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I have a crawlspace and a spool of Cat-6 cable, along with plenty of faceplates and a drywall saw, but I have no freaking idea how to get the cable from "in the

I have a crawlspace and a spool of Cat-6 cable, along with plenty of faceplates and a drywall saw, but I have no freaking idea how to get the cable from "in the crawlspace" to "coming out of the drywall." Any tips/links?

robbedpeter 5y ago
You use wall fishing kits and practice. https://youtu.be/O95FJuzHaxQ https://youtu.be/O95FJuzHaxQ Or... train a pet rat! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_rat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_rat Rats have been used for networking since the 90s, it's apparently an easy trick to get them to do.
- KineticLensman 5y ago
  I see your rats and raise you ferrets. The owner of Cragside House in Northumberland [0] used his hunting ferrets to install under-floor cables in 1880 (or so). This was preferable to ripping up the extensive wooden floors. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cragside https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cragside
ridiculous_fish 5y ago
I ran Cat6 from my router-equipped living room into my bedroom. I'm very pleased with the results, here's what I did. I chose a Ubiquiti "Access Point AC In-wall." It's a WiFi AP, with 4 GbE ports, and draws PoE, which means no plugs needed at the point of installation. It looks very clean, just a neat rectangular box affixed to the wall, delivering both WiFi and 4 wired jacks (one doesn't work, oh well). Using a manual drywall saw, I cut a hole in my wall, at the point of installation but smaller than the faceplate, so it would be covered. Next I used an 18 inch spade bit to drill through the sill plate of my floor. This part was the most nerve-wracking: I couldn't see what I was doing through the drywall, and sill plates are very hard. Eventually I busted through, and left the drill bit in the hole as a marker. I climbed down into the crawlspace and fished the Ethernet cable up through the hole, with some help from my wife. I then ran the other end to the living room, just in the crawlspace dirt (stapling it to studs was possible but didn't seem important); the other side had a pre-drilled hole for cable and I fished it up through. I'm not especially handy but wiring my home for Ethernet was a manageable adventure, give it a try!
na85 5y ago
Basically you drill a hole in the subfloor. Use fish tape[0] for pulling cables through holes up from the crawlspace. Cut a hole in the drywall (use a stud finder), punch down the cable and mount the faceplate. [0] For example: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/klein-tools-1-4-inch-wide-steel-fish-tape-25-foot/1000664117 https://www.homedepot.ca/product/klein-tools-1-4-inch-wide-s...
- piceas 5y ago
  non-homedepot link https://www.kleintools.com/catalog/fish-tapes/wide-steel-fish-tape-14-inch-x-25-foot https://www.kleintools.com/catalog/fish-tapes/wide-steel-fis...

robbedpeter 5y ago

You use wall fishing kits and practice. https://youtu.be/O95FJuzHaxQ https://youtu.be/O95FJuzHaxQ Or... train a pet rat! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_rat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_rat Rats have been used for networking since the 90s, it's apparently an easy trick to get them to do.

KineticLensman 5y ago
I see your rats and raise you ferrets. The owner of Cragside House in Northumberland [0] used his hunting ferrets to install under-floor cables in 1880 (or so). This was preferable to ripping up the extensive wooden floors. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cragside https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cragside

ridiculous_fish 5y ago

I ran Cat6 from my router-equipped living room into my bedroom. I'm very pleased with the results, here's what I did. I chose a Ubiquiti "Access Point AC In-wall." It's a WiFi AP, with 4 GbE ports, and draws PoE, which means no plugs needed at the point of installation. It looks very clean, just a neat rectangular box affixed to the wall, delivering both WiFi and 4 wired jacks (one doesn't work, oh well). Using a manual drywall saw, I cut a hole in my wall, at the point of installation but smaller than the faceplate, so it would be covered. Next I used an 18 inch spade bit to drill through the sill plate of my floor. This part was the most nerve-wracking: I couldn't see what I was doing through the drywall, and sill plates are very hard. Eventually I busted through, and left the drill bit in the hole as a marker. I climbed down into the crawlspace and fished the Ethernet cable up through the hole, with some help from my wife. I then ran the other end to the living room, just in the crawlspace dirt (stapling it to studs was possible but didn't seem important); the other side had a pre-drilled hole for cable and I fished it up through. I'm not especially handy but wiring my home for Ethernet was a manageable adventure, give it a try!

na85 5y ago

Basically you drill a hole in the subfloor. Use fish tape[0] for pulling cables through holes up from the crawlspace. Cut a hole in the drywall (use a stud finder), punch down the cable and mount the faceplate. [0] For example: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/klein-tools-1-4-inch-wide-steel-fish-tape-25-foot/1000664117 https://www.homedepot.ca/product/klein-tools-1-4-inch-wide-s...

piceas 5y ago
non-homedepot link https://www.kleintools.com/catalog/fish-tapes/wide-steel-fish-tape-14-inch-x-25-foot https://www.kleintools.com/catalog/fish-tapes/wide-steel-fis...