Has anyone fished RG6 from the attic down the wall? Any Advice?

[Keith 0]

I'd like to add cable hook-ups in 3 bedrooms in my house and run the cable from the box outside, through the attic and down the walls, and install wall plates in each room. Has anyone done it? Any advice?

Keith

Don't Fuck with me Keith - J. Mandeville

[monkycndo 0]

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I'd like to add cable hook-ups in 3 bedrooms in my house and run the cable from the box outside, through the attic and down the walls, and install wall plates in each room. Has anyone done it? Any advice?

Done it a bunch of times. If it is an interior wall with attic space, it isn't all that hard. If there is insulation in the walls, it is a bit harder. PM me and I can explain how to do it.

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[Remster 30]

I havent fished those types of cables, but did some electrical cables. Fairly easy if you have attic access. I bough a "fishing wire" on a reel from the hardwars store and it made it super easy, even with some insolation/old partial walls in the way.

Remster

[Knobee 0]

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I'd like to add cable hook-ups in 3 bedrooms in my house and run the cable from the box outside, through the attic and down the walls, and install wall plates in each room. Has anyone done it? Any advice?

A lot depends on the age of the house.

Newer houses have horizontal inserts between the studs at (I think) 2 feet above floor-level that act as fire-barrier as well as cable-deterrant. I've had no luck what-so-ever getting any cable runs in unless I did them before the drywall was put up...

Get one of those (yeah, go ahead and laugh) stud sensors and see if you can find any horizontal studs.

Good luck with it!

Another option that you might consider is one of those RF audio/video transmitters: http://www.smarthome.com/7654s.html

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[tdog 0]

Ok, so I used to make a living stuffing stuff between studs, I mean – fishing wires. From completely rewiring a 100 year old house to installing burglar alarms, I think I have fished everything you can imagine in walls. Here is my method:

Step 1. Pick an internal wall to put the jack. External walls have insulation and cross bracing that you can hit that will take longer – and the working space in the attic is always smaller at the ends of the house.

Step 2. Take an electronic stud sensor ($15 at home depot) and run it left to right to find the studs. Try to put your jack in the center of two studs if it has no insulation as it reduces the chance of error, but next to a stud if it does have insulation as the fish tape will run between the stud and insulation much better than in the middle of the stud field.

Step 3. Run the stud sensor up and down the area you plan to fish. Any cross braces or obstacles?

Step 4. Drill a hole in the ceiling of the room, 1” away from the wall, DIRECTLY above your planned jack, the size of a coat hangar. Take one each coat hangar and make it straight and long. At the end, bend a 3 inch 90 degree tab. Push the long end of the coat hangar up into the attic, duct taping the 3” tab to the ceiling. If the ceiling is that popcorn texture, don’t use duct tape but instead bend some small S curves into the coat hangar at the end so it wants to stay in the hole with friction. (if you drill the hole small enough, friction is all you need anyway) You now have an easy to find location in the attic, simply look for the coat hangar or where the insulation is abnormally popping up. Without the coat hangar, you will likely have to move insulation and then take 20 measurements to find just the right spot to drill. It is much quicker to patch a tiny hole in the ceiling with Spackle than screw up and drill in the wrong spot.

Step 5. Use a 1” drill bit. I prefer a flat blade bit over a hole saw bit. Find your coat hangar in the attic. Move the insulation. If you see a stud about 2” from it (you placed the coat hangar 1” from the wall, and the wall will be about ½ to 1” thick) – drill in the center of the stud… If you don’t see a stud, it means they installed the ceiling first then the wall under it, so you will have to take measurements to find the center of the wall, (I would bank on 3” away from your coat hangar assuming the coat hangar is 1” from the wall)

Step 6. Cut your hole for a “remodel single gang electrical junction box” where you want the jack. I always did this last as it is hard to patch and I rather move it before I cut it, if I found, say a plumbing pipe in the way… By using an electrical junction box even for just a cable wire, your hole will be big enough to get your arm into the wall to grab the wire.

Step 7. If your wall has no insulation, with wild energy shake about 2 times the height of the wall worth of cable into the wall. The shacking should bounce it off any obstacles. If you have a friend down below, they should have their hand and arm in the hole trying to find it. If you are shooting solo, you will have to go down to find it… If the wall has insulation, you will need a fish tape. Start from above and push the tape down the wall. I would make sure the hole you drilled is right next to the stud, perhaps drill another one if you missed. The tape has a natural curve in it. Push that curve so it rides along the stud, with the end trying to “dig into” the stud, not the insulation. You might have to push a lot of fish tape in the wall, like 2 to 3 times the height of the wall – eventually a part of it will come within reach of the hole.

If the wall has a cross brace (and you are sure it is a stud and not plumbing pipes or something like that) – Home Depot sells a 5’ foot long drill bit (with 4’ extenders you can even make it longer, you will need 7 feet), which is also great for insulated walls because it is rigid enough to go straight down the wall, flexible enough you don’t need 6’ of attic space. It even has a hole at the end so you can attach your wire to it and use it as a fish tape. You simply push this bit down the wall to your x-brace and drill away. Once you pass the cross brace keep pushing to your jack hole, as you will need to use it as your fish tape. If you remove it, there is no way you will get your wire thru the hole you just drilled. I have used these bits from the bottom up and the top down with great success.

Hope this helps.

P.S. Since you are running cable, signal strength is a big issue. Make sure you make “home runs” to the cable box, so there are not multiple splitters in the chain. Also, use the best ends you can find, connectors really make a difference. Wire quality does too. Once you run the wires, if your cable company does not charge extra for cable ready TVs, I would have them come out and terminate them, as they can add boosters or filters as needed. If you are shooting under the radar, be ready for picture quality issues you will have to troubleshoot.



Hope this helps.

[Keith 0]

Thanks for the Great advice everybody! The "expert" at Home Depot was of little help. Several people pointed him out, including the Pro Desk, and said he was the expert to talk to. He showed me the fish wire and suggested I read the instructions - fish wire doesn't come with instructions. I'll let you know how it goes.

Keith

Don't Fuck with me Keith - J. Mandeville

[Knobee 0]

Awsome writeup. Yeah, my problem has always been that I'm screwing around with the outside walls.. Good catch, and great advice.

Thanks!

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[Keith 0]

I owe you guys a jump and a beer

Keith

Don't Fuck with me Keith - J. Mandeville