u/southrncadillac

6 - CAT6 drops, and a Fiber Run

*Office, Family Tv, Bedroom Tv
*Garage Ap, Hall Ap, Outdoor Pool Ap
*Relocated fiber modem from nightstand
*Added rack with built in automatic fans

3 days $7k, no drywall damage, had attic and crawlspace access.

Everything was retrofitted without any drywall damage, had to fish up from the crawlspace for every drop. Client was a DIYER, so everything was already adopted and ready to mount. The POE chime wall had a horizontal bracing I had to drill through, used a magnetic chain and retrieved it from the cavity below in the crawlspace, the viewer was on an exterior wall, and the stud bay was the exact width of the viewer and this bay sat right on top of a joist so that was really fun, I had to fish up the light switch bay to the left then go sideways to get into my viewer bay since I couldn’t drill directly up. Then the doorbell was a little easier, it was already prewired with cat5 so I found it in the crawlspace, cut the wire, spliced with a new cat6 and rerouted it to the network closet. Of course I had to terminate and test to make sure all pairs were good. Everything is working- I go back to add 2 Unifi cameras. The client was very knowledgeable- he added a module between the doorbell so when the doorbell rings it automatically shows on the viewer, he said without the module it will just ring, I love how Unifi makes bringing access control to the home possible.

Client is DIYer and will add his NAS to the rack himself later, he will also upgrade the Cloud gateway to a fiber gateway or one capable of taking advantage of the 2.5g speeds, and he will add rack mount ups so the closet floor is clean. I wired this home for 5 drops last year and I didn’t even remember until I got in the attic and started looking at the neatly ran wires and thought to myself “whoever did this really cares and does great work”, then I looked and realized it was my work lol, I came out the attic and asked the client if I did it and he said yes lol, I have totally been a robot lately, I don’t remember jobs I have done, and my scheduling is almost fully automated, I’m booked 4 months out, so I don’t remember all of the convos or know where I’m going or why until I look at the estimate, and most times I’m just looking to order parts and understand the scope, not really looking at the address or names. But yea he was a previous client- felt good to work behind myself, there wasn’t any guessing or doing things a second time. I left slack and labeled everything so this additional drop and rack install was smooth.

Objectives:

Add another cat6 from 3rd floor network closet to wife’s office on 1st floor

Add a rack to get equipment off of ground

Sit rack close and flush with closet shelf

Have shelf for non rack mountable items

I wanted a rack, client didn’t- so we came up with a solution that kept his doorway clear, wiring accessible, and future-proof. Purchased a variety pack of cable management in white and some wall mount racks.

Previous electrician ran the outdoor data to the dmarc instead of the low voltage cabinet. Client didn’t realize until today, he thought it was done correctly when they designed the outdoor space. First I put my tester on the cable and found the cable was damaged in the wall and only measured 59ft, then I found the damaged part, reterminated, then put my toner on the cable and found it was still not to infant the cabinet, I suited up and went into the crawlspace with my toner wand, found the cable going to a crawlspace vent, went back outside and found it wrapped around the dmarc box. I routed my pull strings and will run cable tomorrow. I have other locations to run and a rack to install.

Client didn’t want to relocate the modem, he just wanted an Ethernet from his 2nd floor office back down to the modem/router combo in the garage.

1. I found out which room was directly above the modem in the garage, it was the master bathroom shower directly above the modem stud bay, so I had to go a stud bay to left since I don’t fish in the same cavity of water.

2. I figured out which way the ceiling joist ran and figured I could use a 2nd floor interior wall (the wall that separated the master bedroom shower from the master bedroom closet)

3. Then I drilled using a 10ft drill bit from the attic through 3 horizontal braces, and landed in the joist cavity, right above the modem.

4. I then cut an access hole to retrieve my rod/string/wire, then used the same access hole to use a 90degree drill bit to hit the top plate and fish the garage wall.

5. I fished down the garage wall, terminate my wire, ran the other end to his 2nd floor office via the attic, and added a blank plate to the garage ceiling.

This is how I fish between floors- normally I like to find stud bays that stack, but if I can’t I just find a ceiling joist cavity that runs on top of my wall and use the same access hole to retrieve my wire and drill the top of the wall. My goal is minimal drywall cuts- so I really take pride in making this work with only one hole - and my holes are always small enough to cover with a blank plate.

Another video, I created my own app so my workflow is getting better.

3rd floor drop to 1st floor closet. I got lucky and didn’t have to go into the crawlspace since my route hit the same dead space under the stairs my closet backed up to. This is phase one, next phase and put the access points in the ceiling, and add 2 more drops for in wall APs. Today he just wanted the drop to the 3rd floor office so he could work from home.

An Audio/Video Company prewired this home for Cable, Audio, Data, Access Points, attic/crawlspace spares, and keypads. I terminated the wires, tested, and relabeled. Added a WiFi 7 mesh system and a 24port switch. Next appointment we will install a full rack. Total cost was $1500 (equipment and labor included).

Some interior walls happen to be under the platform, but instead of cutting the platform open or removing boards I drill a small hole (3/4in or less) and find my top plate below. I still make sure to find an exit for my wire so it’s not left routed on top of the platform.

I tried to use a packout but it was too large to bring inside of a residential home. It would hit walls and was too wide to bring up stairs. I found the perfect balance of pockets, storage, and size in this dewalt bag. I’ll share my other tool bags in the future. I have my scan bag, my drill bag, my termination bag, and my flexible drill bits/rods bag.