Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 12 of 29
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Frederick, MD
    Posts
    61,273
    Blog Entries
    4

    OT - Any electricians on this forum?

    New homeowner here...

    Just had Comcast come out and hook up my house with xFinity and the previous owners only had the basement wired for cable input...

    The Comcast tech said the only way he could do it was to drill a hole into the floor. We JUST had the hardwood floors refinished, so there was no way I was agreeing to that.

    I figured out (by measuring) where the interior wall is we are looking to have the TV/modem set up and I have found where the cable line comes into the basement...

    Any tips for fishing a line up into the wall? Things I should be aware of?

    Any info would be much appreciated and helpful.
    Disclaimer: The content posted is of my own opinion.





  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    South Florida
    Posts
    64,941
    Blog Entries
    1

    Re: OT - Any electricians on this forum?

    depends a lot on your structure, age of house, etc. Is the wall insulated? If so you could try a fishtape. It's a lot easier with two people


    World Domination 3 Points at a Time!





  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Frederick, MD
    Posts
    61,273
    Blog Entries
    4

    Re: OT - Any electricians on this forum?

    Fishing tape...

    I saw this at Home Depot yesterday, but wasn't sure if I would need it or not...might be worth picking up though.

    The house was built in 1968.

    Because it is an interior wall, I would imagine it is not insulated.
    Disclaimer: The content posted is of my own opinion.





  4. #4

    Re: OT - Any electricians on this forum?

    Quote Originally Posted by wickedsolo View Post
    Fishing tape...

    I saw this at Home Depot yesterday, but wasn't sure if I would need it or not...might be worth picking up though.

    The house was built in 1968.

    Because it is an interior wall, I would imagine it is not insulated.
    You could also try using a glow rod. Obviously you want to stay away from any electric outlets or lines...but that should be common sense. Make sure you use RG6 cable as it holds signal better than the smaller RG59.

    That's crazy that the guy said the only thing he could do was to drill through the floor.

    He can easily split everything outside the house and route one line into the basement and route the other feeding line somewhere else...he could drill from the outside into every room you want, drill just one interior line on each floor and route it from there, drill in the wall just on the first floor and route it throuought the rest of the house or drill into the attic and route everything else/wall fish down from there.

    There are are many ways to skin the cabling cat. It sounds like the tech was just being lazy.
    Although Walsh's system of offense can compensate for lack of talent; however, defense is a different story. According to Walsh, talent on defense was essential and could not be compensated for. What did Walsh do in 1981? He acquired physical and talented players on defense.





  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    South Florida
    Posts
    64,941
    Blog Entries
    1

    Re: OT - Any electricians on this forum?

    if its not insulated you can tie a washer to a string and try to drop it and then get a coat hanger, make a small hook and try to hook it from the bottom. Whoever is up top may have to bounce it a couple times so you can locate and cut the hole in the right spot.
    With the fishtape it's easier to go from bottom to top but there may be a wall plate at the top. Pain in the ass if there is...

    You can get a regular cable guy to run a cable in that wall for prob $60 or so assuming it's not obstructed.

    World Domination 3 Points at a Time!





  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    South Florida
    Posts
    64,941
    Blog Entries
    1

    Re: OT - Any electricians on this forum?

    comcast told me the same thing. said they would have to run a cable on the exterior of my brick house! up the wall, I told them no way. I'm happy with DirecTV.

    They even ran a cable across my front lawn two years ago and I'm not even a customer. Called numerous times to get it buried, finally buried it myself with a shovel about a month ago.

    World Domination 3 Points at a Time!





  7. #7

    Re: OT - Any electricians on this forum?

    I've fished cable in my home (1927, plaster), with and without fishtape. It depends are far you are going and how many turns. Do you have to pull it across studs to get it from where it comes into the home to where the TV is? Because then you are talking about the tougher job of cutting dry wall and drilling holes in the studs....or alternatively fishing down to the basement (or up to the attic) attic, over, and then up/down the stud bay where the TV will be.





  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Eastern Shore
    Posts
    3,650

    Re: OT - Any electricians on this forum?

    Quote Originally Posted by wickedsolo View Post
    New homeowner here...

    Just had Comcast come out and hook up my house with xFinity and the previous owners only had the basement wired for cable input...

    The Comcast tech said the only way he could do it was to drill a hole into the floor. We JUST had the hardwood floors refinished, so there was no way I was agreeing to that.

