[FattyLumpkin]

Our house will be wired next week before the insulation and drywall goes up. Tonight I did a walk-through with the electrician and I have a couple questions.

The first and primary issue is the location of the distribution panel. Originally I was going to put it in the upstairs walk-in closet off the master bedroom. This ends up not being as central as I thought. I liked it in there because it was more in my control. The electrician suggested the basement next to the high voltage panel. He thinks this will cut down on the cost of running the connection from the outside to the middle of the house (labor). The most central spot is the downstairs closet. Not long ago I was solid on this but suddenly I’m indecisive. Can anyone help me sort this out? I realize it’s a matter of preference but it’s possible I’m overlooking an important practical consideration.

The only other thing - now I’m now thinking about paying the electrician to install the video & Cat6 connections (29 totaled). I had planned to do this myself but I have NEVER done wiring and will have to learn on the fly. Others have convinced me (wife & a couple others) that it’s best to have them do it incase something does not work. Warranty. I’m buying the distribution panel and have purchased the Cat6 cable, wall plates, and ceiling speakers. He provides everything else. He’s given me a range of $700 US - $1000 for the network instillation. House = 1736 sq feet. I told him 1k was too much and he seemed to think it would not hit that. Is this reasonable and/or a good idea?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. I know this is a lot to ask, for opinions on all this preferential stuff, but I’ve got less than a week to figure this out and could use some advice.

 

[Volt-Schwibe]

the price is a little steep, but i'd be surprised to find an electrician willing to do it for less.

the downstairs closet seems like a great choice.

i have only one real big question, is there going to be a server in there with it?

if it's just a router and a modem, then almost anywhere would work.

either way, unless your basement is finished with carpet and drywall and insulation, i'd steer clear of there, as moisture and routers don't get along well.

 

[FattyLumpkin]

Good Point!

Good point about the moisture! This is exactly the type of thing I need to consider. No server in the near future but its a possability in the future. Still, I need to think about getting the electric company to enter the house and connect it to the panel. I have *heard* this is expensive since they typically just work on the outside wall.

 

[Volt-Schwibe]

yeah, if you want a server somday, then a closet sounds like the best bet.

or, you could find a nice spot in the house and add a closet just for it. the people i have seen do that were very happy with the results.

also, if you do put a router a modem and a server all in a little closet, there may be a heat issue, the easiest way i've found to fix a problem with a hot closet is to install a bathroom ceiling ventilation fan without a light.

if you wanna get real fancy, go to a greenhouse store and get a thermostat and set it to come on at 75 or 80 degrees. that way if it does get too hot, the fan will come on.

also, louvered doors on this closet can make a ton of a difference too.

for what it's worth, if your drywall still isn't up, here is what i would do.

put it where you actually want it. now is the time to run all the wiring, if you decide you want to move it later, expect it to cost 10x as much. you can save money by running all the cat6 and tv coax wires yourself, following the instructions in any home wiring book. most of these books have a section that covers antenna and low power wire.

then, if you are unsure of your skills putting the ends on, hire that part out.

this way, you can have the wires running anywhere you want without any additional costs.

running the wires through the wall is the part that anyone can do. if you want to be able to count on a builder to make sure it works, just have them come out once the wires are strung.

anyhow, if you really want it in the master bedroom, go for that. im my opinion, it's your house, it should be the way you want.

i'd put it in the closet if it was me, and i'd put the alarm panel right next to it. (along with a home automation panel if i were to install one) that's all stuff that i would want in the master bedroom.

hope this helps.

 

[johnwill]

FWIW, unless you have a serious moisture issue in the basement, I don't see any issue with putting the distribution there.

I'd also consider running the wires yourself, since that's the easy part. Remember, you're running "home runs" from every jack location to the distribution point, there is no connections involved to get tricky. If you can string a lamp cord, you can run the CAT5 wire. Just leave a couple feet of slack at the jack locations and plenty of slack at the distribution point in each cable.

One thing to watch for is to the holes you drill for it in the center of the studs, so that the wallboard nails don't punch a hole in the wire. Other than that, it's very non-critical how you run it.

The "costs" to run a wire from the service entrance to anywhere in the house is peanuts if you're also running that wire at this time, put the distribution where you want it. FWIW, I'd run a pair of CAT5 (or 6) cables from the service entrance to the distribution point, and also a pair of RG-6U coax cables. That way if you have cable broadband, you have a feed and a spare, ditto for the network cables.

 

[FattyLumpkin]

Thanks!

Thanks for the feedback guys. This is VERY helpful.

One thing I have to consider is that if I get involved AT ALL during the instulation process (like pulling a run, punching down the wire or whatever) it voids the warranty. Huff. So, if I care about the warranty its an all-or-nothing situation.

 

[johnwill]

What warranty would that be? Spending $1000 for a few hours work and stringing $50 worth of cable seems to be expensive insurance! I'm not sure what you're worried about, this is a no-brainer to me.