[corn18]

We are building a home that we might live in for a while. Our current house is wired to the max for tech, but we currently have no home phone and only use wifi for our TV (Roku + YouTube TV). So if it were up to me, all we would have in the new house is electrical outlets. But that might not be good for resale. I don't want to spend a bundle on cat5, telephone, cable, surround sound wiring and what not. So, what would you want in a house for tech wiring? We have our design meeting in Jan and have to pick what to put in.

[zx10guy]

It's up to your perspective. But I would find a location to have at least a structured wiring cabinet. The cabinet should be of decent size with at least 2 sets of duplex outlets. The cabling should be punched down into a patch panel. All wiring should be at least Cat6 if not Cat6a.

Depending on your house layout, I would look to have a drop placed in the ceiling which provides the besy coverage for each floor of your house to install wireless access points. For the various rooms think about having at least 2 Category cabling drops put in. Consider having conduits placed in the wall to allow for future wiring changes or to install cabling later if you don't do it now. Depending on where you have all the cabling pulled to, consider having a 2" conduit installed to allow easy cabling installs after the fact vertically in the home. My house is 3 levels including the basement. I have a purpose built out server room and a 2" conduit that goes from the basement all the way up to the attic.

Consider putting in RG6 coax at each room that would probably see satellite or cable TV. Although the need is lessened these days with the various providers leveraging wireless to negate the need for coax at any given location.

Those are things off the top of my head. While Category cabling may be in your mind only for data networking, many technologies are leveraging Category cabling such as HDMI extenders.

[dreamingat30fps]

I dunno, my wifi works perfectly for me and we have a lot of internet shit. Bunch of smart house stuff, multiple smart TVs multiple office areas, wireless cameras etc. In my office I have my computers and NAS hardwired through ethernet, but that's it. And that's all run behind my desk so not even in walls or anything.

For me I just want outlets and coaxial where I will have TVs or my cable internet modem.

[zx10guy]

It depends on your network traffic. WiFi is still a half duplex technology. Meaning only one device can talk at any given time. This includes the wireless access point. So if a device is farther away from the AP which causes a degradation in speed, everything grinds to a halt till that one device finishes transmitting. The odds of increased latency goes up when more devices are running simultaneously on a wireless network using a single AP. This is the reason why businesses use a multi AP strategy with APs distributed based on concentration of devices and not overall coverage. Unified AP systems have the ability to steer devices over to less utilized APs to spread the load and provide an even level of experience for all wireless users.

[AlpineWhite_SJ]

What type of construction is it? Only reason I ask is that if it’s relatively easy to retrofit, if you’re not using it it might not be worth the trouble just for resale. If there’s crawl or attic space and wood frame/drywall, it’s not that hard for the next owner to do it and they can do it the way the want for their needs, not how you chose to do it.

If it’s slab foundation without a lot of attic space and/or solid block walls, then it might make more sense to do it while it’s being built.

If you did, I tend to agree with zx10guy’s recommendations.

[Mandi90TT]

Wired is always faster and more secure. I'd recommend using wired over wireless for as many devices as possible.

[P1]

zx10guy is on the money, as always.

Wire the house for Cat6(a) and have a structured cabling closet. Every room needs an RJ45 jack or two. Have drops pulled for hardwiring security cameras. Pull speaker wiring for both in wall, in ceiling and outside.

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

It's up to your perspective. But I would find a location to have at least a structured wiring cabinet. The cabinet should be of decent size with at least 2 sets of duplex outlets. The cabling should be punched down into a patch panel. All wiring should be at least Cat6 if not Cat6a.

Depending on your house layout, I would look to have a drop placed in the ceiling which provides the besy coverage for each floor of your house to install wireless access points. For the various rooms think about having at least 2 Category cabling drops put in. Consider having conduits placed in the wall to allow for future wiring changes or to install cabling later if you don't do it now. Depending on where you have all the cabling pulled to, consider having a 2" conduit installed to allow easy cabling installs after the fact vertically in the home. My house is 3 levels including the basement. I have a purpose built out server room and a 2" conduit that goes from the basement all the way up to the attic.

