvidia Shield feeding to a projector in the main room).
I did not bother with 2 runs everywhere because switches are just too easy and/or WiFi. Heck a basic switch can even be powered over POE so minimal wiring needed. And everything runs back to a “structured media cabinet” housing my fiber-ONT (so I had the ISP move my fiber here), router, switches, and network patch panels for the whole house. Ask the electrician (a low voltage kind) to “terminate to an Ethernet patch panel” so it’s easier for you to use. Also demand that they do NOT staple the wires, and test each for at minimum perfect 1 gigabit performance, probably 10Gb at these ranges.
Most electricians still do not know how to terminate in 2023–and this is after seeing what type of garbage work they did in 1995 at my parent’s home–NOTHING has changed in nearly 30 years. I would have them run the wiring and do my own termination. Use the money saved on termination to double up on wires in case one is damaged when being run.
That is pretty surprising isn’t it? I do feel it’s more complex than power wires, but not by much. And to be fair I’ve rewired a few ceiling fan/lights in my day or 2-switch light controls and the wording on those instructions makes ZERO sense. “be sure to attach the hot wire to the hot terminal on the fixture” … but the fixture has zero indicators to which side is hot/cold and is symmetric to the drawing. However, one plate is copper and the other is silver (in color), so there IS a difference but what is it? stupid engineers. Don’t say “hot/cold” or “+/-” for a device that can only be identified as “silver/copper”. :p
It’s just more precise work to do it right. Idiot working upstairs at my parent’s house untwisted 3" before terminating jacks. And that’s why those jacks only get 100Mbs. I’m going to have to re-terminate all of them, and have been saying that for nearly 30 years now! Thank God they didn’t terminate all the jacks so I’ve got a shot at doing those right. The ones that were terminated correctly will iperf 700-900Mbs, so that’s pretty good considering there was no gigabit standard when the wire was installed and was the only 400Mhz rated wire on the market that cost us 2x as much, but was a great investment. If 2.5Gb/5Gb runs over it, that will be pretty awesome. We put 2x ethernet and 2x coax in each room and still have areas that were underserved. 2x of each on each wall and ceiling is the only way to go.
All rooms having dual cables pulled to each room with CAT7 wiring.
Cat6
Cat 6 everywhere, if you have a furniture diagram all the better - no sense putting in a jack on the other side of the room where your desk will be. Figure out where your furniture will go to and run at least 1 jack there, most of the cost is labor so I’d run 2 jacks to each room, just like outlets, (almost).
Done this. The drywall people or someone put a nail in the longest, most difficult cat wire run. Caught it too late - I lived two States away during construction. Would have had to pull three rooms’ drywall down to find it. Don’t let this happen to you.
Surprised at all the recommendations for Cat6. That’s fine for Gigabit. Houses are already being serviced by fiber with speeds that exceed Gigabit speeds, so the minimum I would suggest in 2023 is Cat6A.
I am currently in the same situation but missed the wiring deadline so I am going to end up running OM4 fiber (10/40/100 Gigabit) under carpets for the office/living room/bedroom. Small SFP+ switches are available for reasonable prices now, so you can have a fast 10Gb trunk to service each floor and take 2.5Gb from them.
Cat6 will get you 10Gb up to about 175 linear feet, which is usually enough for your average 2-story home. It’s still mainstream/readily available, and is a bit easier to work with than 6a. Definitely 6a for distances beyond 175 feet though. Agreed though on fiber backbones for high speeds.
That’s correct Cat6 maxes out at 10Gb on short runs. It’s also a case that there’s an issue with heat, trying to push 10Gb over wire - usually exhibited in the SFP+ transceivers, switches and such, which is reduced with 6A and better.
In 10 years time, will you wish you had made the minimal additional investment in 6A over 6 when speeds increase and your wires are all behind sheetrock or plaster? I’ve already done multiple build-outs in commercial and homes, and I’m well aware of how quickly these wiring jobs become obsolete. So I won’t even touch anything below Cat6A today.
Addendum: the heat issue that causes 10Gb copper wire SFP+ transceivers to burn out is why I’m running fiber - significantly cheaper running costs too.
We might need to transition to fiber for more than 10gb either way. The SFP+ transceiver heat issue you mention is very real. In my case it fried the port on my Ruckus switch, not the transceiver though. And that was running in 2.5gbps mode with a 3 foot cable.
Seems like you have to run conduit if you want true future proofing.
Put runs to each corner of the house in the even you want to do PoE cameras. Don’t forget outside also for outdoor TVs or access points. Put runs somewhere in ceilings for access points.
Two drops per room plus a fiber run as well
I would run drops to each corner of your house. One to your door bell. One to your garage. Also run a smurf tube to your outside of the house to your location of the drops.
ethernet is cheap and easy while the walls are open. Go for 4 drops in each room. A drop behind any TV locations. Drops in the ceiling to put in access points. Where ever you want POE phones, add more drops in those location. Add a few more for POE cameras.
If he’s terminating each end too and has the equipment get him to test and certify each cable for you. Means you know they were working before he left. Proper labeling of each end is also essential.
Never run a single cable when it’s just as easy to run 2 or more at the same time. Gives redundancy and/or expansion.
Run cat 6 or 6a everywhere possible and run coax rg6 to where you need tvs or cable modems.
At least on plate in every room with two cat and one coax.
A couple plates placed high for WiFi access points
Areas that might have office or other gear have two plates (4 jacks)
Upgrade power jacks to include usb c charge ports, 30wtt where possible
Put network panel in house in a closet
This, plus do 2x coax drops per location. Basically as many coax as your have ethernet. The uses of that wire keep expanding. Some pre-terminated fibre would be nice too as it’s pretty cheap these days.
I normally recommend 2 runs per location minimum. If one fails for whatever reason, like a mouse chewing on a cable, you have a backup.
Running Ethernet to my garage was a big plus also!!! I would like to run Ethernet out for a Doorbell, but that isn’t going to be easy with my house. Ethernet for Smart Doorbells is a growing thing.
PoE Security cameras. You might want some in the future. Running Ethernet for that NOW would be easier than later. You leave a bundle of wire at each area you thing you need a camera and it all goes down the the basement.
How about Speaker wires for a surround sound setup? Maybe Whole Home audio? These are some things to think about with new construction. Ethernet for TV Locations!!! Wired is always better then Wifi.
With your Modem downstairs, how about Wifi Access Points mounted on your ceiling? So you can have great Wifi everywhere you go. This would really help if you want to get into some smart home stuff.