And I thought finding an Elec. was hard
Nuke
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
Considering hiring a low-voltage person to install some Cat5 and RG6 drops in the house and run them back to the basement before unleashing the drywallers. The supply house recommendations for electricians came with experienced people around me but without the coverage of doing this kind of work.
So, I break open the yellow pages and I am having a hard time finding someone that does this. I think my approach is wrong. Suggestions? I’m in the 30519 (Gwinnett county, GA) area. Thinking of dropping 2xCat5/6 and 2xRG6 drops in 8-10 rooms in the house.
Replies
Check with a local electronics store - Radio Shack, etc.
They likely will have sources of contractors.
In truth though, it really is no big deal to DIY. Home run every line and label each end. Use large electrical boxes or just plaster rings for your wall terminations and leave a long loop at the central collection area. That and don't run the lines in the same holes as the electrical wiring.
At that point if you are not interested in making the connections, you'll have plenty of time to find some one with the right tools and knowledge.
Terry
The same outfits that install alarm systems will do this, though probably at a premium price. Usually there's a listing of some sort under "Telephone equipment" of a telephone vendor that will do it or have connections.
Computer networking companies do this all the time.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Computer networking or custom audio installers will do it.
I did it in my house. I ordered the 2 Cat5e and the 2 Rg6 bundled into one sheath. Ran 500 LF of it throughout my house to a network panel in the garage. I bought network mud rings at the Big Box home improvement store (the orange rings). It isn't hard to run the cable DIY. Later I had people install TV stuff ... they had no problem. Already labeled everything so easy to ID back at the box. I wired for both cable TV and Satellite ... ended up using both one for an apt and one for the main house.
Around here, its the same guys who retired from AT&T. Look for telephone installers.
1. check with somebody at work.
2. Look in your church bulletin ads.
3. As Dan says, the alarm companies.
4. DIY. This is within your level of compentency. But plan on home runs. For the phone, cable, and router. Run your main incomings to one spot. Place distribution panels there and then go to your rooms with the feeds.
For distribution panels, check out http://www.smarthome.com. Then click on Cable and Structured wiring on the left menu. Then click among the "Compatibility" choices.
Another choice may be to look for a Honeywell shop close by. Many of these boxes are put together by them.
Having done this, it is very much DIY. Suggestions are to use CAT 6 instead of CAT 5e. It has higher speed potential and not that much more $$. Don't try to put plugs on the bare cable. Buy a patch panel (cheap on ebay) and use modular plugs at the wall terminations (Levitton makes nice ones). If you plan on running more home runs than your router provides buy a switch (again ebay is a good source) and plug that into the router and all your connections from the patch panel into the switch.
When running those data lines, a wiring tool like the LAN Test Pro is invaluable.
http://www.nudata.com/testers/lantestpro.htm
I had to go thru three different wiring guys before my system was finally completed. (These guys just don't come back - or want to limit their work scope after starting an agreed upon project.) Of my 8 data lines they ran, I found only three operable. With this tool, I was able to locate and repair the 5 within an hour total. It's real easy for these guys to mis-position a lead from a cat 6 line.