sponk
join:2005-01-03
Mississauga
 ·Future Nine Corpor..
 ·Rogers Hi-Speed
| New house: cat5e/cat6 type for wiring? Hello, my new house is currently being built and the walls are still open. I would like to wire all rooms for ethernet; however, I'm quite confused by the different kinds of cables available (i.e. Shielded vs Unshielded, Solid vs Stranded etc..).
What kind of wire do you suggest I use?
For example, at »www.lanshack.com/Cat-5E-Cable-C69.aspx it lists so many different configurations of just cat5e wires. Thanks, appreciate any input!! | |
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 Speedy Petey
join:2008-01-19 | Re: New house: cat5e/cat6 type for wiring? In a residential setting there is no reason to use shielded cable. It costs more and can be a pain to terminate. Besides, there is no benefit to it in a home.
Just use regular Cat5e unshielded non-plenum cable. | |
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ArthurS
Watch Those Blinking Lights
Premium
join:2000-10-28
Hamilton, ON
1 edit | For permanent installs, use solid CAT5/6 wire. Stranded wire should only be used for patch cables. | |
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 | sponk
join:2005-01-03
Mississauga | Re: New house: cat5e/cat6 type for wiring? Thanks for the link to the technical papers as well as your own lan setup writeup. I'll give them a read now! | |
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PolarBear
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium
join:2005-01-03
·CableOne
| Re: New house: cat5e/cat6 type for wiring? If your house is burning down, who gives a shit if the cable burns, too?
If the cable is what started the fire in the first place, well, HOW?!? Unless he's using cat5e to power a welder, I think he'll be fine.
Also, (if the house is burning down) with the amount of smoke coming from the house and all the various materials in it, I doubt a tad more smoke from a little cat5e cable is going to make a difference.
Plenum cable is simply NOT necessary in a residential installation.
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I'm one of those people you can't take out of context. You have to see the whole me before I begin to make any sense. | |
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tmh
@qwest.net
| said by leibold  :That statement is correct, but consider using plenum cable even if you are not required to use it. That might be overkill.
Plenum cables minimize the emission of smoke and toxic gases when heated. That's important in the plenum because the ducts are used for ventilation and will spread toxic gases rapidly throughout the building much faster than a localized fire. In fact, intelligent HVAC systems are designed to shutdown when smoke detectors signal that a fire is present.
It's much less of a problem outside the plenum. In a fire, there's plenty of other toxic stuffbeing released, the additional pollutant from the cable isn't going to make any difference. | |
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cdru
Go Colts
Premium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
| If you are running your own lines and not being charged a per-drop fee, I personally would run 2 lines to the middle of every wall, or at least 2 runs per room on opposite walls, plus anywhere else where one might naturally need an network connection (behind entertainment center, at the wall phone, next to the toilet  ). Terminate them all back at a patch panel and then you can only hook up the ones that you need.
Most network jacks can also serve for a 4 or 6-wire telephone cable as well, so you can kill two birds with one stone.
Don't forget about RG-6 too. | |
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pokesph
It Is Almost Fast
Premium
join:2001-06-25
Sacramento, CA
clubs:
·Comcast
| Re: New house: cat5e/cat6 type for wiring? said by cdru :If you are running your own lines and not being charged a per-drop fee, I personally would run 2 lines to the middle of every wall, or at least 2 runs per room on opposite walls, plus anywhere else where one might naturally need an network connection (behind entertainment center, at the wall phone, next to the toilet ). Terminate them all back at a patch panel and then you can only hook up the ones that you need. Most network jacks can also serve for a 4 or 6-wire telephone cable as well, so you can kill two birds with one stone. Don't forget about RG-6 too. agreed, with one small addition..
you might as well do it right the first time and run your phone lines (cat3 is fine) as well..
I also suggest cat6 for the 2 data runs so it's usefulness can extend over a longer period of time.
2 data
1voice
1coax
per drop.
