leibold
Premium,MVM
join:2002-07-09
Sunnyvale, CA
clubs: 
| reply to tschmidt
Re: New house: cat5e/cat6 type for wiring?
said by tschmidt  : Only need Plenum if you are running wire in air handling spaces. That is not common for residential. That statement is correct, but consider using plenum cable even if you are not required to use it.
Plenum rated cable (CMP) retains its fire retardant properties even in the presence of active air flow which provides fresh oxygen to the fire.
Riser rated cable (CMR) while also fire retardant does not provide the same level of protection. If cost is an issue and plenum rated cable is not required by applicable codes, then at least use riser rated cable.
General purpose (CM and CMG) and unrated cable have very little fire retardant properties or none at all and will rapidly spread the fire through the property.
All cables regardless of their rating will burn when exposed to a sufficiently hot flame and all will produce toxic smoke when burning. However plenum rated cables will produce far less smoke and flame then any other cables.
For a residence a single 1000' spool is usually sufficient and upgrading from general purpose to plenum rated cable will only add about $100 to the cost of the project.
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PhoenixDown
-- Wants FIOS
Premium
join:2003-06-08
Fresh Meadows, NY
clubs: | reply to sponk
I would go with 2x Cat 6 and 2x of the coax tv cables for each room. (I actually went with 2x cat 5e in most rooms but 6 was so much more money then).
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ArthurS
Watch Those Blinking Lights
Premium
join:2000-10-28
Hamilton, ON
| reply to NormanS
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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tschmidt
Premium,MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH
 ·Hollis Hosting
 ·Verizon Online DSL
·Fairpoint Communic..
| reply to NormanS
said by NormanS : 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. Agree with ArthurS the small savings in material cost is probably short sighted. Using two runs of Cat5e gives you flexibility. POTS usage is declining, replaced with Voice over IP and Cell phones. Given the long service life of in-building wiring ought to design in flexible options.
/tom |
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a_large_rock
join:2003-08-02
Markham, ON
 ·Cogeco Cable
·Rogers Hi-Speed
| reply to ArthurS
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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NormanS
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC
| reply to tschmidt
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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dakota91
@charter.com
| reply to sponk
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 | 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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sponk
join:2005-01-03
Mississauga
 ·Future Nine Corpor..
·Rogers Hi-Speed
| reply to odinb
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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old cable guy
@cox.net
| reply to sponk
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
| reply to sponk
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
| reply to sponk
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 | reply to sponk
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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PolarBear
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium
join:2005-01-03
·CableOne
| reply to leibold
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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C0deZer0
Oc'D To Rhythm And Police
Premium
join:2001-10-03
Davenport, FL
 ·Verizon FIOS
| reply to sponk
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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Metatron2008
join:2008-09-02
Stockbridge, GA | What the hell are people saying about Cat5e?
If you plan on living at this house long term I'd say nothing but Cat6. These people telling this are the same who were saying 640k of ram is all you'd ever need. |
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jig
join:2001-01-05
Hacienda Heights, CA | reply to sponk
cat6 |
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NormanS
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC
1 edit | reply to C0deZer0
said by C0deZer0 :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? Eh? CAT 5e support Gig-E. Nobody is selling 10Gig-E anything, for the home, at this time. 3/4s of my equipment is still only Fast Ethernet (100 Mb/s), and not likely to be upgraded over the next three years. And, when it is, only to Gig-E, for which CAT 5e is good enough.
Edit: Corrected a minor omission.
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Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum |
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Metatron2008
join:2008-09-02
Stockbridge, GA
 ·AT&T Wireless Broa..
 ·DIRECTV
·Charter Pipeline
·America Online
·Skype
·Vonage
·AT&T Southeast
| said by NormanS :said by C0deZer0 :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? Eh? CAT 5e support Gig-E. Nobody is selling 10Gig-E anything at this time. 3/4s of my equipment is still only Fast Ethernet (100 Mb/s), and not likely to be upgraded over the next three years. And, when it is, only to Gig-E, for which CAT 5e is good enough. And your talking ripping out the cords when you need to replace them.
How would you assume cat 6 wouldn't be used in 10-20 years? |
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Fireblade
join:2008-08-27
St Catharines, ON
·Cogeco Cable
·Vonage
| reply to sponk
Doing anything less than CAT6 is a poor investment, a waste of time and money.
At the rate of technological evolution, installing old/modern technology is a poor investment - you need to prepare for future technologies.
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I love fish sticks. I love putting fish sticks in my mouth. |
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