Wiring a new apartment

[Rick Daly]

Over the weekend, I'll be wiring a new apartment we're moving into. We currently
live upstairs in our home and are moving downstairs into a completely newly
renovated space. I want to run TV cables, and LAN cables into several rooms. I'm
doing so by running the cables through holes drilled in the floors, down into
the basement and across the beams to the various rooms. In many cases, the TV
cable and LAN cables will be crossing electrical cable (120V). Will I get any
disturbance in my internet and wifi or my cable TV signals due to the proximity
of the cabling to the electrical wires? Thanks.

[Jim Wilkins]

Post by Rick Daly
Over the weekend, I'll be wiring a new apartment we're moving into. We currently
live upstairs in our home and are moving downstairs into a
completely newly
renovated space. I want to run TV cables, and LAN cables into
several rooms. I'm
doing so by running the cables through holes drilled in the floors, down into
the basement and across the beams to the various rooms. In many cases, the TV
cable and LAN cables will be crossing electrical cable (120V). Will I get any
disturbance in my internet and wifi or my cable TV signals due to the proximity
of the cabling to the electrical wires? Thanks.

You could see if crossing them with the power cord of a drill or saw
causes interference. Also try running the cords parallel.

The answer -should- be no, however I have some generic laptop power
bricks that generate interference on an analog TV on a converter box.
-jsw

[Bill Gill]

Post by Rick Daly
Over the weekend, I'll be wiring a new apartment we're moving into. We currently
live upstairs in our home and are moving downstairs into a completely newly
renovated space. I want to run TV cables, and LAN cables into several rooms. I'm
doing so by running the cables through holes drilled in the floors, down into
the basement and across the beams to the various rooms. In many cases, the TV
cable and LAN cables will be crossing electrical cable (120V). Will I get any
disturbance in my internet and wifi or my cable TV signals due to the proximity
of the cabling to the electrical wires? Thanks.

Normally you would want to keep the signal cables away from the power
cables. Where they come together they should be crossed at right
angles. This is based on my recollection of standards from the NEC
and practices from when I worked at the Kennedy Space Center.

Bill

[Steve Urbach]

Post by Rick Daly
Over the weekend, I'll be wiring a new apartment we're moving into. We currently
live upstairs in our home and are moving downstairs into a completely newly
renovated space. I want to run TV cables, and LAN cables into several rooms. I'm
doing so by running the cables through holes drilled in the floors, down into
the basement and across the beams to the various rooms. In many cases, the TV
cable and LAN cables will be crossing electrical cable (120V). Will I get any
disturbance in my internet and wifi or my cable TV signals due to the proximity
of the cabling to the electrical wires? Thanks.

Absolutely avoid close Parallel runs closer than a few inches for any
distance.
Do NOT share any holes with normal power
Maintain a bigger spacing for circuits over 15-20A (HVAC, Range)
Do not run on top of Motors or Florescent light fixtures

USE CAT6. The cost savings over CAT5E is little considering the noise immunity
performance gain.

USE Quad shielded RG6

Run extra lines from hubs, what was needed 10 years ago is now insufficient :/
(I have been revisiting locations in my home with additional CAT6 and RG-6
outlets as modern TV, Bluray, receivers now all have network ports.)

Remember to prewire for the 'Connected Kitchen' ,

Post by Rick Daly

You notice I don't rely on WiFi. Wired is best <<

[Tim]

Post by Steve Urbach
Run extra lines from hubs, what was needed 10 years ago is now
insufficient :/ (I have been revisiting locations in my home

with

Post by Steve Urbach
additional CAT6 and RG-6 outlets as modern TV, Bluray,

receivers now

Post by Steve Urbach
all have network ports.)
Remember to prewire for the 'Connected Kitchen' ,

You notice I don't rely on WiFi. Wired is best <<

I assume you are doing 'Home Run' wiring, where everything goes
back to a central distribution area. This makes it handy if you
have to include a distribution amp for your TV signal, and gives
you a convenient place to put your cable/DSL modem and router,
as well as an ethernet switch.

Double wire each drop - two coax and at LEAST two CAT6e - four
CAT6e would be better. At a minimum, put a drop on opposite
sides of every room, one on each side would be better. You might
want to consider running a six-pair phone line to each drop as
well, with a punch-down panel in the home run area. You will
want to buy your coax and CAT6e in bulk, and invest in the
criping tools necessary to put the ends on yourself. Much
cheaper than paying someone else to do it by buying premade
cables.

Since you will be running out in the open in the basement, you
might want to use plenum-rated cable for all your runs. In case
of a fire the safety aspects more than outweigh the little
increased cost. Also, for the holes you will be drilling in the
floor, if you have enough room to slip your little finger into
the hole after all the wire is in place, get some firestop foam
and seal the hole completely. It is surprising how a little
space like that can aid a fire is spreading faster.

Home Depot and Lowes have pretty complete networking sections
these days, so you should be able to find a lot of what you need
there. If you can't find it there, there is always Grainger. You
will pay a premium, but they should have everything you need.

Whatever you use to hold the wires in place DON'T PINCH THE
WIRES! That will degrade significantly the electrical
characteristics of the wires, and will be nothing but trouble in
the long run. If you think you might enclose the ceiling in the
basement, make sure to run the wires on the side of the joists,
not on top. If you are crossing joists, several smaller holes
leave more strength in the joist than one large one.

This isn't rocket science, and you will learn a lot by doing it
yourself. Have fun and don't lose your temper! :-)

[Rick Daly]

Post by Rick Daly
Over the weekend, I'll be wiring a new apartment we're moving into. We currently
live upstairs in our home and are moving downstairs into a completely newly
renovated space. I want to run TV cables, and LAN cables into several rooms. I'm
doing so by running the cables through holes drilled in the floors, down into
the basement and across the beams to the various rooms. In many cases, the TV
cable and LAN cables will be crossing electrical cable (120V). Will I get any
disturbance in my internet and wifi or my cable TV signals due to the proximity
of the cabling to the electrical wires? Thanks.

Thanks for the replies fellas.