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Webmaster - Steve
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»www.1-gb.net
»www.ppnstudio.com | |
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tmh
@qwest.net
| said by cdru :If you are running your own lines and not being charged a per-drop fee, I personally would run 2 lines to the middle of every wall, or at least 2 runs per room on opposite walls, plus anywhere else where one might naturally need an network connection This is so true. There's no such thing as too much wire. As your gadgets grow, so will your need for more drops. I put three drops in my study about five years ago, and now they're all doubled up to support six IP devices (1 IP cam, 2 PCs, 2 printers, and 1 scanner). | |
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ex bell
@cgocable.net
| As I am the guy who shows up months later to add something I would say try to think way ahead.
Like the others said cat. 5 unshielded . Try to cover all bases in each room and imagine trying to get wiring to different areas later.
Run at least two cat. 5s to each location and drop RG6 into all the rooms you can't fish later.
I tell people to go nuts with the drops and if they aren't used you just cap them.
Remember to plan, like someone mentioned, to be able to kick out the backside to another area if needed as this can cut down on the number of drops. | |
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sponk
join:2005-01-03
Mississauga
·Future Nine Corpor..
·Rogers Hi-Speed
| Thanks so much for the replies!!
So I'll go for cat5e unshielded solid cable then.
I am also running a RG6 coax and a cat3 phone line to each room.
As cdru suggested, I will have the wires lead to a patch panel, those then connected to a switch and the switch to the router. Does this sound feasible?
Side question: Do you know of any deals on cat5e cables around Middletown, NJ area? If there's a local supplier, I might pick them up. Alternatively, I can order online but would need it by the end of the week since then the wiring work will commence! | |
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ArthurS
Watch Those Blinking Lights
Premium
join:2000-10-28
Hamilton, ON
| Re: New house: cat5e/cat6 type for wiring? said by sponk :I am also running a RG6 coax and a cat3 phone line to each room. Why run CAT3 cable for phone, when the price difference between it and CAT5 is so miniscule (if you can even find CAT3 cable anymore)? Run CAT5 for both phone and network ports, that way in the future if you don't need a phone jack in a certain room, you have an extra network port. | |
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manfmmd
Premium
join:2003-01-14
Earth
clubs:
| Re: New house: cat5e/cat6 type for wiring? said by ArthurS :said by sponk :I am also running a RG6 coax and a cat3 phone line to each room. Why run CAT3 cable for phone, when the price difference between it and CAT5 is so miniscule (if you can even find CAT3 cable anymore)? Run CAT5 for both phone and network ports, that way in the future if you don't need a phone jack in a certain room, you have an extra network port. That's what I did. I have my voice and data terminated on a patch panel and use CAT3 patches with RJ-11 on one end to plug in to the patch panel and I punch down the other end on a 66 block that has dialtone daisy-chained down on 6 sets of terminal posts.
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If the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, what is the road to Heaven paved with?
Obama 2008 - Where Transparent = Opaque | |
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| | NormanS
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
 ·Pacific Bell - SBC
| said by ArthurS :Why run CAT3 cable for phone, when the price difference between it and CAT5 is so miniscule (if you can even find CAT3 cable anymore)? CAT 3 is commonly available, here, at places like Fry's Electronics, and Home Depot. In my experience, two-pair CAT 3 is about half the price of CAT 5e. I would expect four-pair CAT 3 is the same price as CAT 5e.
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Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum | |
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ArthurS
Watch Those Blinking Lights
Premium
join:2000-10-28
Hamilton, ON
| Re: New house: cat5e/cat6 type for wiring? said by NormanS :said by ArthurS :Why run CAT3 cable for phone, when the price difference between it and CAT5 is so miniscule (if you can even find CAT3 cable anymore)? CAT 3 is commonly available, here, at places like Fry's Electronics, and Home Depot. In my experience, two-pair CAT 3 is about half the price of CAT 5e. I would expect four-pair CAT 3 is the same price as CAT 5e. So you save maybe $40-50 on the project and limit yourself with what you can do with your wiring? I believe in being thrifty, but at the same time I consider that a poor investment for future expansion. Hello, this is the 90's, we want our CAT3 back!  | |
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| | | | a_large_rock
join:2003-08-02
Markham, ON
·Cogeco Cable
·Rogers Hi-Speed
| Re: New house: cat5e/cat6 type for wiring? I would have to agree running cat 3 is a waste. If you go looking around Cat 5e is often the same price as cat 3, or cheaper. Cat 3 is a special order around here.. No one uses it anymore.
