Wired House for Ethernet

*Note: I found this post in my drafts since 2016. Completed and Posted!

I always wanted to wire in our xbox and TV with Ethernet ( Cat5) cable. I finally got that chance. Here's how I did it:

First I decided what I needed to buy. I needed:

- 100 Foot of Cat 5e Cable
- RJ45 Wall Plate with Keystone Jack
- RJ45 Connectors
- Crimpers for RJ45 Cable. These were expensive, but a one time investment.
- 4 port switch.
- Cable Ties and Clips ( to fasten to walls )

Things I needed but already had:

- Drywall Knife ( any sharp knife will work )
- Drill with Various Drill bits.
- Permission for the project from my Wife. ( Note this process starts many months before the project begins. I will outline the process in a future blog post, but as a hint, it ends with her saying "If I approve this project, you promise I never have to hear about it again?" hahaha )

Second thing I did was - make a plan on where the cable would go. I decided to go down the wall in the office to the basement then through the basement to the furnace room and use the existing hole in the floor to bring the cable up to the living room. I could do another run up and make a wall plate behind the TV but that's not necessary but it would be much cleaner. For now we will use the hole in the floor.

I found a spot in the basement just below office where the modem is that I could put the cable. Lucky for me we has an old oil input pipe coming in from the outside that I could use to measure from to the edge of the window of the room with the modem . Then inside the room I measured the same distance from the window and drilled a small hole down in the floor as close to the wall as I could. Back in the basement I measured the distance to the wall from the hole I made. In my case the drill bit broke off in the floor so it was still in the floor. So there goes that drill bit, it's part of the house now.

I was then confident to drill the main hole I cut out a piece of the drywall using a small sharp knife and using this drill bit tried to drill down. It didn't work because my bit was not long enough to get to the floor - so I went down to the basement and drilled up. Then I tested if the wire could make it up though and into the hole.

RJ45 Wall Plate

Wire Up Through Floor

*UPDATE* November 1 2020

I noticed my internet in the basement was slow recently so I investigated what the problem was. I've since learned that connector you see on the right picture isn't going to allow for speeds over 100Mbps. I have Internet 300 though, so I'd like to use the speed we are paying for!

I've temporarily removed that old style connector and pulled the wire though so it connects directly to the router now. I will get a new wall plate with one those rj45 connector wall plates and fix it up as soon as I can.

And then I was able to bring that wire all the way into the furnace room - someone already had brought some RG6 Coax line this way so I just followed that along and then finally bring it to the switch which will feed:

- Upstairs TV

- 2 Computers in basement

- Xbox one Upstairs.

Later on the tape failed and now it's resting on an old oil pipe.

Then Those Cat 5 cables go off to the upstairs via that hole in the floor, one goes to one side of the basement for son's computer, then one goes to my computer in the basement. When we redo the basement I will wire some CAT5e in the wall. Maybe it'll be CAT 6 by then.