House wire chasing

boardtc

Hi,

I'm specing out a house for wiring to be chased next week.

I would like to be relatively thorough and do a decent job as regards setting the place up for a little bit of future proofing as well as a good general setup if reselling. I know future proofing \ number chasing is a fools errant so I am trying to strike a balance.

What are my uses cases? Well e.g. I guess I would potentially like to be able to steam video from a hard drive in an office bedroom or a NAS around the house. I am thinking a NAS would be in a node zero location with the patch panel in a downstairs utility.

At the moment I have said 2 coaxials everywhere (4 in some rooms) and two cat6's everywhere, maybe that's as good as anything but various advice I have read\got suggest:

• Cat 5 is plenty
• definitely go for cat 6 everywhere
• make sure you have at least 2 cat6
• definitely have 4 cat6 in the living room
• cat6 offers nothing over cat5, you should definitely use cat6a.

Mind boggling!

The plan is to have a patch panel in the utility and run all from there.

I have read about using switches around the house but I don't follow how they would be used. Am I missing out by not doing something?

All ideas\comments appreciated, thanks!

ZENER

I think it's more the location than the quantity. Decide on a central location for the patch panel/Switch/Router for a start. I find the attic is a great place for this equipment given it's ease of access to all the rooms below it in the future. A downstairs utility room might not be so easy to get out from.

Allow 2 or 3 high level cables (ceiling) for wireless access points preferably with POE capabilities if there is no nearby power source. You may want to use these for Wifi APs or security cameras even

Would agree with the 4 cables in the main TV room, these can be used to send Data/Video e.g. HDMI over CAT6 etc. There should be no real need for multiple switches if you provide enough cables about the house. You can pick up a 24 port 1Gb Switch for about 150 euro if you shop around and patch panels are a far more useful and elegant endpoint than everything terminated with RJ45s and plugged into the Switch.

My 2c

Ken

boardtc

Ken, Much obliged for the post. I tweaked my spec (sticking with 2 cat 6's as basic) to include a wifi point in the hallway which I would have missed if it were not for your post, thanks!

fbradyirl

For me, I moved into the house and discovered a cat5e in every room which I was very happy about. I got to work, put a patch panel in the main switch room, connected to a POE switch. That powers 3 POE access points. I have 2 other switches in the house. One in the living room. 4 port, which the TV, Sat box, ATV are connected to. The other switch I have actually attached to the back of a bedroom TV, and it feeds connectivity to the tv and the raspberry pi connected to the TV! A cheap gigabit switch for €30.

All in all, it works great. Let me know if you have any questions on setup.

owen85

hi all, sorry to jump in on this thread.
im a complete newbie to the wiring scene and am looking for any advice.
im renovating my house, ive stripped it right back to its shell and im ready for wiring...i plan on running the cables and then getting an electrician to do the rest and give me the cert.

can you show me a diagram of home wiring circuit for an irish home. (a basic one and perhaps a more advance one which includes things youve all mentioned in the above posts)
also any other advice you can give me would be appreciated.

fbradyirl

Do you mean wiring for internet only or do you mean including tv cabling? Also, what is your end goal?

owen85

i guess the simple version/ diagram would be wiring for light switches, lights, sockets, cooker etc.

the more complicated version/ diagram would be all the above + any recommendations you my have.
im not up on the tech front but from what im guessing, if i put patch panels in etc i can automate the home (as long as the devices have the necessary tech)via the internet from anywhere in the world? for example, turn on the washing machine while im in work?

end goal, im a big fan of movies, i have moved a lot to an external hard drive and would like to have this set up so i can access its content from tv and laptop in living room and bedroom or bedrooms.
obviously id want to have all the basic wiring done too so i can turn a light on, plug something in

ZENER

It's not really clear from your posts but if you're planning on doing all the electrical wiring yourself then I can't imagine any qualified savvy electrician worth his salt signing off on your work. No offence intended.

It's just way too big a risk to give a cert on the work of a complete novice without the sparks wanting to see absolutely every wire travelling through every chase, conduit, junction box and inspecting every socket and light fitting and switch.

Maybe there are some out there that might but as a sparks there's no way on earth I'd do it !!

Ken

owen85

Ken,

I will hopefully run the wiring myself and get the sparks to fit the fuse board and light switches etc.
Perhaps it wont be possible. Well see how it goes.

I'd still like to see any diagrams and suggestions for wiring the house.

ZENER

Maybe a better tact would be to get the sparks to mark out the chases locations of the outlets and spec the various cables and enclosures?

There are regulations regarding min height for sockets above floor and countertops, regulations for location of the distribution board, earth rods, bonding. The number of sockets allowed per circuit, radial or ring. ELV cables have to be kept separate from mains voltage levels etc. etc.

Have a chat with a sparks and see if he's willing to do that and also see how much of a difference to the overall price it will make if you do the wiring.

IT's a good way to learn if it's something you know a bit about and are willing to do a bit of research but definitely talk to a qualified RECI electrician first.

Good luck !

Ken

fbradyirl

I don't have a diagram, but for me, having 1 cat5e cable coming into each room works well. It is normally in a socket close to where a TV would be expected to be fitted.

Do you think you will need more than that?

owen85

im going to do the same, bust still figuring out about the kitchen. i cat 5e cable going into the kitchen could have a "socket" or port that 2 devices could be plugged into?