Wiring for new construction

[Wag]

I just purchased a condo which is currently being built and need to decide what (if any) kind of wiring is going to be installed.

It is a medium sized apt of approx 740 sq ft. I was thinking of putting a hardwired port in the bedroom and the living room (by the cable TV jacks). What kind of wiring should I use? 6(a)/7(a)? Should I not even bother? I live in an area with FIOS now and have gigabit, but I'm pretty sure I will have access to Xfinity at best (no gigabit), but I'm not entirely certain.

Also, I was thinking of putting speaker cables in the wall as well.

I'm meeting with the architect on Mon. Any suggestions would be welcome.

 

[BlueLineSwinger]

Can you run conduit? Because that would be great.

Now that 2.5 & 5 Gb ethernet are actually a thing, I wouldn't go any less than Cat. 6. Material cost is ~10-20% greater than Cat. 5e. It's also more difficult to install properly, so make sure you get someone who knows how to deal with it and properly test each run.

Cat. 6 will also (somewhat) support 10 Gb, but is not officially rated for it. For that you'd need Cat. 6a. Going this path will significantly up the cost and install difficulty.

AFAIK Cat. 7 is not a real thing.

Do runs to every point that will or might have devices. Each wall if you can. No fewer than two cables per run. Do multiple runs to any spot that will have a large number of devices (e.g., entertainment center, office/desk). Try not to rely on small satellite switches.

Also consider doing runs to a central ceiling point for a wireless access point.

Run coax (RG-6 quad-shielded) at the same time to any spot that might host a TV. Also, to your wiring closet or wherever it is you'll be placing the ethernet patch panel.

And yes, do the speaker wiring.

 

[Wag]

Can you run conduit? Because that would be great.

Now that 2.5 & 5 Gb ethernet are actually a thing, I wouldn't go any less than Cat. 6. Material cost is ~10-20% greater than Cat. 5e. It's also more difficult to install properly, so make sure you get someone who knows how to deal with it and properly test each run.

Cat. 6 will also (somewhat) support 10 Gb, but is not officially rated for it. For that you'd need Cat. 6a. Going this path will significantly up the cost and install difficulty.

AFAIK Cat. 7 is not a real thing.

Do runs to every point that will or might have devices. Each wall if you can. No fewer than two cables per run. Do multiple runs to any spot that will have a large number of devices (e.g., entertainment center, office/desk). Try not to rely on small satellite switches.

Also consider doing runs to a central ceiling point for a wireless access point.

Run coax (RG-6 quad-shielded) at the same time to any spot that might host a TV. Also, to your wiring closet or wherever it is you'll be placing the ethernet patch panel.

And yes, do the speaker wiring.

Thanks, I'm not an expert in this so you've given me a better idea of what I should ask for. I'm trying to keep the costs down (I need to redo the original bathroom plans) so wiring is secondary. Probably go with Cat6 standard. I would love to put recessed speakers in but I don't think that's going to happen because of the cost (plus my neighbors would probably kill me).

It's an apartment, not a house so I'm sure everyone else in the building/development will be running wireless.

I need to do more research on what is the most economical way to go about this.

 

[bds1904]

Always place more communications outlets than you think you need. Many people I plan network layouts for think my recommendations are overkill until they see it in a house and experience it. The clients are always think they don't need that much wire until the cable/internet installers get there and suddenly there is something plugged into every outlet.

In a condo/apartment situation where you don't have any unfinished areas I also reccomend using a large in-wall media cabinet and having an electrical outlet in it. Don't use one of those crappy little ones, use the tall 4-5ft ones

Living room: 2x coax 4x Ethernet on 2 different walls (4 coax and 8 Ethernet total) This allows you to place the TV wherever you want, give you options for having 2 different coax video/data sources, example cable modem and antenna.

Bedrooms: 1x coax, 2x Ethernet opposite where you would place a bed

Office: 2x coax and 2-4 Ethernet

Kitchen: 1x coax and 1x Ethernet where a TV could go, such as over a refrigerator

Garage: 1x coax 2x Ethernet (even garage door openers have Ethernet adapters now)

The reason I recommend running so many Ethernet is because having one switch in a central location is much cheaper and easier than switches at every location. Typically I also recommend 1-2 Ethernet jacks high up on the wall or ceiling depending on the square footage but in a 750sq ft appt that's a bit overkill as long as the AP is somewhere near the middle of the apartment.

 

[HammerSandwich]

I'm trying to keep the costs down...

Understood, but wiring is SO much cheaper & easier while the walls are open. Adding $500 will increase your mortgage no more than $5/month. Compared to what you're paying the ISP - or Starbucks! - this is solid value.

 

[Brian_B]

I would first figure out a good spot to set your networking gear. Your modem and switch will go here - top of a closet, a cabinet in the top back corner of the main room, cabinet in the laundry area, etc. Some place out of the way, but with at least some ventilation.

You need to run power, coax, etc to there. And all your CAT5e (at a min) or CAT6 will run there. I would recommend a 24-port switch there, plan on running 15-20 of them in the wall (bds1904's suggestions are good - if that doens't add up to 20, add in some extras in some spots that you think may remotely be useful). That leaves you a few free ports for future use, and gives you plenty of in-wall jacks so you don't end up draping hard line extensions from wall jacks around your place.

If you are considering speaker wire, now is the time to do it, but you don't want that running along with power or networking lines.

You don't want your speaker or CAT lines running next to power lines or each other - it can cause signal degradation in ethernet, and noise/hums in speaker wire. Some contractors will try to cheat and just run everything in one bundle through the walls (because it's easier and saves a good deal of time). It's ok if they briefly run parallel, but you want to minimize that as much as possible.

Also make sure they are using wiring rated for in-wall use (usually listed as Plenum-Rated). If you are using licensed contractors they should be (it's required by code). That isn't necessarily the same thing you would pick up in a box at Home Depot. If they are good about not having a lot of parallel runs, you won't necessarily need shielded line if you are trying to keep costs down.