New home wiring

[Ryan Coke]

I'm building a new place and am just trying to figure out home theater and network wiring. Looking for any suggestions.

One thing in particular, is should I run let's say 4 cat6 lines to the theater room, or should I just run 1 and put a switch in there to handle multiple devices? Upside is saving a bunch of wire being run, what are the downsides?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[kermitology]

If you have the time and the cable, always run more than you need. A mistake I made when I pulled cable through my house. Didn't burn me, but I regret it.

Also, conduits. Put in conduits.

[Ryan Coke]

Yes true, conduits are always a good idea. But how much is more than I need? I'm thinking maybe 2 rg6 and 4 cat5/6 to the theater room, slightly less to the TV location in the living room.

[OldDutch]

I have done this. I ran 2 cat6 and 1 redmere HDMI to my tv. My components are 25ft run away in the furnace room. Ran through the walls. Has worked well, but yes conduits are my major regret.

I would run a minimum of 2 cat6, do not run cat5 as the price is negligible vs. long term. Set up a switch to split up the data. If you want to be safe run an extra 2 cat6. It won't hurt if you have the room. Oh and get them all different colours. Just makes life easier for testing.

Reason for extra cable is future proofing. 8K TV may one day be here, and he data required may need 2 cat6 paired to send a signal. I just picked that example out of the air but you get the point.

Mono price is really good site for cat6 cable in all lengths. Also look at HDBase for HDMI over cat6

[Rathji]

To a place like home theater room, I would run a pull of 4 + a conduit. It really depends on what you currently need and then have the conduit for future expansion.

For something like a bedroom, especially one where you will eventually want a PC/TV, like a master, you could pull one, but if the cost of a second one is less than $50, you might as well pull 2, as you will likely save that much in hassle/equipment cost by putting in switches over the life of the home.

For TV in living room, I would pull 2 at minimum, but consider 4 as well. Pretty much every living room device can connect to a wired connection now, so not doing so will just create wireless congestion.

Also consider, a drop can be used to create a second wifi access point in the front/back, top/bottom of your home in the case that you figure it is a good idea.

[MickMcGeough]

Something else I've wished my home had is speaker cabling run throughout. I've got an amp that supports multiple audio zones, but because my rooms aren't wired, I'm limited to wireless options like Sonos/Bose/AirPlay. They're fine for most, but Sonos & Bose are still limited to specific apps, and AirPlay only does multiroom from iTunes on a Mac (not iOS devices).

Wired means as long as you can get audio to your central amp you can play it anywhere in the house. iTunes, Satellite Radio, turntable, whatever. If I had no walls I'd invest in that flexibility for down the road.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Ryan Coke

Yes true, conduits are always a good idea. But how much is more than I need? I'm thinking maybe 2 rg6 and 4 cat5/6 to the theater room, slightly less to the TV location in the living room.

I would look at running 2x 1" conduits from your electrical room to your receiver station and 1x 1" from the receiver station to a space above where your projector will be mounted (if used). Use those solely as spares and have the rest of your wiring ran inside of walls as normal.

[Caged Great]

Honestly, go for more than you need right now because it'll be a feature if you ever go to sell, and might be necessary for you with how things are growing over time.

[verda13]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

Something else I've wished my home had is speaker cabling run throughout. I've got an amp that supports multiple audio zones, but because my rooms aren't wired, I'm limited to wireless options like Sonos/Bose/AirPlay. They're fine for most, but Sonos & Bose are still limited to specific apps, and AirPlay only does multiroom from iTunes on a Mac (not iOS devices).

Wired means as long as you can get audio to your central amp you can play it anywhere in the house. iTunes, Satellite Radio, turntable, whatever. If I had no walls I'd invest in that flexibility for down the road.

If you are planning on doing this, make sure you use UL-rated speaker wire labeled CL2 or CL3. Don't make the same mistake I did, using normal speaker wire. I had to "pull the wires out" to pass my electrical inspection.

