Hard wiring home network

[gatorguy7]

I know this thread is a little off-topic from the forum but I've seen quite a few GC's on here and thought someone may have some tips for me.

I'm looking to hardwire a home network in my house since my wireless reception has been less than adequate. I'm a CPA and work from home at night during tax season. A wired connection would be more reliable and reduce some frustration I've gone through fighting WIFI. My broadband service comes into the house in the laundry room. I'm planning on running an ethernet line from there to the middle of the house where my office is located (only 50' or so).

The problem is I have vaulted ceilings and scissor trusses. Anyone have any tips for traversing my attic with this type of construction? I've got no problem with the actual wiring as I've done some of that at work. I'd be happy to share some tips on that with a write up if anyone is interested.

 

[RNeumann]

I can help with this but I need a bit more info-
How far is the scissor truss run? Do you have a flat ceiling on either side of that- i.e. Just vaulted over the living room?
Are you on a slab or raised foundation/basement?
I'm assuming the office is on an exterior wall?

 

[M E Cook]

I can help with this but I need a bit more info-
How far is the scissor truss run? Do you have a flat ceiling on either side of that- i.e. Just vaulted over the living room?
Are you on a slab or raised foundation/basement?
I'm assuming the office is on an exterior wall?

If you have a crawl space run it there !!

 

[gatorguy7]

The scissor truss runs all the way across the house. The living room, kitchen etc. are one big great room and the office is within this space as well (highlighted in orange). Here is a diagram that shows the layout of the house. The house is on a slab so no crawl space. Down in Florida I don't even think to mention its on a slab! haha

 

[/pine]

If you can't find a way to snake a fish tape/wire in the attic... depending on the scenario a wire can sometimes be hidden behind baseboards and door casings etc...
...If any of your clients work in the home security business...some of them still run hard wire and may have some trade tricks...

Good Luck...

 

[RNeumann]

So scissor trusses have more room at the peak then they do at the exterior wall. You don't say where the laundry is but from what I am seeing I would go into the attic in the garage and see what you can see in the scissor area. If you can do that you are set-not a fun crawl but doable. Florida has lower insulation requirements than other parts of the country so the chances are better you will have room.

To help you will also want to invest in a few of the long fiberglass rods for fishing wires. The newer ones are even glow in the dark.

If not the second choice is buying Cat5/6 that is exterior rated.

Let me know where the laundry is and we can hone in a bit more

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

You can get a fiberglass wire running kit that will take you a long way. Here's one from Harbor Freight.

You can also get some loooong drill bits that will make a lot of things possible that are not, otherwise. Like cutting a hole in a wall the size of an outlet box, and reaching up from their to drill through the top plate into the attic space. Please do NOT make the mistake of drilling holes that are just barely big enough. If you are running CAT6 (and you should), drill at least a 1/2" hole. Otherwise, you'll have a ton of friction while pulling the cable.

A fish tape may also help. Crawling is also an option.

 

[Fossil Farm]

If you have no good access with your trusses, you can hide it behind crown molding for the horizontal runs or along the heat/ac runs if available. Use plenum rated cable. Verticle drops where needed for your connections. Add additional drops to the other rooms while you are at it. Each drop should be a separate cable, connected to a switch in your laundry room where your outside connection resides. Laundry room in the garage? Doesn't show on your drawing.

 

[s219]

Don't overlook running the wire on the outside of the home. Sometimes that is the best option when there are other issues. Depending on your siding/trim/soffit type, it can be easy to hide along the wall. Heck, bury it next to the slab if you want to. Just use outdoor-rated cat5e cable either way.

As for how to go through the wall, there are a lot of options, some less disruptive than others. You probably already have a convenient path "out" of the wall in the laundry room where the broadband cable comes into the home.

 

[MossRoad]

If you can't find a way to snake a fish tape/wire in the attic... depending on the scenario a wire can sometimes be hidden behind baseboards and door casings etc...
...If any of your clients work in the home security business...some of them still run hard wire and may have some trade tricks...

Good Luck...

Like /pine says.... this is the way to go.

Otherwise, you're looking at poking access holes into your ceiling and walls at a couple points. I've run litterally hundreds of miles of network in our factory over the past 25 years. Many in finished office spaces. Looking at your drawing, and making some assumptions, I'd do this:

Removed the baseboards and door molding that are on the inside of that 6' wall between the garage and office.

On the yellow side of that wall, in an area behind the baseboards, use a 48" long flexible drill bit like this:

$8.00 at harbor freight.
3/8 in. x 48 in. Flex Drill Bit

to bore a hole into the garage.

Attach a fishing line through the hole in the end of the drill bit and pull it back through the wall.

Use the fishing line to pull the cable through the hole.

Now here's where you have some decisions. Lots of molding has a channel cut into the back of it that will let something like a CAT5 cable sit right behind the molding. You can cable staple or tape the CAT5 cable to the wall directly behind where the molding goes, and then replace the molding. Putting a little pressure on the cable won't hurt it at all. If there is no channel on the backside of the molding you can either use a router and cut a channel (don't ruin your molding), or you can cut a channel in the drywall with a rotary tool.

Either way, you only need a very small channel for the CAT5 cable to run.

Work your way along the baseboard, around the door frame, the next baseboard, around the corner to your office, etc...

Use the existing nail holes in the molding and put it all back in place. No one's the wiser but you.

If you want a wallbox termination at either end, you'll have to locate some studs, cut a hole in the wall for a wallbox and use a drill to poke a hole through the wall in the area behind the molding in the office.