Wiring my whole house with Cat6 - need help please, total noob here :)

[2JZGTE]

Hi all,

We just bought an old house which we will be ripping apart, including inner walls, and renovate from top to bottom. Literally everything is going. So my wife and I (yes, she wants this too) thought about wiring the house for internet/networking and also POE cameras (that's a bit off topic for now). We plan on living in this house for at least 10 years and raising children there, so I want to futureproof it as much as possible (I know there's no such thing as futureproofing... but in this case I won't be ripping the walls out again, ever). I'm a total noob at this so I read and watched many tutorials and I think I got the basics now. Can you please comment on my prospected setup? I counted 22-24 plugs I'll be installing, still to be determined... not that we NEED that much, but I want to wire every room of the house, including the kitchen island (not the bathrooms though ahah).

Hardware
Modem provided by ISP
Router (with wireless) to be determined
10/100/1000 24 port switch to be determined
Cat6 23AWG 500MHz UTP Solid,Riser Rated(CMR),Bulk Ethernet Bare Copper (1000FT because it's not that much more expensive than 500FT)
Cat6 Punch Down Keystone Jack
Wall plates with for keystone jacks
Cat6 Plug Solid W/Insert 50U

Tools
Punch-Down Impact Tool for 66 and 110/88 Type
Network Cable Tester
Crimping Tool for RJ-45 RJ-11
Drill, etc.

Keep in mind I'm in Canada so trying to avoid Monoprice because of shipping/customs/currency exchange.

Questions :
1) Should I buy stranded cable to do my patch cables? Or can I/should I use the same solid cable? Trying to avoid overspending here, but I know solid cable could be a pain to manipulate on a daily basis when plugging and unplugging some devices.
2) Shielded vs unshielded?
3) Any other specs on my ethernet cable I should be aware of?
4) Are there actual brands/makes of cables I should avoid/consider. Is there such thing as a cheap ethernet cable or high end ethernet cable, all specs considered equal?
5) Is a network cable tester enough to ensure everything is working properly? I won't have an internet connection in this house until the walls are closed and we're ready to move in, so I need to make sure everything was done correctly from the start. Anything else I should test?

Any other tip/comment is welcome!

 

[Snipergod87]

As you noted its always good to run extra, never know when you will need one (I wish we had some in the ceiling for ceiling mounted AP's).
I have only seen and used solid cables for well everything, better signal integrity. However depending on the distance of the run and what device is at the end (say 10/100, vs 1000) stranded may work.
Shielded if you are planning to ever run 10gigabit or there is some serious electrical interference/crosstalk.
Not sure about cable brands
There are network testers which I would highly recommend, they will verify the integrity of the cable ensuring you punched it down properly, they will come in two pieces one for the remote end and one for the end you are at. They are pretty cheap depending on what you want it to do, for example something like this will tell you that the circuit is complete (which is 99% enough)
https://www.amazon.com/Vastar-Multi-functional-Network-Cable-Tester/dp/B01EA8P1OM

 

[mbarnes86]

Hi

My advice would be to get a professional to do the work for you
Maybe put in ducts or conduits in advance yourself

A professional will have a diagnostic tool to check the cable and connections fully comply and work at 1 GHz

A simple cable tester will only detect crossed or missing links

For patch cables use premade stranded cables


If you are going to do it your self spend some time practicing fitting the rj45 plugs
Untill you are confident you can get it correct every time

If you dont do it correctly you may have problems running at 1GHz

Regards
Mike Barnes

 

[little_me]

Always use conduits for the wiring, that way if you want to change it later, you can do so without tearing walls down.
Crimping tool for Rj-45 and RJ-11 is kind of pointless.
Reason for this is that 99.99% of people who try, will NOT succeed at making the male ends match up to gigabit speed standard.
It is in almost all cases easier to just buy patch cables as needed.

Shielded cable is better but in most cases, you will not be able to get 2 of them in same conduit (they are a bit thicker) meaning you would need either bigger conduits or separate conduits for both cables.
Shielded is mostly needed if you ever decide to use HDMI-Ethernet converters, they require 99% of time shielded cable. Bear in mind that there are different types of shielded cables, U/FTP, S/FTP out of which S/FTP is better. Shielded cables need shielded connectors too and shielded patch cables for it to matter though.
My recommendation is to install at least 1 TV and 2 cat in EVERY room. In bigger rooms, more.

you don't need to connect unused points to switch right away, they are just good to have "just in case"

Cheaper network cable testers don't actually test the cable but just verify that you have connected it all correctly. The more expensive ones (we can talk of $1000+) actually test it with data.
in 99% of cases, if connectors are made correctly, it works at least up to 100Mbit/sec and most often to full 1Gbit

 

[StillLearningAfterAllThisTime]

Ok. So a few things here. Finishing up a huge renovation of our 100 year-old house. Didn't tear down all the walls, only about half on my end

1. The advice to put it everywhere you can think is a good idea. 1000 ft will go faster than you think. I ran about 750 ft in my house and didn't do everywhere. Even if you don't put outlets everywhere, you can stick some wire behind a wall and secure it with wire staples and remember where it is for later (see next item).