[ken0042]

The first thing to find out is what your builder will allow for you to run your own lines. I am in the process of building with Sabal, and not only am I not allowed to run anything on my own (which I do understand somewhat), their data wiring contractor has some outrageous prices and policies that caused me a fair amount of grief. A few examples:

- To change the cat 5e lines to cat 6 was going to cost an additional $75 per run.
- I then offered to supply the cat 6 wiring for them, still no as there is an additional cost to terminate them.
- I told them not to worry about terminating them, they said they had to under their contract / building code.
- I then told them to run the cat 5e lines and terminate them, but to also run the cat 6 lines unterminated. I would still pay the additional $75 per run that they charge for additional terminated cat 5e lines, and I would supply the cable. Still no.

In the end I still went with several additional cat 5e lines and coax lines. I also have conduit going from the electrical panel to the attic, and one going from each location for a wall mounted TV to where the components will sit.

If you are still with Bell for TV, I would look into getting a DPP Quad LNB and then a DPP44 switch. It will allow you to run dual tuner receivers using only one line to each receiver.

[cupofjoe]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

I would look at running 2x 1" conduits from your electrical room to your receiver station and 1x 1" from the receiver station to a space above where your projector will be mounted (if used). Use those solely as spares and have the rest of your wiring ran inside of walls as normal.

I do this for a living (Custom Installer). I would avoid the 1" conduits, they are hard to pull (especially for HDMI cables). I normally only put in 2" conduits, here is the brand I use

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...eHst6936FS_oYQ

Put conduit in for any location that might need future upgrading, (media room / home theatre in particular). Beyond that, for the Home Theatre put in the cable you know you will use (1-2 Cat 6, 1-2 RG6 etc) and use the conduit for future expansion. I wouldn't run the initial cat 6, RG6 with in the conduit. Leave the conduit open for future use.

I normally run 16/4 speaker wire only. It saves the amount of boxes I have to carry in my van. For shorter runs of distributed audio (<70 feet), run the one 16/4 run to the first speaker location and then continue the same run to the second. You pull one of the pairs of wire out at the first, and use the second pair for the second speaker. It is easier to run one wire to two locations than two wires to two locations.

If you have a long run for distributed audio, you just run two x 16/4 wires (one to each speaker) and use both wire pairs from the wire to hook up the speaker. This increases the effective gauge of the speaker wire from 16 to 13.2 (if memory serves me well). Also, with the 16/4 you can wire the HT room and have option to bi-amp the fronts and/or use the increase gauge for the surrounds etc. Having said that, 16 gauge is heavy enough for most theatres runs and proper bi-amping requires two separate amps (a multi-channel AVR will not do this correctly despite what the manufactures tell you)

Hope this helps.
Don

[cupofjoe]

[RANT]

I truly hate some of my competitors black eyeing my industry...

- To change the cat 5e lines to cat 6 was going to cost an additional $75 per run.

Outrageous - cost difference on cable is less than $0.07 a foot so a typical run maybe costs $7 more. The termination costs are marginally more, $1 per run. Labour costs are no different. Even at $25 per run, it would be still be 'rich' pricing.

- I then offered to supply the cat 6 wiring for them, still no as there is an additional cost to terminate them.

Not surprising, don't blame you for trying, but working with non familiar product can be a PIA.

- I told them not to worry about terminating them, they said they had to under their contract / building code.

builders contract - perhaps, building code - BS

I am sorry this happened to you, unfortunately I hear about this all the time. Part of the problem is most builders are always looking for the lowest price. The data subs drop their pants and offer contracts at cost and try to make up for it by hosing customers for upgrades and/or doing crappy work.

[/RANT]

[Ryan Coke]

Awesome info from everyone.
I think I will run a conduit to the attic. Maybe I'll see about running to the bonus room and living room tv locations as well.
16 gauge speaker wire is fine sounds like? I was considering upgrading it to 14.

Where is a good place to buy bulk speaker and cat6 cable in town?

