Building a new house...

[Caveman]

Building a new house and I want to make sure I "do it right" as far as computer wiring...

I'll probably put telephone lines into every room (DSL) and cable drops in the major areas for (you guessed it) cable...

Anything else advisable...?

 

[nweaver]

For a new build, I WOULDN'T run phone cable, I would only run Cat5e or 6 (depending on budget) and use that for data/voice, and punch them in as required in a central location...same thing with cable, all runs tie into a central location where you can punch them down differerently depending on need.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: nweaver
For a new build, I WOULDN'T run phone cable, I would only run Cat5e or 6 (depending on budget) and use that for data/voice, and punch them in as required in a central location...same thing with cable, all runs tie into a central location where you can punch them down differerently depending on need.

yep, all RG6 coaxial to every room, in many rooms two outlets (don't forget the kitchen)

two cat6 runs and two rg6 runs, all into a panel.

 

[JRitze]

Message Has Been Removed

 

[Brazen]

and don't forget the fiber! Two runs, every room.

 

[Caveman]

My suspicions on the matter have been verified... I'm clueless about wiring!

Ok, CAT5 is the type of wire that goes from my router to NIC, right? I assume this wire type is used for "high end landlines"? Looks like a "large" phone line?

And... RG6 coaxial are what's typically used for satellite dish to Rx, right? Why would I want this in each room of the house?

About setup... Two drops seems like overkill except in the places I'd planned to have a rig: Office, bonus room, living room.

Budget? Anyone have an estimated price/ft for CAT5/RG6?

I guess most people put the panel in a convenient closet and run all the lines into that panel. On the "loose end, I thought about just leaving things in the wall and fishing for the ends later if/wehn they're needed to keep things looking "tidy"...

Fiber runs? Huh?

 

[Brazen]

Originally posted by: Caveman
My suspicions on the matter have been verified... I'm clueless about wiring!

Ok, CAT5 is the type of wire that goes from my router to NIC, right? I assume this wire type is used for "high end landlines"? Looks like a "large" phone line?

Cat5 is what is typical refered to as "network cable" and yes it is what goes from your router to NIC. You can also use it for phone cabling. One Cat5 will service 4 phone lines and is much higher quality than the Cat3 that is typically used for phones, plus in the future someone could rip out that phone drop and use it as a network drop instead (since everyone uses cell phones these days). I just wired my house and used Cat5 for my phone drops.

About setup... Two drops seems like overkill except in the places I'd planned to have a rig: Office, bonus room, living room.

Well, used to be the rule of thumb was to always run plenty of drops for future expansion, but wireless is gettings so good and cheap, that's probably not so important. I would still run extra lines where you might want the higher speed and reliability of wired connections, though.

Budget? Anyone have an estimated price/ft for CAT5/RG6?

you should be able to get CAT5 for about 10 cents per foot or less.

Fiber runs? Huh?

Just kidding, fiber is generally only used in businesses and is very expensive.

 

[theorignalAMD Overclocker]

Fiber runs? Huh?

Just kidding, fiber is generally only used in businesses and is very expensive.[/quote]


Not totally true.

 

[Caveman]

quote:
Originally posted by: Caveman
My suspicions on the matter have been verified... I'm clueless about wiring!

Ok, CAT5 is the type of wire that goes from my router to NIC, right? I assume this wire type is used for "high end landlines"? Looks like a "large" phone line?

Cat5 is what is typical refered to as "network cable" and yes it is what goes from your router to NIC. You can also use it for phone cabling. One Cat5 will service 4 phone lines and is much higher quality than the Cat3 that is typically used for phones, plus in the future someone could rip out that phone drop and use it as a network drop instead (since everyone uses cell phones these days). I just wired my house and used Cat5 for my phone drops.

Looks like CAT5 cable has a much larger connector on the end than the standard phone line found on a regular telephones. I guess I'll need to buy new phones to accept this larger connector? How does 1 line service 4 phones? Are you saying that the CAT5 cable can be split up behind the wall and then terminated with 4 (smaller) connectora to fit a "standard" phone?

 

[nweaver]

don't confuse the wire witht he connector....

Cat5e is the wireing, rj45 is the jack (network) as opposed to RJ11 (standard phone).

 

[Caveman]

Ahhh... Thanks for the insight... So it sounds like I can turn a phone jack into a network jack by changinf the connectors... What was meant by the "panel" some of the original posters mentioned...? Is this basically a central point at which the outside line comes into the house? If so, isn't this whats typically done anyway with standard phone lines?

Also, why the RG6 coax cable running everywhere? Is this the same type of cable used for cable TV/internet?

 

[Caveman]

Bump for early morning crowd...

 

[nweaver]

What we are saying is to tie everything from the house (not TO the house) into a central location. Purchase a small patch panel from someone like Greybar and lots of RG45 Keystone jacks. They should also have RG6 keystones I think. Then label label label. Then, if you end up with multiple lines, you can change which lines go where, modify network connectivity (isolate children to a locked down router) etc.

