Suggestions for wiring hub in new house

[samalex]

Hi,

I figure there's a good mix of DIYers and professionals in here, so hopefully this question isn't too off base.

We're building a house, and one of the 'options' was a wiring hub for all the coax (TV and network to cablemodem) and CAT5 (phone and internal network) to roll-up into one box so I can choose how things are routed in the house. Today while doing the walk through with the Superintendent I found the box was just a small metal box, maybe 10"x10" with all the wires rolled-up within, which wasn't what I expected. I've worked in IT for years and been in lots of wiring closets, and though I didn't expect a huge punchdown or anything, I expected something more then this.

He said I was the first person to request that option and when he told the person who ran the wire about it that's the best they could come-up with.... but he did say if I could find other options he'd definitely put in whatever I wanted.

So here I am asking for suggestions since I figured maybe a few people in here have done the same thing.

Thus far here's what will be feeding into the box:
- 3 Outgoing RG6 Coax for TV connections
- 1 Incoming RG6 Coax for Broadband to Cablemodem
- 1 Incoming RG6 Coax for DishNetwork
- 3 Cat5 for analog phone
- 3 Cat5 for internal network

With an electrical outlet next to the box in top of the closet my thought is that both the cable modem and wireless router will be in the closet so they're out of the way. Then the other wires can connect to the router as needed.

Does anyone have a recommendation on a box that'll help me keep this organized or cleaned-up? I'd rather not have this spaghetti box of wires, but I also want something low profile so it's not eating up a large portion of our linen closet.

Thanks for any suggestions or for how you did it. Also I'd love to see any pictures or diagrams.

Take care --

Sam

[tgalati4]

Most wireless routers and dsl/cable modems can hang on the wall. Just put a small sheet of 1/4 plywood as a backer next to the Junction Box and hang your equipment. You want airflow because the modems get warm. You can cut an 1" off the bottom of the door to help with airflow. Place the wireless modem up high so that you get better antenna coverage.

You also want a vent in the top of the closet, but that is usually more problematic. You can use a screened opening to the attic, or some vent donuts in the door (wife won't be happy with that).

You will probably put a small server in the closet, there are several available. Again, wall mount. Network-attached-storage (NAS) such as an ethernet-hard-drive is also helpful.

Just coil and tie the excess wire. Don't shorten, because you may need extra length to move things around.

[juancarlospaco]

Buy a nice Rack.
:)

[gn2]

Don't understand why you would want all those cables going to a single box when ultimately they need to go to different locations...?

I have two co-ax feeds from a satellite dish to my satellite receiver, it has an RF modulator in a scart socket which also connects to the TV aerial and feeds the TVs in the bedroom and kitchen via a co-ax.

My router is beside my main phone socket and connected to a homeplug network adapter so all my PCs, laptops, NAS and satellite receiver can connect through the mains.

Much better to have everything permantly connected rather than muck about with a switch box i.m.o.

[eriktheblu]

What I've done (and this is by no means a perfect solution) is simply connect everything to a central closet with wall plugs. 6" (~15cm) jumper cables from the wall to the hub. Hub, modem, NAS and printer all contained in that closet.

I have seen communication hubs at hardware stores (this link may not work) (http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-Voice-Data-Communications/Leviton/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xr5Zbm2cZwc/R-100662448/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053), but never investigated sufficiently to determine their role.

[cariboo]

I would check to see if the person doing the wiring is certified, because if all he could come up with is a 10X10 box, he certainly hasn't had any specialized training.

My younger brother got his electricians certification in the early 80's, wiring closets were included in the 4 year apprenticeship training even that long ago.

[jeffathehutt]

This is a nice line of products. (http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ibeCZzpHome.jsp?minisite=10027&respid=22372)

You can install only the modules you need, such as TV, network, phone, etc. into one generic panel and it keeps everything neat and organized.:)

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

Thus far here's what will be feeding into the box:
- 3 Outgoing RG6 Coax for TV connections
- 1 Incoming RG6 Coax for Broadband to Cablemodem
- 1 Incoming RG6 Coax for DishNetwork
- 3 Cat5 for analog phone
- 3 Cat5 for internal network


How are these cables routed throughout the house? Is it in conduits? If the cables are run through the walls, and possibly attached to studs inside the walls, then they may be hard to replace as technology changes.

I helped my father build his weekend home in late 1960. He was an architectural engineer, and decided to run all the wires through conduit so that it could easily be changed. We first used it to connect a sound system throughout the house. When home computers became available we added CAT 3 or CAT 5 cables by pulling them through the conduit. In the future we may be using fiber in the home; therefore, it would be easy to pull fiber optic cable through the conduit.

Something you may want to consider if you don't already have conduit, and it's not to late. Of course it will cost more but it may save money in the long term.