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High-Tech Mailbag: How to Install Structured Wire?

We haven't reached in to our digital mail bag in quite a while, so I decided to post the latest question we got from a frustrated DIYer...

Hello, my name is Clint.

I stumbled upon your web page and read your posting about your home structured wire set up.

Clint

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Well, Clint, I can probably be of partial assistance here...mainly because even though it's been over a year since I first started our own structured wiring project it's still only partially done. 

What caught my interest is actually that you're starting out almost exactly where I've last left off my own project.  Right now I've got a couple hundred feet of bundled cable in the walls, but I haven't terminated any of it.  My control panel is mounted and stocked with the Leviton componets I chose but none of them are hooked up yet.  Your email brought back a major to-do list item from the depths of my memory!  :-)

That said, I have done quite a bit of the planning so I do have suggestions for you.

First, know that if you proceed on your own you're going to have to by a number of tools--probably $150 worth.  You'll need cutting tools to remove the plastic coating from each cable.  You'll also need crimping tools to terminate each cable with a jack.  This means a table per cable (probably one for coaxial, one for CAT5e) and one tool to terminate for each purpose you have in mind.

Second, you'll have to outfit your structured wiring panel at the end of your home run.  I used Leviton products, from your email you voiced some skepticism about them.  I haven't tested them, so I really can't comment.  Select the modules based on your long term goals...I wrote up my own advice on how to approach this here.

Finally, you'll need to buy the terminals themselves--probably ones for cable TV, one for phone lines, and one for ethernet computer networking.  You can pick these up at your local Home Depot, but you'll save quite a bit if you buy them online.  I found the best deal on eBay, actually.

The work will involve some precision and practice, but it isn't rocket science so you should be fine.  You might want to buy a testing device to make sure your finished cables are working properly.

So, that's what I can say.  Again, I haven't even done all these steps myself yet but I expect to this spring.  If you check back later I'll be sure to write up my own experiences. 

In the mean time, I can offer you three good resources for further help:

• On the web, the best site I've found about structured wiring is SWHowTo.com.   Written by Bob Catanzarite, it's an extremely detailed overview of his own strucutured wiring installation.  It was my bible when planning my own project.
• On DVD, I found that the video xxx was a useful supplement to what I was able to learn online.  Where as websites gave me excellent detail on all the particulars, this video gave me a more cohesive sense of how it all fit together as a total project.  The video focuses on Leviton products, but the principles would apply if you decide to go with a different manufacturer.

Anyway, I know I didn't give you everything you wanted to know but I hope I'm pointing you in a helpful direction.  Feel free to write back and share how it ends up!

- Aaron

PS--About your adventures with your house...sounds like you have the makings to write an interesting houseblog! 

Posted by aaron on February 24, 2006 at 11:29 PM (2)

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