Wiring for Basement Remodel

cat-5e will do nicely.

You can alsways use cable raceway/conduit for low voltage cable .. then go you can pull new cable in future (good idea)

gb

I believe electrical code requires it. Run conduit and use plenum rated cable.

FIRST, get a copy of the Carlon Structured Cable Management brochure. I picked one up to today from my local electronics/network cabling supplier/distributor in Chicago area.

GO TO web site:

Carlon makes low voltage brackets as well as Resi-Gard flexible raceway and fittings - from 3/4" diameter up to 2" diameter. Carlon has specific brackets for both new construction and rework/remodel installations.

Electrical code does require low voltage divider plates IF you co-locate the low voltage and home AC power boxes. Ethernet cabling and AC power should NOT occupy the same stud space (unless one is in condiuit)

Depending upon you home --- you can get a flush structure cable panel box or a sheet of 2' x 4' plywood firmly attached to a wall in an unfinished area.

w9gb

Lots of great info here and in the links. Thanks!

Conduit depends on the class of the circuit.

In conduit plenum cable is not needed or desirable.

Hi!

I don't know if you're still looking for information...one thing I'd suggest is to add more plug-in points than you really need now...electrical, networking...whatever you have in mind, add a few more than you need or originally planned on.

I'd also check to be sure that your electrical wiring (if you're doing any of that while in the wall) is in good shape and able to handle the loads you plan to put on it. I was redoing my own basement and found out that the electrical wiring was in terrible shape. It was a wonder that it worked at all!

Now I've got all the power and network connections in place that I need. And both are reliable/sufficient for the loads present.

William

Thanks. My wiring is questionable. I was thinking of having an electrician look it over since it'll be exposed, and it's 50 years old

"Buck Turgidson" hath wroth:

Run conduit and you can decide what to run later. I've done a few remodels for customer and learned a few things the hard way.

1. The key conduit runs are between floors and the roof.
2. Plan on at least one outlet box per wall. If a door bisects the wall, you'll need an outlet on both sides of the door as cable runs across doorways are awkward.
3. Think about structured wiring boxes. The idea is to have everything come to one place (home run) where it can go to an ethernet switch, CATV distribution splitter, or fiber optic hub. If that's not possible, at least have everything on a given floor go one location.

For conduit, I've been using a mix of non-metallic LFNC-B PVC flex and rigid schedule 40 PVC electrical conduit. Flex is really made for electrical wiring, but works well with signal wires. It also keeps the inspectors happy. However, don't mix power wires and signal wires in the same pipe.

You've covered most of the common wires. The following is a checklist of possible wires and cables:

1. Telco (POTS). CAT3 or CAT5.
2. Ethernet 10/100/1000baseT. CAT5e.
3. Fire and burglar alarm sensors and armored phone line.
4. Security cameras (CAT5 or 75 ohm coax)
5. Rooftop antenna rotator. 6 cond 20AWG flat ribbon.
6. Satellite TV RG-6/u coax.
7. CATV distribution RG-6/u coax.
8. Thermostat and HVAC control. Energy management sensors.
9. Wired intercom.
10. Fiber optic data, video, sound, whatever. TosLink?
11. Lighting control. Emergency lighting control.
12. Ham radio coax cables to antennas and radios.
13. Police/fire/etc scanner antenna. RG-58c/u.
14. Direct CAT5 between DSL splitter and DSL modem.

Can you see now why I prefer to run conduit? There's no way to effectively plan for such a variety of applications and wiring.

For a satellite dish, you need at least one RG-6/u coax cable. If you get a dual receiver, such as the DirecTV DVR, where you can record one channel while watching another, you need two coax runs to the satellite dish. If you have multiple receivers scattered around the house, you'll need a Diseq switch, with one coax run per LNB on the roof, and one coax run per receiver. This can get really complicated as some LMB's have a built in Diseq switch, where you run one or two cables per receiver directly to the LMB.

Really appreciate the detailed info.