    I figured out (by measuring) where the interior wall is we are looking to have the TV/modem set up and I have found where the cable line comes into the basement...

    Any tips for fishing a line up into the wall? Things I should be aware of?

    Any info would be much appreciated and helpful.
    One way to do this is to install a 2"x4" drywall box in the interior wall where you intend to bring the cable up from the basement. You can get these at any Home Depot or Lowes. The boxeas have ears that flip out and catch the back side of the drywall when you tighten the screws. So don't cut the hole to close to a stud. You can also purchase a face plate for box that has the RG6 connector mounted to it.



    But before you mount the box, obviously you need to cut the hole for the box. Keep it close to the floor as possible (just above any baseboard) so that you can drill a hole through the floor inside the drywall. You will need a long wood boring bit to do this. Once you have the hole drilled through the floor use the fish tape or close hanger and fish through floor into basement. You should be able to tie or tape on cable in basement and pull through floor and hole in drywall. Fish cable into box, mount box, connect cable to RG6 connector, ant then have a cold beer.
    "I don't know a man on this Earth who can outwork me". Ray Lewis





  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Frederick, MD
    Posts
    61,273
    Blog Entries
    4
    Thanks for all of the tips fellas.

    Sent from my DROID X2 using Forum Runner
    Disclaimer: The content posted is of my own opinion.





  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Frederick, MD
    Posts
    61,273
    Blog Entries
    4

    Re: OT - Any electricians on this forum?

    Quote Originally Posted by Raveninwoodlawn View Post
    You could also try using a glow rod. Obviously you want to stay away from any electric outlets or lines...but that should be common sense. Make sure you use RG6 cable as it holds signal better than the smaller RG59.

    That's crazy that the guy said the only thing he could do was to drill through the floor.

    He can easily split everything outside the house and route one line into the basement and route the other feeding line somewhere else...he could drill from the outside into every room you want, drill just one interior line on each floor and route it from there, drill in the wall just on the first floor and route it throuought the rest of the house or drill into the attic and route everything else/wall fish down from there.

    There are are many ways to skin the cabling cat. It sounds like the tech was just being lazy.
    I thought he was being lazy too. However, I called Comcast and inquired and apparently they no longer fish lines through walls. Probably because guys were sloppy with it and not doing it to code, so they figured it would be easier to just not do it at all.

    Good call on the RG6 line though. That didn't even cross my mind.
    Disclaimer: The content posted is of my own opinion.





  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Frederick, MD
    Posts
    61,273
    Blog Entries
    4

    Re: OT - Any electricians on this forum?

    Quote Originally Posted by lowrider View Post
    One way to do this is to install a 2"x4" drywall box in the interior wall where you intend to bring the cable up from the basement. You can get these at any Home Depot or Lowes. The boxeas have ears that flip out and catch the back side of the drywall when you tighten the screws. So don't cut the hole to close to a stud. You can also purchase a face plate for box that has the RG6 connector mounted to it.



    But before you mount the box, obviously you need to cut the hole for the box. Keep it close to the floor as possible (just above any baseboard) so that you can drill a hole through the floor inside the drywall. You will need a long wood boring bit to do this. Once you have the hole drilled through the floor use the fish tape or close hanger and fish through floor into basement. You should be able to tie or tape on cable in basement and pull through floor and hole in drywall. Fish cable into box, mount box, connect cable to RG6 connector, ant then have a cold beer.
    I can understand putting the jack as close to the floor as possible...I was trying to keep it at the same level as the other outlets...so maybe 18" above the floor? Something like that?

    That's why I was thinking coming up would be the least messy, but drilling a hole down would all but alleviate me from guesswork...
    Disclaimer: The content posted is of my own opinion.





  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Frederick, MD
    Posts
    61,273
    Blog Entries
    4

    Re: OT - Any electricians on this forum?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ravenswintitle View Post
    comcast told me the same thing. said they would have to run a cable on the exterior of my brick house! up the wall, I told them no way. I'm happy with DirecTV.

    They even ran a cable across my front lawn two years ago and I'm not even a customer. Called numerous times to get it buried, finally buried it myself with a shovel about a month ago.
    Yea, we weren't excited about having to switch to Comcast as we have had Verizon FiOS for the past few years...unfortunately FiOS doesn't service the more rural areas of Frederick County...
    Disclaimer: The content posted is of my own opinion.





Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Link To Mobile Site
var infolinks_pid = 3297965; var infolinks_wsid = 0; //—->