# Building New Home...What types of connections?



## gte011h (Feb 19, 2010)

Dont know if this is the right place for this but....I am building a new house and met with the wiring person the other day....First off he tried to sell me on some outdated connections....Phone jacks in every room. and RJ45 networking. My question regarding this is are RJ45 connections needed or valuable anywhere in a home? Most everything is wireless now and sure wireless signals get weak but a relay is less expensive than running a bunch of RJ45 throughout a house. 

Any thoughts or advice?


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

That's up to you but IMO, a wired connection is nice to have and very easy to do as long as you're building things from scratch. Wireless is great but less bandwidth depending on how heavily you'll tax it - especially if you ever plan to do any audio or video streaming from a server to a network AV device.

Many new pieces of equipment have Ethernet connections so they can update firmware, BluRay players to stream movies from the web, etc. 

I would do it if it were me.

Bryan


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## robbo266317 (Sep 22, 2008)

We built a new house last year and the small expense of data cable run at the same time as the electrical was minimal.
Remember to add them wherever you think you could use one, It's much easier doing it before rather than adding it later.


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## gte011h (Feb 19, 2010)

Thanks, what do you consider minimal cost?


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

If your builder will let you do any of the work, you can nail your own low voltage boxes in place and run the cabling yourself. So, maybe $3.00 per box plus whatever a spool of Cat 6 runs. You can then terminate them yourself after the drywall is up at your convenience.

I don't know where you're located but in the midwest, IIRC, it's about $150 per drop assuming the walls are open. That would include the cabling, box, wall plate, connector, labor.


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## robbo266317 (Sep 22, 2008)

gte011h said:


> Thanks, what do you consider minimal cost?


I will pull the quote out and check, I am in NSW, Australia though so I don't know what price is like where you are.
I had them terminate the rooms but the bundle in the media room were left bare so I could choose between a rack or GPO's. In the end I went with GPO's with 4 outlets in each.


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

Cost here (metro Atlanta, GA) is about $125-150 per drop all inclusive assuming no drywall. 

Wireless is great for roaming around the house with a laptop or iPad, but I prefer wired where I can use it especially for anything that needs a stable, fast connection (e.g., AV gear for streaming or firmware updates). Also, even though wireless is convenient, it introduces data security issues which need to be addressed taking time to set up the router and all wireless connections with SSID and encryption passwords.

For home theater room, I recommend: 

Cat6 to AV rack.
Cat6 to gaming center (if located in different place than AV rack).
Cat6 to TV or projector location.
I have #2 & #3 routed back to a network switch at my AV rack which is connected by #1 to the router at my low-voltage panel.

For the rest of the house, I recommend:

Phone lines to the master bedroom and to a convenient place on the main floor to give you options for where to locate the base. On a side note, we used Cat6 for our phone lines for future proofing.
Cat6 to anywhere you will/may have a computer or a TV.

Also, for what it's worth, I had my contractor run two 2" conduits (one for power, one for low-voltage wiring) and pull strings from the basement to the attic so I could get anything to any room in the future. 

Going DIY is a great option. Just be sure to get in-wall rated cable and try your best not to crimp the lines.

Regards,
sga2


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

NTM if you plan on ever going the automation route you will need hard wire. 

Also, gaming!

I agree hard wire. Maybe put a jack everywhere you put coax. 

Since you're posting here a assume you're planning a theater room or at least a good HT setup in the LR. So plan your system out and think about how you may want to expand it. I think you'll find that the data line is a nice idea. Also, do you plan on any CCTV/alarm? If so now is the time.


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## gte011h (Feb 19, 2010)

Thanks everyone. The house has a dedicated Media Room. the builder includes 2 Rj45 connections at the locations of my choice. Each additional is $150. So I plan to have them placed where my AV rack will go and then the other in the family room where I will place a flat panel and movie subscription device. The rest should be able to run off of wireless. mainly laptop etc. I will probably add one RJ45 in the office.


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