# help new construction tv and network wires?



## dftc (Nov 12, 2012)

I always run at least one more network cable than I think I'll need. Then just leave the extra cable in the wall behind a plate. It's a fairly cheap way to add some future-proofing in case you decide you want more at a later date. 
You probably don't need multiple RG6 cables in one run unless you are planning on having multiple networks that use it. If you need two TVs, or a TV and a cable modem in one room then a splitter can usually be used.

The jacket colors don't mean much. You can buy all the variants in different colors. Some colors are more common in certain types but they aren't a standard.
There actually is a standard for how different colors of the same type are used, but hardly any one follows it.

Cat5 is old and probably not easy to find. Use cat5e or cat6.

Cat5e riser cable is probably just fine for regular home network use. You don't need plenum cable unless you are running it in a space that is also used to move air throughout the building. It has a jacket that doesn't create as much toxic fumes in a fire. Cat5e cable can be used for both data and phone networks, so just buy a big spool of it.

Cat6 can handle higher speeds and is generally a big improvement over cat5e, but it requires much more care and attention to detail during installation. Even minor damage or a sloppy install that you can't see could easily reduce it to cat5 speeds. Also, it costs more.


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## vettegc (May 28, 2014)

ok thanks. what about the rg6...dual or quad shield? With digital does it make any difference?


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## dftc (Nov 12, 2012)

Go with the quad shield. In some cases a good quality dual shield can be as good (or even better) but quad shield is pretty much the standard. Quad is stiffer and usually more difficult to terminate properly, but not too big of a deal if you get the proper tools and connectors.


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## Bob Sanders (Nov 10, 2013)

cat5 is all you will need. Believe it or not cat 6e is not even officially recognized by the TIA (Telecommunications Industry Association)

The problem with "future proofing" electronics is that you can't. It changes too fast. If you want to waste your money trying then feel free but my guess is that by the time you actually need an extra cat cable the rest of the world will be on cat29 or something of that nature and that extra cat cable that you stuck in there will be old news.

Networking.... forget the 17 miles of cat5/6 with 5 or 6 runs to each room. All you need is one cat to each room that requires a network connection. Then use switches to divide up each room as necessary. Clean, easy, and cheap. Try to stick your router in a central location in the home so that you can get wireless reception all over the house.


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## dftc (Nov 12, 2012)

Bob Sanders said:


> cat5 is all you will need....


Cat5e is all you need. Cat5 is older and definitely not as good.

Using switches in the manner described by Bob is pretty common in business environments and would probably work fine for most residential uses. It's also pretty easy and probably cheaper to just run an extra cable and leave it in the wall until you need it. Running two is as easy as running one and isn't going to cost much in a house. Switches work if you are putting everything on the same network. You could think of them like a cable splitter (although they do not "split" the signal). They won't work if you want to have multiple networks, such as a data network and a telecom network, or even two separate data networks. A network switch also needs a power source, so I'm not sure it really is a cleaner install to have switches in each room rather than in a central location.
Cat5e cable is also used for lots of things besides data networks. You may find it useful to have an extra cable in a room for some other purpose at some point.


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## Bob Sanders (Nov 10, 2013)

dftc said:


> They won't work if you want to have multiple networks, such as a data network and a telecom network, or even two separate data networks. A network switch also needs a power source, so I'm not sure it really is a cleaner install to have switches in each room rather than in a central location.
> Cat5e cable is also used for lots of things besides data networks. You may find it useful to have an extra cable in a room for some other purpose at some point.


That depends on what the OP wants. Personally speaking I can't imagine what you would need a secondary network for. While it is true you need more than one cat for a multiple network set up, there is really no need for it. There are streamers out there (Dune, Mede8er, WDTV, Roku, Apple tv... and a bunch of others) that not only stream music, video and other such media from your network, but also tv from the net, youtube... blah blah blah. It's all combined into one. These devices are probably the best way of handling multiple sources of network data... and they only accept one network.

