Home wiring (non-electrical)

[DVerbarg]

The biggest advantage to 110 punchdown blocks, IMHO, over the 66 block is uniformity. Cat5 jacks are all 110 style (haven't seen any 66 style) and you can save roughly $15 to $20 on the cost of another tip for a punchdown tool if you only need the 110. Otherwise there does not seem to be any real functional advantage of one over the other.

 

[DVerbarg]

Just wanted to second the thought of running conduit. Data standards and technical requirements will change, that is a constant and having conduit will allow you to easily add, change, or remove cables later.

Radman mentioned running 2" Carlon. Not familiar with that but used 3/4" standard conduit in my house with home runs back to the basement.

If your budget is limited and you are inclined you can do the conduit runs yourself with a little trial and error. One little note, do NOT have more than 360 degrees of turns in one run as this will make pulling cables harder and will probably require that you use more force then is recommended to pull the cables (degrading the performance characteristics since the twists have been changed).

Spend the money on the conduit and plan your runs and panel in the basement. You can easily add the cabling as you need it later.

Someone mentioned leaving string in the conduits. This is a great idea. If you forget to do this and don't have a fishtape you can easily pull a string later by applying a vacuum to one end of the conduit and introducing a lightweight string to the other end. I've also used this technique for pulling wire through a wall that did not have conduit but takes quite a few tries to get it to work.

 

[TerryinMD]

Just to add to the conduit suggestion.

Use the larger diameter conduit for risers - these are runs that go vertically.

Use the smaller diameter conduit for the runs to the terminating boxes.

For example, run one or two 2 or 2.5 inch conduits between the basement and attic. Two are better so that you can have one for voice/data/AV and the second for electrical. Something that we don't plan for sometimes... /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif

From the basement, run to conduit up to the first floor boxes. From the attic, run the conduit down to the boxes. This allows for easy expansion, upgrades, or repairs.

Terry

 

[MossRoad]

I think it is even less than 360. Maybe 270.

 

[DVerbarg]

You are right that 270 degrees is the recommended max. I have a couple 360s in my house and they are challenging. Whenever I pull through the 360 runs I have to use pulling gel (kinda like slimy hair gel). Without the gel it would almost be impossible on the length of run that I have (60 ft).

 

[TerryinMD]

MossRoad/Dverbarg,

When I was invovled in inside/outside plant IT designs we typically would put a pull box in when a run would angle off. Always tried to avoid any angled pulls. Especially inside plant, made the installers job a lot easier and helped with maintenance.

Terry

 

[MossRoad]

I agree. Sometimes you see a run that you wonder what the guy with the conduit bender was thinking. Like he was trying to prove just how good he was with that thing. While there is an art to bending conduit, the end product shouldn't look like modern art /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif. All those little 22.5 degree and 45 degree bends add up after a while.

 

[DVerbarg]

Pull boxes are great, just not very pretty for a house. Have 3 pull boxes in this house, located in closets. The two runs I have did not do near the pull boxes and thought I could just skip adding a pull box for just one conduit. If it weren't for the pulling gel I would have had to tear into a wall.

 

[TerryinMD]

I've bought 3/4" 90 elbows with removable access lids. You remove a couple screws and you can then pull straight and then feed into the other leg and pull straight again. Cost a little more but it saves time and aggrevation.

Terry

 

[DVerbarg]

Those elbows with the access panels are great, when they are exposed. Don't help much when they are buried in a wall though. Used a couple of those in the basement ceiling.