Running ethernet cable
#11
My wife and I have both worked from home for several years. SWMBO works upstairs on the opposite side of the house and connects via wifi to the router in my office. I want to run an ethernet cable to her office. The plan is to run a cable from the router (first floor) down to the basement, then the length of the house through the basement ceiling (half is drop ceiling; the other half is unfinished), up through my garage, along the garage ceiling, then up into her second floor office. It should be about a 110’ run. I don’t think it will cross any other wires, though it will run parallel with some coaxial and cat 5e cables.

Plan is to buy about 500’ of indoor/outdoor 24/4 cat 5e cable from Lowes or HD, and a crimper kit on Amazon (includes connectors, protectors, and line test tools). I’m not going to bury the cable in my garage wall or ceiling so I’ll install a guard to protect against accidental contact with anything.

Am I missing anything in my planning? Anything special to know when running ethernet cables? For instance, I read that the cable should not sit on top of drop ceiling tiles. I can use clips to run them along the wall above the tiles. The garage has no heat or A/C. It can get down to about 10-20 degrees F in winter and well over 100 degrees in summertime. The cable is rated for outdoor use so I assume that means performance won’t lag. Is that correct?

Should I run more than one cable? I figure one wire is sufficient since I can put an internet switch in her office if more connections are needed in the future.

I’d like to do this only once. Thanks for any input.
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#12
(11-24-2020, 05:26 PM)RichK Wrote: My wife and I have both worked from home for several years.  SWMBO works upstairs on the opposite side of the house and connects via wifi to the router in my office.  I want to run an ethernet cable to her office.  The plan is to run a cable from the router (first floor) down to the basement, then the length of the house through the basement ceiling (half is drop ceiling; the other half is unfinished), up through my garage, along the garage ceiling, then up into her second floor office.  It should be about a 110’ run.  I don’t think it will cross any other wires, though it will run parallel with some coaxial and cat 5e cables.

Plan is to buy about 500’ of indoor/outdoor 24/4 cat 5e cable from Lowes or HD, and a crimper kit on Amazon (includes connectors, protectors, and line test tools).  I’m not going to bury the cable in my garage wall or ceiling so I’ll install a guard to protect against accidental contact with anything.

Am I missing anything in my planning?  Anything special to know when running ethernet cables?  For instance, I read that the cable should not sit on top of drop ceiling tiles.  I can use clips to run them along the wall above the tiles.  The garage has no heat or A/C.  It can get down to about 10-20 degrees F in winter and well over 100 degrees in summertime.  The cable is rated for outdoor use so I assume that means performance won’t lag.  Is that correct?  

Should I run more than one cable?  I figure one wire is sufficient since I can put an internet switch in her office if more connections are needed in the future.  

I’d like to do this only once.  Thanks for any input.
I've run thousands of feet of Cat5.  You really don't need indoor/outdoor for your application.  Indoor will work fine and you can run across the top of ceiling tiles.  If you looked above most offices you would see what a hornets nest it can be.  You can also get a pre-made cable so you wouldn't have to buy the crimper, ends, etc.  If you buy pre-made just stick the end of the cable in a tiny zip-lock and tape it up good so you don't damage the end.  Also it's always good to pull a heavy length of twine/string when you're pulling the cable so if you have to run it again the job will be much easier.  Make sure to buy quality cable - don't buy the cheapest you can find - it's cheaper for a reason.

Lonnie
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#13
What I would do is pull 2 pull strings the exact way you want to run your cable and the use one to measure the run then add a couple of feet and have it made.  You may only need 100 ft and that would be a ready made cable.
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#14
Just run regular cat5 wire and call it done. You won't see any difference with cat6 other than a lighter wallet. Just don't run it parallel to AC lines. Perpindicular isn't an issue. If it has to be parallel just keep it as far away as possible.


           No need for a crimper and the hassle with putting male connectors on. Use wall jack plates and terminals and all you need is a punchdown tool or you can also do it with a tiny screw driver instead.