 

[vorgusa]

How about a giant keg-o-rator tube to supply beer throughout the entire house!!!! help for any all nighters you might have to do.
You probably should put Cat6 since it is gigabit ethernet so you do not have to wonder if you should upgrade your enitire house in the future. you could also want to make a media server to stream HD throughout your house if you are interested in that stuff, and some extra bandwidth could not hurt.

 

[Caveman]

Originally posted by: nweaver
What we are saying is to tie everything from the house (not TO the house) into a central location. Purchase a small patch panel from someone like Greybar and lots of RG45 Keystone jacks. They should also have RG6 keystones I think. Then label label label. Then, if you end up with multiple lines, you can change which lines go where, modify network connectivity (isolate children to a locked down router) etc.

Thanks for the help...

Do you know of any websites that explain house wiring setups like you describe? I'm still foggy on how the panel would help do anything more than provide a common electro-mechanical junction for ditributing the signal going TO the house, to all the service lines in the house. What other function does the panel serve?

Sorry for the ignorance... Trying to learn...

How about a giant keg-o-rator tube to supply beer throughout the entire house!!!! help for any all nighters you might have to do.
You probably should put Cat6 since it is gigabit ethernet so you do not have to wonder if you should upgrade your enitire house in the future. you could also want to make a media server to stream HD throughout your house if you are interested in that stuff, and some extra bandwidth could not hurt.

Cat6 instead of Cat5 for greater bandwidth. Sounds good as long as the price doesn't quadruple... What's the bandwidth for Cat5? Also, whats the RG6 for?

 

[jlbenedict]

Originally posted by: Caveman

Originally posted by: nweaver
What we are saying is to tie everything from the house (not TO the house) into a central location. Purchase a small patch panel from someone like Greybar and lots of RG45 Keystone jacks. They should also have RG6 keystones I think. Then label label label. Then, if you end up with multiple lines, you can change which lines go where, modify network connectivity (isolate children to a locked down router) etc.

Thanks for the help...

Do you know of any websites that explain house wiring setups like you describe? I'm still foggy on how the panel would help do anything more than provide a common electro-mechanical junction for ditributing the signal going TO the house, to all the service lines in the house. What other function does the panel serve?

Sorry for the ignorance... Trying to learn...

The term that everyone is describing is called "Structured Wiring".

Structured Wiring

 

[nightowl]

I just moved into my house at the end of January and I did all of the wiring myself. I ran at least 1 RG6 to every location and 2 Cat5e to every location. For the # of locations I placed 2 outlets in each room. Now, I wish I would have added a few more in some rooms after the fact because how I placed furniture was different than I anticipated. There will always be things that you do not think of until it is after the fact. I would almost suggest placing outlets on all usable walls in a bedroom and living room. You do not have to do this if you do not mind having a cable running across the floor but isn't that what we are trying to prevent with the wires in the wall? As for prices, I was able to get 1000' of Cat5e from Lowes for $50 and 1000' of RG-6 will run you $100 or so.

Edit: Cat6 is not required for Gig. It will run over Cat5 without a problem. And if you are thinking of 10g, there will be a limit of 55m on Cat6 and it is going to be very expensive for the next 3-5yrs.

 

[Brazen]

Originally posted by: nightowl

Edit: Cat6 is not required for Gig. It will run over Cat5 without a problem. And if you are thinking of 10g, there will be a limit of 55m on Cat6 and it is going to be very expensive for the next 3-5yrs.

Just confirming that Cat6 is not required for Gig. When GigE first came out it required Cat6, but that was a long time ago and as far as I know ALL knew equipment will work fine with GigE over Cat5e. I would not be surprised if one day they get 10GigE to run over Cat5e also.

 

[bunker]

Also, whats the RG6 for?

RG6 is a higher grade (I believe the old standard is RG59) cable for cable/satellite/antenna. It can be run over a longer distance with less of a signal drop.

 

[MikeTheBuzzsaw]

Cat 6 ftw.

I have cat 6 running through each room of my house. All the wires should lead up to one centra box where you can put a router in there. Be sure that the box is in the center of the house so if you put a wireless router in there, the signal will be evenly distributed throughout the house. Also be sure that the box has a TV out and phone out hookup.

 

[networkman]

I even have six runs of Cat5e going out to my un-attached garage. :Q In case I need more room for the LAN parties.

 

[rancherlee]

I Ordered my Modular home with one cat5 jack in every room and I haven't used one yet. I was thinking ahead but I guess Me, my wife, and guests are happy with the "slow" Wireless G around the house. A few of my buddies run off my wireless at my lan partys and never have a complaint, most hook up to my old 24 port 10/100 switch though (we are all in the basement where there is room for 20+ computers)