If you live in a traditional small wood frame 1 or 2 story house I would still use a fire rated cable... however in a lot of area's fire rated cable is only required in MDU's, commercial/industrial, or concrete/steel buildings . | |
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quetwo
That VoIP Guy
Premium
join:2004-09-04
East Lansing, MI | Re: New house: cat5e/cat6 type for wiring? Many municipalities have changed their regulations to require that all low-volt use Plenum/fire-rated rated cable for all new installs. In our area, all work permitted after Sept 1 of this year requires it. | |
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| | | | NormanS
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC
| Re: New house: cat5e/cat6 type for wiring? We still have POTS. I don't anticipate dropping it any time soon. If we did, most of that wiring would not be reusable for LAN anyway; the stations are mostly wrong for where the data equipment is placed.
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Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum | |
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tmh
@qwest.net
| said by sponk :Thanks so much for the replies!! So I'll go for cat5e unshielded solid cable then. I am also running a RG6 coax and a cat3 phone line to each room. Sponk, I'd just run cat5e for all, then terminate differently for the phone line. It'll save you from having to buy another spool of a different cable.
said by sponk :Side question: Do you know of any deals on cat5e cables around Middletown, NJ area? If there's a local supplier, I might pick them up. Alternatively, I can order online but would need it by the end of the week since then the wiring work will commence! Try BlackBox (www.blackbox.com). They will have everything you want (and then some), have excellent service, and can ship fast. Their GigaBase bulk cable is very good.
tmh | |
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GdotMikeL
join:2001-04-23
West Chicago, IL | Unless you're acting as your own GC you may not be allowed to do this. Many people have tried to prewire their new homes only to find out later that the wire was removed. | |
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ex bell
@cgocable.net
| Re: New house: cat5e/cat6 type for wiring? said by GdotMikeL :Unless you're acting as your own GC you may not be allowed to do this. Many people have tried to prewire their new homes only to find out later that the wire was removed. The OP is in Ontario and it is perfectly legal here. | |
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DSL Anywhere
@embarqhsd.net | I'd put some type of chase in for future wiring, especially if it' a 2 story house. It will make things easier in the future if you want to add something. | |
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plk
bo may sleep in loft
Premium
join:2002-04-20
Ogden, IA
| Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe your suppose to keep your ethernet wire away from electrical the best you can and don't bundle them together. No hard bends in the cable too.
Also, I almost always pull a string along with what ever wires I pull. You could leave some sting in some of your runs. | |
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odinb
join:2001-11-26
Frisco, TX
| I would do CAT6 (I actually already did...) in my house for all connections.
Run 2 per room, one on each side.
You can get the cable at a good price here:
»www.monoprice.com/products/searc···%20cable
Good luck!
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"It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority." - Benjamin Franklin | |
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| sponk
join:2005-01-03
Mississauga
·Future Nine Corpor..
·Rogers Hi-Speed
| Re: New house: cat5e/cat6 type for wiring? Thanks!
Re: Cat3 for telephone
Actually, I am not sure what sort of cable the electrician will use for telephone. I will find out and perhaps suggest he use cat5e and I supply the material again. | |
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dakota91
@charter.com
| By pulling cable to every potential location then you're going to be buying cable that for the most part will probably never be used. A better idea would be to install 1/2" innerduct from a central wiring panel in the basement to each interior wall. You can terminate the innerduct to a junction box and cover it with a blank faceplate. When you need a connection, simply pull the appropriate cable and install a faceplate with the proper termination (many companies make jacks that simply snap into their faceplates).
