Home wiring question:

[G+_Jason Brown]

Home wiring question:

 

I'm running Cat6 into a few locations in my home. One of the main locations is in my closet with server, router, switch, patch panel and cable modem. All of these items run up through an interior wall to the attic then drop into a pipe in the ceiling back down to the patch panel in that same closet. All locations in the house will run to that pipe down to the patch panel as well ( see photos).

 

My question is in the attic i opened one large port (see photos) in the ceiling stud to drop the cables down through to my closet computers for both data, coax and power. All the cables exist in the wall space together between two studs anyway. I could redo the wiring in the attic and drop them into a separate hole in the stud but they might come in contact in the wall space regardless. My cable modem levels look good so I don't think the AC is affecting it.

 

Do you see any issue with the single point of entry into the wall space with the AC as an issue. They only touch for about an inch as they move downward.

 

Any input would be great. Thank you.

[G+_Kevin Britain]

This is fine..

[G+_Jason Brown]

Tim Rayworth post build in a home these installs become more difficult without tearing out sheet rock. If the house wasn't completely built and it was just framed these projects would be a snap.

[G+_Jason Brown]

Man I accidentally deleted the last guys comment as I was trying to respond. Thank you for commenting.

[G+_Jason Brown]

The conduit is from the electrical section of Home Depot. In the end I was going to seal around the hole with foam and plug the port with the fire puddy.

[G+_Jason Brown]

graybar.com - 3M™ Fire Barrier Moldable Putty Stix MP+

[G+_Jason Perry]

Some good advice so far.

 

Please don't take my or anyone else's advice on if you are doing the AC right, that is the domain of your local building code. Consult a local electrician if you have any questions. Key word there is local.

 

The AC will cause interference with the data lines unless they are sheilded. As Tim Rayworth?, mentioned it probably won't matter for short runs.

 

If you are concerned with the R value of your home, you might want to think about the impact drilling all kinds of holes in your ceiling is having.

 

The best tool I ever got to help run cable are called fish sticks, if you are going to be running lots of cable look them up.

 

Most important piece of advice is to have fun. I kinda want to go poke a few new holes in my house now.

[G+_Jason Brown]

If by fish sticks you mean the fiber glass poles used for fishing wires, yes they are awesome. Check this place out.

 

lsdinc.com - Labor Saving Devices

[G+_Jason Brown]

Does anyone have a suggestion on how to bring the cat6 wires into the closet another way? The bundle could end up being 16-24 in the end.

[G+_Black Merc]

In new construction(which this is not), common wiring code is that data(low power signal cabling) lines be not within 1 foot of ac power and when it is required to cross at right angles.

[G+_Scott W]

I was a Network Engineer at Verizon for 32 years, and we ran cat5,6 next to power in buildings, cell sites, everywhere. You will have no issues.

[G+_Jason Brown]

Scott W what do you think of how I pushed the cable into the closet? Our LAN room at work used the same setup. Though that is a suspended ceiling.

[G+_Scott W]

My house is exactly the same as you have done yours. No problems.

[G+_Scott W]

You can see the cat5 and power all travel through the same wall cavity.

 

[G+_Jason Brown]

Awesome. Thanks for the picture. Its nice to see how others did their setups. In the end here I think I'll move the power out of that hole and make another just to the right about 6-12 inches. With the conduit its no different than any other in the attic but I'll build a bubble around it with the spray fire block foam and use the fire putty to seal the hole. Then cover it all back up with the blown-in insulation already in place.

 

 

homedepot.com - GREAT STUFF 16 oz. Fireblock Insulating Foam Sealant with Quick Stop Straw-99053992 - The Home Depot

[G+_Jason Marsh]

Shielding isn't necessary because

1) twisted pairs &

2) differential signalling.

 

It'll be fine.

 

[G+_Jason Perry]

Scott W?, How is the OBi110? I have been using a Cisco SPA112.

[G+_J Miller]

I was always taught to keep them separate especially if they run parallel.

I never had a problem until I had to run a cat5 to a xbox one day and could not get any data to or from the xbox. Then I realized the homes power breaker panel mounted on the outside of the home near the xbox was causing interference in the data line.

To solve it we had to move the location of the xbox away from the power panel and it suddenly started working fine.

[G+_Black Merc]

One small thing... Any runs outside for links from building to building are subjective to high current surges in proximity to lightning strikes. I have had many routers, APs, switches and NICs destroyed by such strikes.

[G+_Scott W]

Jason Perry The Obi works great. Its been in service for over 4 years without a single problem. I just bought an OBi200 to replace it because it was on sale. Have not put it in service yet. Using the Obi with google voice by the way.

[G+_Jason Marsh]

J Miller That's odd. I'd check the load center for loose connections. Turn each breaker off in turn, remove, clean, and reconnect the wire. Pop the breaker out and back in while the wire is disconnected to check that it's got good contact on the bus. Copper and (egads!!!) copper-clad aluminum can flow under the pressure of the setscrew/clamp securing it to the breaker. Then it becomes a loose termination. Then comes heating, arcing, and burning. Best to check and tighten once in a blue moon just to be sure.

 

The twist of twisted pair is to set up a condition that causes any received interference on a wire to be nulled by the other leg of the same twisted pair receiving the same interference, so that there is no net effect on the signal. It doesn't mean that you can't get destructive interference at all, but it generally is effective enough to maintain a functional link. If a run of ethernet gets enough interference to fail to operate, I'd say that's a significant situation.

 

I think the XBOX could be hyper-sensitive, though. I take care of all things tech for some of my family, and in my cousin's house there is a fully functional Cat-5e run that works fine for GbE to a laptop, but his son's XBOX flat refuses to work with it. I didn't install the Cat-5e, but I've expanded the wired network to their Mother-in-law quarters and also to their deck/pavilion.

[G+_Charles Libby]

Scott W yes, but cell sites use DC, not AC and even then best practices kept them separate if possible.

[G+_Spudz Productions]

I have more of an issue with you running that other cable along side the AC wire :P Personally I stay away from AC and where it is unavoidable I use flex conduit. Good Luck.