Now I will take that a step further... I do have these streamers on all my tv's and they work quite well. They connect of course to the web and to a personal 16TB network server for all of my music, movies, pics... etc, but I also enjoy a satellite source so I do have an extra cable run from a central pvr service in the basement from my satellite... but then on the other hand, it's not a cat run but rather a coax cable run.


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## ktkelly (Apr 7, 2007)

Play it safe and run:

Two cat5e to each TV location .

Two RG6 to each TV location.

One RG6 to where your modem will be located, and single cat5e's to each network location you think you might use.



The second RG6's will be used for off air to the TV's (nice to have when cable, or satellite service is down).

The second cat5e's will be there for a just in case (damage does, and can occur, so it's nice to have a back up plan).



FWIW: Quad shield serves no purpose unless you live directly under a high power line, or have a microwave tower in your yard. Cat6 will also not serve any purpose in a residential application, and it's doubtful you'll properly terminate it anyway.


Running multiple IP cameras, IP phone, Amazon Prime video streaming, Pandora music streaming, and having a couple laptops using the internet with zero issues here.



Do get a high quality router, and I don't mean some $29.95 POS, or you will have issues.



That's my .02 



Don't know why I'm in this business, since there WILL be some here that will tell me I'm all wrong. My client's however, like what I do, since it works...


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## vettegc (May 28, 2014)

So I have an office in the middle of my house where I was planning on putting the modem but now thinking maybe I should put it in the attic above. I don't know how you handle all the wires that need to get to the other rooms? Don't want a big hole in the ceiling for these?

Maybe I can do a splitter in the attic that feeds all my rooms including one rg6 to a wall plate in the office. Then I can connect from wall plate to feed the wireless modem in the office? Not sure if this makes sense but looking to do this smartly and neatly.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

Some good info...and not so good info.

Here is one of many references to the differences between Cat6 vs Cat5e

http://www.cableorganizer.com/articles/cat5-cat5e-cat6.htm

Besides the shielding....Cat6 is a slightly heavier gauge of wire, which means that you have less DC power losses if you try to do POE (Power Over Ethernet). In other words, power some Ethernet devices using just the Ethernet cable and not a separate power cable.

Coax? RG6 is the new standard. Once again, here is a good link

http://sewelldirect.com/articles/rg59-or-rg6.aspx

RG59 was the 'old' standard for TV...before that it was twin lead.

20 years from now it might be RG0.659....

Don't fall for the "No reason to go wired, just do wireless" argument. Yes, wireless has come a long way. But....you're going to hit a brick wall pretty quick if you decide to stream video to 3 different TV's...and it's 3 different programs....and you're surfing DIY looking at some large pics while paying bills.

Wired Ethernet is pretty hard to 'snoop'. 

With that said.....

I'm finishing up a 2-story addition....I have every room wired.

For TV....1 RG6 coax along with 2 Cat6 lines (HDMI extension) Then in some rooms I have a dedicated Ethernet port. 

Go have a look at the tail end of my 2-Story Addition thread for some pics....link is in my signature.


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## NickTheGreat (Jul 25, 2014)

Boy I sure wouldn't count on wireless if I were building a house. Sure, my house from 1994 doesn't have wired ethernet, so I end up doing some wireless things. But I've pulled some wire too


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## Bob Sanders (Nov 10, 2013)

NickTheGreat said:


> Boy I sure wouldn't count on wireless if I were building a house. Sure, my house from 1994 doesn't have wired ethernet, so I end up doing some wireless things. But I've pulled some wire too


I wouldn't sell wireless too short. Both hard wire and wireless systems have their pros/cons. A good home networking system will use both to their best advantage. Wireless is great for the smaller portable devices... the cell, the tablet... etc, while on the other hand hard wire is better for the security and the heavy, large file transferring and streaming. You will simply not have a very efficient or effective system without both methods of connecting.