The biggest advantage of using innerduct is that it future-proofs your home. Although CAT5e/6 and coax may be popular today, your home 10 years from may need fiber, HDMI, audio cabling, or some other type of cable that hasn't even been invented yet.
Also, don't just run innerduct or cabling to the lower portion of walls. Consider where you may someday want to have a TV mounted on various walls and run not only innerduct or cabling, but also electrical and speaker cabling.
Also consider running innnerduct to various places on the exterior of your home. If you ever decide to install security cameras or other type of security devices it would make the job much easier. | |
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| sponk
join:2005-01-03
Mississauga | Re: New house: cat5e/cat6 type for wiring? dakota91, do you have any links for an innerduct setup? something that perhaps gives me an overview of the costs involved as well? thanks! | |
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dakota91
@charter.com
| Re: New house: cat5e/cat6 type for wiring? Sponk,
Just do a search on 1/2" innerduct and you will find lots of places that sell it. It's more expensive per foot than cable, but once installed you'll never have to rip it out. You can get either plenum or non-plenum. For areas where you expect to have many cables, you can purchase larger diameter innerduct. Of course, you can also install multiple smaller innerduct or PVC to a single junction box for larger cable or multiple smaller cables.
There are a couple of ways to save money considering that you only need the innerduct within the enclosed spaces. Running from a standard height wall outlet to a basement opening might only require just a couple of feet (you can run your wiring in the opening between floor joists in the basement and use the innerduct only to get through the wall.
If you don't want to purchase innerduct, a cheaper solution is PVC pipe. The disadvantage of PVC is that it isn't flexible; however, that may not be a issue if you're going from a junction box straight down to an open basement. Another option is to use the cheaper PVC for long straight runs and use the flexible innerduct only for the areas where you have twists and turns. | |
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old cable guy
@cox.net
| Solid conductor Unshielded Cat5e is what you need. Use for voice cables also, unless Cat3 is commonly available in your area.
Not much advantage to justify the extra cost of Cat6 unless you have very long runs or very special bandwidth needs- not much bandwidth to be gained, actually, unless you go over the top with the higher grades of Cat6 cables and connectors-... my 2cents.
Straighten out any kinks you might make while pulling cable and as others have said- keep a distance between any AC power. | |
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Speedy Petey
join:2008-01-19
| I haven't run Cat3 in years. I see absolutely no reason to even stock it anymore for the reasons mentioned. The bottom line cost savings is negligible.
I also think Cat6 is useless. Cat5e will do anything you need or will need in a home network for years to come. The next step is fiber, and that is WAY overkill and a LONG way off in home use. | |
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MaynardKrebs
Premium
join:2009-06-17
| In big homes, or where an attic is semi-finished and you might want to run your 2nd floor drops from above, I'd recommend running CAT6 risers or using it for long runs.
Don't waste your money on Cat3 - used Cat5e everywhere except where CAT 6 is used.
Min. 2 x Cat5e + 1 x RG6 at each drop. No CAT5e closer than 16" to 120v AC lines when running in parallel to them. You can cross the 120v AC lines at right angles.
If you want to run gonduit, see »www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthre···t=901909 for a discussion of 'smurf' tube - www.carlon.com | |
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bkjohnson
Premium
join:2002-05-22
Birmingham, AL | You or your electrician have probably already thought about it, but be sure to have all of the runs tested before the walls are closed. | |
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C0deZer0
Oc'D To Rhythm And Police
Premium
join:2001-10-03
Davenport, FL
 ·Verizon FIOS
| Think Long term. Yea, 10/100 might be fine now, but for how long? And would you really want to tear apart the walls again to upgrade those cables?
Fiber it if you can, Cat6 if not.
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Front Line Force Fortress Forever | |
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See 18 replies to this post |
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jig
join:2001-01-05
Hacienda Heights, CA | cat6 | |
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