Page 2 - DIY network cabling of home, questions ensue.

Stranded = many small wires wound together to make a single cable
Solid = a single wire

As for running wire out to a shed, if you must, do the following:

- Call 800-Miss-Digg (or whatever your local underground conduit location services number is) and get them marked

- You'll probably have to get a building permit or otherwise get this marked

- Get some (steel) piping and run a line out there, probably a good few feet deep depending on what Miss-Digg reveals.

- measure the distance (remember copper Ethernet cannot go over 328 feet.) If over maximum distance for copper, you'll need fiber.

- Run cable through water tightened steel piping to shed.


- Create a wireless bridge

If you are going to run a conduit out to the back shed, I'd recommend going over-sized on the conduit (say, 3/4") and run your two data cables, a phone line and then a pulling string-- in case you need to route something else (low voltage) in the future.

Does it matter which one I get?

I think I'll get the stranded plugs.

Shop is only about 25 feet from foundation to foundation. I don't want to dig up my grandfather's hard work. It some heavy ass cable meant for burying and running electrical current, not to mention we have no backyard lawn and that brick and concrete are the obstacle, and the shop is mostly made out of wood with extended aluminum roofing, not enclosed, which is only 10 feet from the corner of the house.

We already have a wireless bridge but uh... not reliable.

Your plugs should match the cabling you are putting them on. The crimp part on the connector is slightly different to make sure it splices into the connector and terminates reliably.

So if you have solid core cable use solid connectors, stranded cable - stranded connectors. If you want to be really neat don't forget to put on boots before you crimp any plugs (not on jacks).

For the external wiring see if you can find where he ran the cable you might be able to see where the cable is at either end to determine if he ran it through a pipe or just used an underground protective cable that he buried.

Alternatively if you are not able to run fixed cabling you can add a wireless repeater with a directional antenna at the house pointing to the workshop that should improve the link quality.

Sooooooooooo...... nothing went as plan.

My creek project went bad on me, so that took about a month to rebuild and it still not finish. I went on a roadtrip 3 weeks ago, during which lightning struck nearby and took out my modem, router, skipped my switch and fried the nic on my server. It came through the coax if you're wondering. so in the end, I didn't lay any cable.

The room is prepared, and I'm planning to move forward with my networking setup. I'm running PFsense on an old p3 866mhz with 128MB and 2.5GB hard-drive with three nics which is acting as my router/firewall in a mid-size tower which is too big and waste of space. I've played with the idea of booksize mini-itx setups and they pretty much cost the same as if I had a rackmount case.

I'm looking at wallmount rack cabinets and a 2U server chassis for my pfsense box. But I'm so confused by the dimensions. It seems as though the wallmount only has a maximum depth of 16-17". The 2u rackmount cases average between 19-25" in depth.

I'm assumming that these wallmounts are not rated for racks and should only be used for networking setups?

I have never put a server in a wall-mounted rack--only networking equipment. I don't think I've ever seen a server in a wall-mounted rack at any of my jobs either. The wall-mounted racks can only support so much weight--which probably explains the lack of depth to them--they're more designed for networking equipment.

That's what I thought.

Anyways taking some measurements it looks as tho I won't be able to fit a rack mount up there, it would probably block access to the attic. I think I'm just keep the networking stuff in there.

I figured I pop in here and update everyone on my progress.

15 year old water damaged, wall never got repaired.


After getting it all back together, the best I could do with drywall and joint compound on an old house.


The other side of the bedroom. Three holes only to find out it a double stud framing for the window.


PVC Conduits for the network.


Electrical box to provide power for the network and split for incoming cat6 cabling.


32 port patch panel


I don't have any pictures recently of the finish product.

What I thought was going to take me a month top took me about 3 months to get 3 connections up and 2 electrical boxes in and a new switch and gfi outlet in the bathroom. I'm far from done, I got about good 29 connections to go. Now moving onto the living room to do 6+2 runs and run new electrical to replace some dead electrical and improper splices my grandfather did when he lived here, Actually he didn't believe in wire nuts or electrical boxes. I'm surprise my house didn't burn down.

Anyways going to install a new fan and light and rip off some wood paneling in the Florida room and fix the leaky windows out there and then put up dry wall and new trim, and have the floors refinished.

I got alot on my plate.

Wow, looks like you've got quite the project on your hands. Looks like you're doing some good work though. You'll be quite happy you did things right when it's all said and done, that's for sure!