2. Take pictures of the walls after you have run your cables but before drywall. It is good to have a record of where and how things are run. It will help in the future if you need to revise/rerun years later.

3. Be sure everything is good on your exterior wall runs before insulation. The newer exterior blown-in insulation is awesome until you have to dig out wire that was blown in (speaking from experience).

4. Get a patch panel if you are wiring most things to a central location. Patch panels are cheap and allow you to terminate your runs cleanly (instead of trying to thread an RJ-45 plug). My patch panel will be wired to a network switch. Right now it is run to the router but soon (when I am using more of the jacks on a regular basis) it will run to an unmanaged switch.

5. You are planning on this but I am going to emphasize this:. Keystone jacks are your friend. There are tons of different types of wall jacks, but often I found that I needed a number/mix of connections that I could not find. Keystone jacks solve this.

6. Think about other wiring needs. The big thing I did was also wire speaker wire to a number of locations, including outside. Driving an independent, multi-zone audio system isn't easy but now I can if I want to. I also ran an active USB to my family room as well as an HDMI. This allows me to plug in a computer (via HDMI) and a keyboard or phone directly (via USB) into my HTPC/nerve center which is connected to the family room TV from the couch, instead of having to dig inside the cabinet. Just watch the length of your runs, as they may necessitate active cables.

7. Don't forget about cooling in your central cabinet, if you are going to have one. I got some cabinet fans (AC Infinity Airplate) which I have setup with a thermostat (part of the AC Infinity system) which pulls air from the basement through the cabinet, out through the top of the cabinet which is in between floors).

Good luck!
Glad I'm at the end of my project but it is exciting. Enjoy!

 

[jsmithepa]

When most people talk about cable tester in this forum you are talking about a $20 continuity tester, fine, but it won't test your cables signal quality. For this true test I suggest:

Do a couple of long runs, then plug in PC/laptops at both ends which is capable of 1 gbit and transfer a file and test to see if it gets close to 1 gbit speed, then you know your method is in the ball park. Then continue wiring the test. Then before you close the wall, test each pair, tedious, but better than have to open the walls again.

Am gonna pontificate again, in this forum, don't make your own patch cables, buy them pre-made. It's harder than you think. Even in CAN, am sure you can find a place which sells reasonable. What about ebay.ca?

 

[2JZGTE]

Thanks for your answers, very informative posts.

Shielded if you are planning to ever run 10gigabit or there is some serious electrical interference/crosstalk.

What would you categorize as serious interference? I plan on running "normal" electric wires.

Hi

My advice would be to get a professional to do the work for you
Maybe put in ducts or conduits in advance yourself

A professional will have a diagnostic tool to check the cable and connections fully comply and work at 1 GHz

A simple cable tester will only detect crossed or missing links

For patch cables use premade stranded cables

It's interesting you mention professionals... I tried searching but couldn't find any in my area. I'll ask my contractor if he knows any. Honestly I'd rather not do it myself as I don't really have time for it. Are you saying if I do everything correctly and mess up the RJ45 plugs (it goes undetected by the network tester) I'm not getting 1Gig?

3. Be sure everything is good on your exterior wall runs before insulation. The newer exterior blown-in insulation is awesome until you have to dig out wire that was blown in (speaking from experience).

4. Get a patch panel if you are wiring most things to a central location. Patch panels are cheap and allow you to terminate your runs cleanly (instead of trying to thread an RJ-45 plug). My patch panel will be wired to a network switch. Right now it is run to the router but soon (when I am using more of the jacks on a regular basis) it will run to an unmanaged switch.

About insulation : I'm also stripping the outside of the house and re-doing masonry. Anything I should consider? Anything you would have done differently?

I researched patch panels but never fully understood their use. Is it to avoid using RJ45 plugs which are a pain to assemble? Is there any other advantage? Everything can still look tidy with just a switch, right?

Do a couple of long runs, then plug in PC/laptops at both ends which is capable of 1 gbit and transfer a file and test to see if it gets close to 1 gbit speed, then you know your method is in the ball park. Then continue wiring the test. Then before you close the wall, test each pair, tedious, but better than have to open the walls again.

Am gonna pontificate again, in this forum, don't make your own patch cables, buy them pre-made. It's harder than you think. Even in CAN, am sure you can find a place which sells reasonable. What about ebay.ca?

To test the way you said, I would need at least a home network, which implies having the hardware all set up by then. Heck I don't even know if I'm gonna have electric outlets properly disposed throughout the house. I highly doubt I can do this easily, I'll check it out.

About patch cables, yeah I get your point. They're easy to find in Canada, it's just that I was interested in having them in "custom lengths" and maybe saving money. I always thought this kind of signal was digital, just like HDMI (yes or no), but I realize now it can mess up even if the network detector shows success, and then I have less than 1gb transfer speed (as was said earlier). Am I understanding this clearly?

 

[little_me]

Serious interference is situation based. in 99% of cases where it is an issue, you can't really do anything about it yourself. (there might be radio/cell mast nearby pointed at your house or something else)
In most cases, it is not an issue.

