New LAN Cabling Install Advice

[MrRobot]

Hi all,

Am currently in the process of planning the cabling for my house LAN setup. The house is all solid walls, and as I don't particularly want to break into the plaster/walls more than minimally necessary (if possible), I went ahead and bought 100m roll of external Cat6, 23 AWG cable.

I'm thinking of drilling holes through to the outside, in each of the rooms that I want to install a port, and then have the cable running up the external walls to the attic, where the switches, etc will be.

Basically looking for some advice on whether you guys think this is a good way to approach it, and/or whether you have any alternative suggestions or advice?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[sfx2000]

That's always an option... I did that for a CATV run over to a room when I pulled new coax...

Little tip - on the outside wall, put a "j" in the line before going thru the wall - that way you won't have water ingress during rain, etc... when drilling thru walls, remember there can be hot AC inside there...

 

[degrub]

You will likely be better off putting the swtches and any active components not rated for excess heat in a closet inside the conditioned building envelope rather than in the attic.

 

[Rossmon]

I would investigate "google" ethernet over your a/c power wiring. This could cleanly solve your wiring needs.

 

[Xelas]

It is MUCH better for the health of the house to make holes in inside walls than it is to penetrate the moisture barrier, insulation, and outside surface, and risk moisture issues or leaks that can cause long-term problems with rot and such. Holes also allow insects (such as termites) opportunities to get in or out. Yes, you put goop in it, but do you then diligently check every year to make sure the goop hasn't shrunk or cracked over time? Even if your location doesn't get much rain, the moisture barrier prevents condensation problems from occurring when you use AC. Only make holes through exterior walls when absolutely necessary and there is no other way to proceed.

Also, network equipment absolutely does not belong in attics - attics are very cold in the winter and deathly hot in the summer (regardless of latitude). Any network equipment will be doomed to a short life, even if it doesn't have issues right off the bat from overheating.

Additionally, while rare, stuff does catch fire (especially when insects are allowed to settle in your devices, which they WILL do when it's in the attic), and attics don't have the fire protection that inside spaces have - drywall functions as a fire barrier, while attics are usually unfinished and typically open to the whole length of the house, allowing fire to spread very quickly.

I strongly suggest re-thinking this plan. You don't need to bust walls open. You can fish lines into the first floor from your crawl-space into the wall through the bottom plate (close any holes you make with a dab of foam - don't overdo the foam) and to the 2nd floor from the attic. If you have a 1-story home, you can choose what's more convenient, attic or crawl space. Crawl spaces are icky, but you are very close to where you need the jacks (since they are usually near the floor) so it can actually be much easier to do, especially if you have a helper "topside".

Choose a closet space inside the house, mount a small cabinet there, and make that your central hub. If your garage doesn't experience wild temperature swings, that could be a viable space, especially since it is often easy to reach from both the crawl space and the attic in many layouts. I would run conduit into that space from the crawl space and from the attic to make any future wiring jobs much, much easier.