Consider putting in RG6 coax at each room that would probably see satellite or cable TV. Although the need is lessened these days with the various providers leveraging wireless to negate the need for coax at any given location.

Those are things off the top of my head. While Category cabling may be in your mind only for data networking, many technologies are leveraging Category cabling such as HDMI extenders.

+1

Excellent ideas and suggestions.
Some additional thoughs:

• Cat6/6a wire isn't that expensive if you buy it in a 1000-ft box, so don't let that be an obstacle.
• If you put in conduit, make sure to have the electrical contractor do it if you're not doing it yourself. That way they'll use the right connectors, elbows, etc. for pulling wire through.
• If you use POE WiFi access points, which I'd highly recommend, all you need is the RJ45 (Cat6) wire. No 110v needed. The savings from that will offset the cost of those access points, in most cases.
• May be unnecessary on this forum, but don't forget the garage and any outside spaces.

[RickFLM4]

I’d put the money towards kitchen, bath, flooring, window and even lighting upgrades before wiring if primary motivation is resale.

[corn18]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

I’d put the money towards kitchen, bath, flooring, window and even lighting upgrades before wiring if primary motivation is resale.

My wife is taking care of those bits. Not skimping there, for sure.

I think 2 x cat6 and 1 x coax in key areas would be good. It's a ranch with basement and good access in the attic so I think a 2" conduit is a good idea as well.

[EL Jeffe 5]

We finish our build last year
Things I put in
1. Coax and cat6e to all rooms nothing beats wire
2. Electrical outlets in all rooms where TVs will be on the wall
3. Cat6e for camera system again nothing beats wire (did not wanna deal with batteries and unreliable wireless Cameras)
4. Wireless access point 1st floor 2nd floor
5. Decora light switches along with screw less wall plates
6. 2'' tube from living room TV to media room for future cables and other accessories
7. Coax cable for future satellite antenna ( nothing more I hate than when I see coax cables running down the siding and when they drill side of the house)
8. Wi-Fi enabled garage door openers (nice to check if garage door is open or closed)
9. All LED lights less heat in summer less energy
10. Christmas lights outlet in soffits with On and Off switch

These are just some of the thing I put in as Guy She did some of the thing that mattered to her.

Some might say who needs wire everything is wireless Well its up to you we all know wifi can Lag and run slow

Good luck wishing you the best

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by Dave 90TT

Wired is always faster and more secure. I'd recommend using wired over wireless for as many devices as possible.

This is correct that wired is always faster than wireless when comparing current speed protocols for both technologies. But I do get why wireless is important and probably more so in most homes. Many connect to a network via wireless. Heck, spend most of the time connected to my network via wireless. This doesn't mean I won't utilize wired connections where possible and when it makes sense.

Originally Posted by P1et

zx10guy is on the money, as always.

Wire the house for Cat6(a) and have a structured cabling closet. Every room needs an RJ45 jack or two. Have drops pulled for hardwiring security cameras. Pull speaker wiring for both in wall, in ceiling and outside.

I can't believe I forgot about wiring for security cameras given how much we've gone back and forth on this topic here.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by corn18

My wife is taking care of those bits. Not skimping there, for sure.

I think 2 x cat6 and 1 x coax in key areas would be good. It's a ranch with basement and good access in the attic so I think a 2" conduit is a good idea as well.

You really should think about running Cat6a. The cost differential between 6 and 6a shouldn't be that big all things considered. That said, I have some Cat6 and Cat5e from when I first had the house built. I didn't do Cat6a and did Cat6 later because I was stupid and got wrapped up with other things pertaining to some renovations I was doing to my house at the time. By the time I realized I needed Cat6a cabling, I had run out of time to get the cabling before my GC was closing up the walls. So off I went to Lowes to get what they had which was Cat6 and paid too much for it.