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

NickTheGreat, I use a mix of wired & wireless. For Wireless, I have some devices that use Wireless B & G, so I have one access point set up just for those devices. Then I have another that is for Wireless-N.

The stuff I have wired is the DirecTV DVR (HR44), Blu-Ray player, and my son's PS3 when he is home from school. I have six wired jacks, but only currently just using three of them at this time.


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

vettegc said:


> So I have an office in the middle of my house where I was planning on putting the modem but now thinking maybe I should put it in the attic above. I don't know how you handle all the wires that need to get to the other rooms? Don't want a big hole in the ceiling for these?
> 
> Maybe I can do a splitter in the attic that feeds all my rooms including one rg6 to a wall plate in the office. Then I can connect from wall plate to feed the wireless modem in the office? Not sure if this makes sense but looking to do this smartly and neatly.


Do yourself a favor and put nothing up in the attic. Place all splitters and equipment in a utility room (ie Furnace/Water Heater space, or Laundry room).

I have all of my equipment located in our basement. The outside runs come in right where the equipment is. Makes it easier to work with making changes, or having to deal with replacing something.

Attics can get up to 112 in the Summer, with around 21% relative humidity. You soon find out that it just sucks being up there. Also a bad environment for equipment.

My basement stays around 66-69 deg's Fahrenheit in the Summer. Depending if the air is on or not. Humidity stays around 48-55% all of the time. Electronics like cool air and not too dry, not too high of humidity.

I have a picture in the Network sub-forum of my setup. It gives you an idea of how to do yours.


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

I updated my network setup, with a lot better picture showing the Ethernet runs, how they come to the six port keystone plate. The post is at http://www.diychatroom.com/f11/updated-network-setup-196990/#post1405314

Personally having a mix of hard-wired and Wireless, gives you more capabilities when it comes to not having to be tethered to the network. My Wireless-N runs at 300mb/s. I have 1000mb/s for the LAN through the Router & switch.


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## NickTheGreat (Jul 25, 2014)

gregzoll said:


> NickTheGreat, I use a mix of wired & wireless. For Wireless, I have some devices that use Wireless B & G, so I have one access point set up just for those devices. Then I have another that is for Wireless-N.
> 
> The stuff I have wired is the DirecTV DVR (HR44), Blu-Ray player, and my son's PS3 when he is home from school. I have six wired jacks, but only currently just using three of them at this time.


But if you were building wouldn't you pull wire? Wired is always faster than wireless. 

It's a LOT easier to do it now :thumbsup:


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

NickTheGreat said:


> But if you were building wouldn't you pull wire? Wired is always faster than wireless.
> 
> It's a LOT easier to do it now :thumbsup:


Not anymore. Wifi is now faster than Wired Ethernet, until you get to 10gb/s. There is still a reason to use a mix of wired with wireless for a Hybrid network in certain setups.

If you know what you are doing. The devices will never know that they are on a wireless network.


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## Bob Sanders (Nov 10, 2013)

NickTheGreat said:


> But if you were building wouldn't you pull wire? Wired is always faster than wireless.
> 
> It's a LOT easier to do it now :thumbsup:


You're not getting it. New construction or not is irrelevant. Wire is great for certain things, but when was the last time you saw a cell phone with an Ethernet connection? Want to take your laptop out to the front porch and show the wife something while she's sitting out there. Wait... I'll unplug the laptop here and plug it in there.... OR.... you could simply walk from point A to point B without disconnecting anything at all.

A good system is not all wire. It's a mix of BOTH technologies. Hard wire produces good speed and security while wireless produces increased flexibility in movement and automatic connection. A well thought out home network will use both technologies to the best advantage.


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

Thank you Bob. You like I still believe that there are some out there, that think of wifi even today as Snake Oil.

The only time I connect my laptop to wired, is when I have to make a backup image of the drive to our NAS. Otherwise it is wireless for all browsing.