                 Here are the keystone compatible terminals. These are cat6 and work for cat 5 just slightly different colors just match your pairs and all is good.   https://www.amazon.com/10-Pack-Cat6-Keys...013&sr=8-3

                             [Image: 81xCGFbodsL._AC_SL1500_.jpg]

          For wall jack plates these or what ever arrangement you need.
 
 https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-10-...3HN8H520R2


                      [Image: 51OXAOjf1BL._AC_SL1500_.jpg]

                Punchdown tool. 

                      https://www.amazon.com/Insertion-Strippe...183&sr=1-5

                               [Image: 51B-oD%2BkdJL._AC_SL1100_.jpg]


                 That punchdown tool will do just fine for the few you will do and will last allot longer than you think. It doesn't trim off the ends that stick out though so you will either have to trim them with a knife or get a tool like this. 

https://www.amazon.com/Hiija-Punch-Netwo...ljaz10cnVl

                     [Image: 61lTD5HRnZL._AC_SL1500_.jpg]
                 


                  Don't overthink it. The guys that install this stuff every day aren't the brightest when it comes to technical stuff. It's just run the wire any way you can and put terminals on the ends. Very little knowledge or skill involved.
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#15
I ran cat 6 cable all over the house but now I use a mesh WiFi router. Have you considered these?
Any free advice given is worth double price paid.
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#16
(11-24-2020, 09:47 PM)Woodenfish Wrote: I ran cat 6 cable all over the house but now I use a mesh WiFi router. Have you considered these?


           Nothing beats a wired connection. Wired is always faster less latency and always works. With mesh or regular WIFI your ping rates go up and your speeds are between half to 3/4 of what your connection actually can support. Allot of people end up getting faster internet speeds than they really need because of this and trying to make up for the losses in wifi.
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#17
Thanks for all of the comments. Looks like this may be more straight-forward than I thought.

What makes some cables better than others, and how do you know the difference (other than price)?

Regarding mesh wifi, we already have Xfinity pods in place. It improved reception, but it's still less reliable than a cable. I've also tried powerline adapters. I discovered that the highly-rated TP-Link powerline devices only work when the sending and receiving devices are plugged into the same electrical circuit. Do they really think that rooms on opposite sides of a building run on the same circuit?? I contacted TP-Link and they said one of their higher-priced units MIGHT work on different circuits in a home. For the cost of the higher-priced model, I could pay less to hire an electrician to run a cable for me. At least the return/refund was painless.
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#18
I do what Robert Adams said.  The punch down works really well and a cable without a connector will fit through a much smaller hole more easily.  Just make sure to look at the package and use the same wiring order on both ends.  It's either  A or B.  

Search online for quality CAT 5 or 6 and you may be surprised at how much less it can be than the big box stores.

I bought outdoor direct burial for my run to the workshop, actually my modem is in the workshop so the rest of the house is run by this cable.  I did 2 runs in the trench since with my luck one would get nicked.  Luckily that hasn't happened yet.
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#19
I wired most of my house and I did not have any problems running it as normal low voltage wire. I did not give much thought to where it was running.

The only thing you need to be sure of is that your cable, whatever it is, is solid copper if you plan on terminating it yourself. Preterminated cables (and some bulk or spool cable) is stranded. This is significantly harder (almost impossible) to terminate with punchdown jacks, while solid copper is as easy as can be. I have done it once, and my understanding is that the connection simply is not consistent enough to actually work. You can use preterminated cables with pass-through type keystone jacks, or punchdown types with solid copper.

It is likely that most bulk cable designed for termination by the end user is solid. Just something to check.
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#20
I would do it like Robert Adams said. Put the outlet in the wall 

I would run two just because you are already doing it -  I like having a backup or a second run.  Its cheap and easy

You can run it across the drop tiles without issue - just dont run it on top of light fixtures especially fluorescents

Only thing I would add to Robert's list is one of these on each end

Arlington Industries 1/4 in. - 1 in. Low Voltage Mounting Brackets-LV1-10 - The Home Depot
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