And Ken, I am fortunate that the builder will allow me to do my own work. Problem is that timelines are tight and I'm not sure if I can find the time, as well it's just the detail things of how stuff 'should' be run properly. The stuff I don't know that I don't know.

Good point about the switch if I stay with bell...I was planning on running 2 rg6 to each TV spot for that purpose mind you. I am also leaning towards maybe going to a gateway or optic system when I move.

I sent the home audio wiring sub an email looking for a quote for them to do some rough in work, then I'll decide if it is worth it for me to spend a day out there trying to do it myself. Also depending on what I could get bulk wire for.

Lots to consider, thanks for all the advice.

[MickMcGeough]

Also, this is probably obvious (or maybe even mentioned in this thread, didn't see) but do not run analog audio cable alongside power cable

[McG]

I'm the guy that bullied the builder to let me in to pull my own cable and then told the basement guy that he wouldn't get the job if he didn't let me pull cable! I went to see the official cable installers building the house and they told me that cat5 was what they used for speaker wire and I almost jumped across the table at him. You guys know what I mean.

I used central vacuum tubes for my conduit, and it worked well.

A couple of final things for the OP. Take as many pictures as you can from many different angles as possible especially with your measuring tape so that you know exactly where everything is. I got that advice and it has been so helpful because once the wallboard goes on... one trick that I have already used is to pull string inside your tubes/conduit and tie it off at both ends. This will give you the ability to pull cable (instead of trying to push it) in the future, and just tie another string to the cable that you are pulling so you can always get new stuff through. Consider a projector as well including its location. Finally, label the absolute living daylights out of all the cables.

Oh! don't forget CAT cabling to your TV for gaming, network, and smart TV purposes. WiFi is okay, but cabling is better.

[csnarpy]

also, please run wire for security as well. makes life easier.

[wooohooo]

When my mom moved into her new house she didn't have any cable or cat 5 outlets in any of the upstairs room. Luckily the cable tech spent the time to pull outlets to each of the rooms. And by lucky I mean the tech was great to do it and second house was configured in such a way it was possible. Aka cold air returns connected and ran straight to the panel.

Would have been a lot easier to have it done in the first place but builder was charging $200 an outlet! What's everyone's take on future wiring that are must haves?

Is rg6 still a necessity? Or have we moved past that

[oilyfan]

I would put rg6 in just for selling the house in case buyers are unsophisticated and just want traditional TV (even though what is that today?)

I believe the minimum today to run a connected house is at least two cat5e/6 to each location you want TV in, terminated in a utility room. I prefer 3 cables because it gives you a lot more capacity to centralize devices. Speaker wire to some locations is optional, I think it's nice. Monoprice has relatively affordable HDMI to cat 5 (and back) converters that use a single cat5 cable, over 300 feet, based on HDbaseT tech. This is a fantastic option to keep all your devices in the basement and have a clean connected home.

I would also run one cat 6 cable to a room on the higher floor to connect a wireless access point, this gives much better coverage and is much more robust than a wireless router.

[cupofjoe]

Always, always, always put RG6 in every room that you want a TV in. I would never recommend to my clients to do otherwise.

Be careful with video distribution, it can get complicated if you start having problems. You are looking at $200 - $250 min per TV for material cost to set up. I usually put a recessed wall box behind the mounted TV and put the cable box, apple tv etc in there. This creates a nice clean look without the cost and potential complications of a HDbaset extender.

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by cupofjoe

Always, always, always put RG6 in every room that you want a TV in. I would never recommend to my clients to do otherwise.

Be careful with video distribution, it can get complicated if you start having problems. You are looking at $200 - $250 min per TV for material cost to set up. I usually put a recessed wall box behind the mounted TV and put the cable box, apple tv etc in there. This creates a nice clean look without the cost and potential complications of a HDbaset extender.

Cupofjoe, what potential complications are there with HDbaseT? I ask because I was looking at using it and read good reviews. Have you run into issues, such as input lag (gaming) or connectivity?