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## NickTheGreat (Jul 25, 2014)

Facepalm. I was just trying to say there's a time and place for hard wire. Of course I don't plug my phone/laptop/tablet into my router. 

I have lots of wireless devices. But when I need the speed, I use wired. Like if I'm wanting to stream 3D netflix or something of that sort. In my experience, even with a very nice router (admittedly mediocre ISP) I get better performance wired.

I was just trying to say that if you have the chance, in a new construction with no drywall, it isn't a bad idea to pull some flipping Cat6. To each his own, I guess.


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## NickTheGreat (Jul 25, 2014)

gregzoll said:


> Thank you Bob. You like I still believe that there are some out there, that think of wifi even today as Snake Oil.
> 
> The only time I connect my laptop to wired, is when I have to make a backup image of the drive to our NAS. Otherwise it is wireless for all browsing.


I wasn't trying to bag on wifi.

But you did prove my point by saying you hardwire to transfer your large amount of data.

:jester: :laughing:


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

gregzoll said:


> Not anymore. * Wifi is now faster than Wired Ethernet*, until you get to 10gb/s. There is still a reason to use a mix of wired with wireless for a Hybrid network in certain setups.
> 
> If you know what you are doing. The devices will never know that they are on a wireless network.


I would like to see some technical references....

Who is making one for consumer use?


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

ddawg16, right now Wireless-ac out performs Wireless-n. The limitations are going to be what your ISP provides you with, for Upstream & Downstream. That is where you will end up with a bottleneck. Along with what the router chipset that is used for WAN to LAN speeds.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com has all of this information freely available on pretty much every router & access point made to date, that is not at end of life.


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

NickTheGreat said:


> I wasn't trying to bag on wifi.
> 
> But you did prove my point by saying you hardwire to transfer your large amount of data.


Wireless can outperform Wired now days, by using Wireless-AC.

Also the main problem you run into, is the WAN to LAN throughput. Majority of the Gateways issued by ISP's perform very poorly in tests in those areas, along with LAN performance.

Unless you are having a cost issue to not purchase Wireless-AC equipment, most end users do not really care what type of Wireless they have. Just that they are able to get online and do stuff.

As for the wired aspect. There is hardly a need these days to tether every piece of gear in the house to Ethernet. Today's household is a mobile society.

Every device being produced as of this Summer, comes with Wireless-ac capabilities. Even with Wireless-N, you can get decent speeds above what your incoming connection speeds will ever meet.

Majority of the households have a bottle neck. That bottle neck is going to be their ISP connection.


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## frfolk (Sep 24, 2014)

I'd strongly agree with what "gregzoll" posted regarding not placing any devices in the attic. The best thing you can do with network and coaxial cables is to bring them all individually to one central location - central in respect to where the service provider(s) enters the house.

I've worked in cable for nearly a decade now and this "home run" method will save you headaches in the future. All the wire in the world won't do you a bit of good if it runs to an "island" elsewhere in the house that is surrounded by finished walls and inaccessible corners. A dedicated receptacle along with a couple neat shelves or some plywood mounted to the wall where the hand-off occurs is always a winning strategy in my experience.

-Ryan Folk


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## Dusky (Mar 10, 2013)

vettegc said:


> I have tried to search this but there are so many variations of cables? cat5e or cat6e. There is a regular and a plenum. There are different colors. Does that mean anything? The prices range quite a bit too. I am confused.
> 
> Questions-What should I run to the TV. I was thinking one internet (which one)and one rg6? I see some places where multiple rg6 and network wires are run? Would I need this?


I'd run 2 cat(x) and 2 RG6 to each TV location. I have 1 of the RG6's for cable and the other for over the air. The cat6's are for video streaming and gaming. We use a mix of wireless (AC router with multiple APs) and wired. There are always a lot of devices running in our house and our kids and their friends are avid on-line gamers. Things get laggy unless we keep most of the gaming and video streaming on wired.


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