Reason for using patch panel is to avoid making the male ends, they are hard to make and nearly no one can make them well enough to meet the needs to reach 1Gbit speeds.
Also since you will be wiring more outlets than you use right away, having them ending in the panel will make that end more tidy since you don't have 10+ cable ends hanging around.
Also patch cables can be found in various lengths already pretty much anywhere from 1 foot to 50. (if you need longer patch cord, you have too few wall sockets)

Edit: Also not sure where in Canada you are, It is a tad bit bigger country than mine.
In any case, if you live around Toronto, quick googling seems to give at least some result for cabling/testing.
Of course, if you are concerned about costs.. (patch cables) forget outsourcing it.
http://torontocabling.com/services/

 

[jsmithepa]

To test the way you said, I would need at least a home network,

Negative.

All you need is a cable run with both ends JACKED, with the closet end on a patch panel, and use 2 battery powered laptops on both ends. Configure NICs with static IP, this is what's is called an ADHOC, or Peer-to-Peer ethernet network.

I understand making your custom length patch, but after years of experience am telling folks buy pre-made, not gonna to into further details as I regurgitated enough of this subject in the past. Too bad you are not in the U.S., see those Monoprice prices? as low as a buck for a cable, as short as 1 feet.

 

[ComputerSecurityGuy]

Another note, might pay a bit more for Cat6a, which has 10gbit support. We will probably be in a "just starting to shift" state in 10 years and it doesn't cost much more.

 

[StillLearningAfterAllThisTime]

As others said about the patch panel, it keeps you from having to wire RJ45 plugs. I think mine cost like 20 bucks, it is unpowered and you can get multiple ones if you need it.

What I would do differently? Honestly I am pretty happy. Plugged my wife's computer into the HDMI wall outlet last night and it showed up one the TV. Pretty awesome. I think what I would have done differently was run Ethernet to the kids rooms (not done on purpose) and just left the cable in the wall in case I wanted to do it later. I might have run some more HDMI and USB connections.

One other thing you may want to consider that might want to consider that is outside of the Toms universe is interior insulation. I installed Roxul Safe n Sound in a bunch of places, especially in floors/ceilings. It is mainly designed for sound transmission. The stuff is awesome, although like most insulation a pain to deal with. My old house was pretty loud and our daughter's room was right below our kitchen. The house is much quieter now, especially between floors.

 

[2JZGTE]

To test the way you said, I would need at least a home network,

Negative.

All you need is a cable run with both ends JACKED, with the closet end on a patch panel, and use 2 battery powered laptops on both ends. Configure NICs with static IP, this is what's is called an ADHOC, or Peer-to-Peer ethernet network.

I understand making your custom length patch, but after years of experience am telling folks buy pre-made, not gonna to into further details as I regurgitated enough of this subject in the past. Too bad you are not in the U.S., see those Monoprice prices? as low as a buck for a cable, as short as 1 feet.

Yeah I see what you mean. However I don't have any gigabit capable laptop, and all USB adapters I find online are 3.0. My current laptop is too old. Any solution other than buying a new one? Keep in mind I'm gonna upgrade all my hardware sooner or later to gigabit-capable, but as I said I'm installing that network just to futureproof.

Serious interference is situation based. in 99% of cases where it is an issue, you can't really do anything about it yourself. (there might be radio/cell mast nearby pointed at your house or something else)
In most cases, it is not an issue.

Reason for using patch panel is to avoid making the male ends, they are hard to make and nearly no one can make them well enough to meet the needs to reach 1Gbit speeds.
Also since you will be wiring more outlets than you use right away, having them ending in the panel will make that end more tidy since you don't have 10+ cable ends hanging around.
Also patch cables can be found in various lengths already pretty much anywhere from 1 foot to 50. (if you need longer patch cord, you have too few wall sockets)

Edit: Also not sure where in Canada you are, It is a tad bit bigger country than mine.
In any case, if you live around Toronto, quick googling seems to give at least some result for cabling/testing.
Of course, if you are concerned about costs.. (patch cables) forget outsourcing it.
http://torontocabling.com/services/

Thanks for the explanation about patch panels. I always thought they were useless... now I understand why people use them .

 

[Karadjgne]

Cat5e will carry gigabit ethernet at 100MHz. Cat6 is the same design, but carries upto 10Gb ethernet at 250MHz. It also contains an internal separator to help keep the pairs from developing 'cross talk', interference. Shielded does only 2 things. Costs a heap more and helps prevent RF interference from things like microwaves, electrical wiring run in the same channel etc. So Shielded Cat6 would be best, but unshielded is normally fine.

The most important part of any installation isn't usually 'where' it's run, but 'how' it's run. It's of vital importance not to kink the wire when pulling and not to stress it by pulling tight around sharp corners. Staple down just enough to hold the wire, but do not crush it. This sets up a weak point in the pairings and if you're going to introduce interference this is where it'll be, at the staple acting as an antenna.

Be careful of outsourced help. Most residential electricians don't have a clue about low voltage wiring and its hazards/requirements, they'll just pull the hell out of the wire quick like, without thought to what that means afterwards.