It still worked out as the length of runs I needed for this new run of cabling was within the distance for Cat6 to support 10Gig Ethernet. Yes, I am running 2 10Gig connections from my server room to a 10Gig switch in my home office. Cat6 will support 10GigE up to about 55 meters. Cat6a will support 10GigE to the full Ethernet spec of 100 meters. The reason why I say pull Cat6a even though your cabling runs may not exceed 55 meters is for some potential future proofing. We don't know what the future holds in regards to the next speed step on twisted pair copper Category wiring. The next speed up from 10Gig is 25Gig. Currently, that's supported via short run Twinax/DACs and optics. If 25GBaseT becomes a thing in the future, the max bandwidth of Cat6a may be able to support 25GbaseT up to a certain distance similar to how Cat6 supports 10GigE up to 55 meters. Or there may be some variant of speed between 10 and 25Gig which will be created. Not many people are aware but there are speeds between 1GigE and 10GigE. These fall under multigig Ethernet. The speeds are 2GigE and 5GigE. These were created by Cisco and then ratified as a standard by IEEE. The reason why these speeds were created was because of the ever increasing speeds being offered by wireless access points. The wiring also needed to keep pace with the faster wireless speeds without having to depend on doing things such as LAGs/Etherchannels. So multigig was created to be able to run 2GigE and 5GigE over existing Cat5e cabling. The only catch with multigig is you need a switch which supports this protocol and of course a device attaching to said network to support it. So far I've only seen wireless access points as having support for multigig.

[hubbahubba]

I have built literally thousands of homes as my profession for 30+ years. The main thing most people regret not getting once moved in is what goes inside the walls or ceiling. I am not a techy guy, and it changes so fast I really never have wanted to keep up with it. Maybe wireless is all you need, maybe not. That said, if you're cutting drywall after you move in to install something you are on the fence about now, you're not going to be happy. My .02, HTH.

[bimmer456]

Pre wire for Dolby Atmos.

[Red Bread]

Cat7 isn't much more expensive. I have Cat7 to each tv, my wireless router and my computer. Phones and tablets are all that really hits my wifi.

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by AlpineWhite_SJ

What type of construction is it? Only reason I ask is that if it's relatively easy to retrofit, if you're not using it it might not be worth the trouble just for resale. If there's crawl or attic space and wood frame/drywall, it's not that hard for the next owner to do it and they can do it the way the want for their needs, not how you chose to do it.

If it's slab foundation without a lot of attic space and/or solid block walls, then it might make more sense to do it while it's being built.

If you did, I tend to agree with zx10guy's recommendations.

This cost $300 to extend an Ethernet cable to a new wireless AP

[AlpineWhite_SJ]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

This cost $300 to extend an Ethernet cable to a new wireless AP

Sorry, not understanding why it required opening so much of the ceiling to do that?

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by AlpineWhite_SJ

Sorry, not understanding why it required opening so much of the ceiling to do that?

Sarcasm? IF not:

I drilled nice holes in the ceiling to where I wanted my son to pull the Ethernet thru into his room and where the fiber comes into the house. Then I went somewhere, and he texted me the above and "Sorry" I guess at least he didn't fall all the way thru and hurt himself.

[AlpineWhite_SJ]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Sarcasm? IF not:

I drilled nice holes in the ceiling to where I wanted my son to pull the Ethernet thru into his room and where the fiber comes into the house. Then I went somewhere, and he texted me the above and "Sorry" I guess at least he didn't fall all the way thru and hurt himself.

Nope, wasn’t being sarcastic. I was curious if you’d actually used a professional who opened that much up just to do a wire pull for an access point. Glad he was ok!

[eluded]

Wire for APs and cameras. Can't see running cat whatever for network connections unless you have a clear requirement for it.

[Dog Face Pony Soldier]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Cat7 isn't much more expensive. I have Cat7 to each tv, my wireless router and my computer. Phones and tablets are all that really hits my wifi.

It used to be CAT5e was the standard, and CAT6e was the upgrade. I find now CAT6e is the standard, and CAT7 or fiber is the upgrade.

Definitely plan for a hard-wired network including plenty of access points. Don't forget about outdoor access points and surveillance cabling. You want as much things hard wired to the network as possible, this way you're leaving WiFi capability for the devices that can't be hard wired.

I'd pull at least 3 CAT6e to anyplace with a TV. You'll want one for the TV to connect to the network; one for video signal (via HDMI extender); and one spare.

I'd want dedicated 20A circuits with isolated grounds for my audio/video gear; perhaps even a 220v outlet for some real hardcore subs... but you don't sound as crazy about AV as I am.