Get the speed, dependability, and security of hard-wired internet by wiring your home for ethernet
Ethernet offers better speed and security than Wi-Fi.
There are six common types of Ethernet cables with varying speeds.
Most Ethernet cables can function efficiently for up to 328 feet.
Electricians, not your internet service provider, are responsible for installing your Ethernet cables.
If you’re considering adding hard-wired internet to your home, you need to know who can run ethernet cables through your walls. Installing ethernet in your home can get you fast and reliable internet with the security of a hard-wired system. Tackling a wiring project can be daunting, but hiring a local electrician is typically the best option to get your internet up and running.
If you want to have the added speed, reliability, and security of a hard-wired internet connection at home, but you’re not crazy about cords and cables running across the floor to get internet access in multiple rooms, you will likely want to run the wires through the walls instead. Running ethernet cables through the walls gives you the added convenience of wired internet access without all the mess. Having connection ports in multiple rooms will make your wired internet that much more accessible and convenient for use.
Wiring your house for ethernet, especially when it requires running cables through walls, requires hiring a professional electrician. A local electrician should tackle this task because it requires significant electrical work, including tapping into your home’s wiring system and potentially working inside the walls. Electricians have the skills, tools, and experience to run ethernet cables through your walls quickly and safely, plus they can identify any potential roadblocks before they become larger issues.
In very simple installations, a local general contractor can take on the responsibility of running your ethernet cable through walls, in addition to the aftermath of drywall repair and painting. You’ll most likely be spending about the same amount on labor—general contractors and electricians both charge between $50 and $100 per hour on average. Before signing a contract, call a few different pros to see if this is a job they can take on and what their expected time to completion will be—in some cases, a general contractor might be able to squeeze this type of project in right away.
Running cable through the walls can be tricky if the walls aren’t already open for other renovations. The cable will likely need to travel between wall studs, up and around door frames, between floors, and more. Some installation methods will make it simpler to accomplish this without the electrician needing to tear lots of holes in your walls.
At corners and between rooms, the electrician will need to drill holes to feed your cable and tools into the walls. If you plan on running cable through your studs, you’ll need a larger access hole so that the electrician can drill through the studs to feed the wires through. Beginning either at the distribution point for your cables or at the end where you plan to put your wall plate, the electrician should drill an access hole and then continue along your cable route until they get the other end, making holes about two inches in diameter at corners, near obstructions in the walls, and to get around doorways.
A fish tape is a flexible tool used to fish wires through small spaces. To use one, the electrician will need to insert the tape into your space from the end where you want your cable to go to to where it will start. They’ll push the tape through the space through an access hole until it comes out at the other end of your cable run. Then, they’ll hook the cable onto the fish tape. The electrician may use electrical tape to secure the cable to the tape for extra security, since there’s nothing more frustrating than losing a wire partway through the wall. Then, they’ll pull the cable through the wall to its intended destination.
If you have a relatively straight run of cable, the electrician can use a pull string to pull the cable through pre-drilled holes in your studs or between floors. Sometimes, a combination of pull string and fish tape will be required to get around corners and through angled spaces. The electrician can run a pull string along the entire route of the cable first and then pull the cable along, or they can only use it on certain segments. The electrician can also drop a pull string between floors by beginning on the upper floor and using a weight like a large washer or a plumb bob to pull it down to the lower floor with the help of gravity. Then they can tie the pull string onto the cable and pull it through to the upper floor.
A glow rod is used to push cable through a wall using an access hole. Rather than pulling the cable through similar to a fish tape, the electrician can push your cable through the wall using a glow rod. Pushing the cable through the wall can help get around some obstacles where pulling the cable might not work. The trick to using a glow rod is having an access hole at the point they are trying to push the cable to so it’s easy to grab. Otherwise, the electrician will push the cable into your wall indefinitely without ever being able to get the end needed to connect your wall plate.
If you run cable on the first floor, the electrician might be able to run most of it without going through the majority of the walls by going under the floor in the basement or crawl space. The electrician could also go up and over the ceiling in areas where you have an attic or crawlspace above the room in question. In this case, the electrician will only need an access hole at the beginning and end of your run, where your connections will be located.
The average cost to have ethernet installed by a professional is $3,800, while the average cost to DIY is $410. The majority of this cost comes from labor costs, though other cost factors include the complexity of the installation, the type of cable, and the number of ethernet outlets you need. Your local electrician can assess how many drop points you’ll need and the best type of cable for your home to give you an accurate quote.
Ethernet installation can be complicated, especially if you’re unfamiliar with networking equipment or if multiple rooms need wiring for internet access. However, if you’re an experienced electrical DIYer, you can save significant money by doing your own installation.If you have a relatively simple set-up, with one or two rooms that need access ports, wiring your home for ethernet is an achievable DIY project.
However, a more complicated set-up or one with multiple rooms on several stories will require the help of an electrical pro. Keep in mind that DIYing your ethernet cable installation makes you liable for any drywall or electrical mistakes made during the process. On the other hand, hiring an electrician guarantees a smooth, effective installation. Additionally, if you’re not fully clear on the steps to take to insall your ethernet cable, you could end up paying more in repairs than if you just started with the pro. When in doubt, call a pro.
If you run ethernet cable through the wall, you’ll find all kinds of things about the construction of your home that you didn’t know before. Here are some ways to deal with all of the frustrating surprises your electrician may encounter on the wiring journey.
Use an automotive camera to look inside your wall through only a small hole. The camera is mounted on a flexible handle, allowing you to feed it into a small space to see what’s going on.
Take a look up at the base of your wall from the basement before you start if you can to get a better idea of where plumbing and other wiring is located.
Use a stud finder to locate studs, caps, and blocks inside the wall.
Use a pencil or painter’s tape to mark studs on the outside of your wall to avoid measuring each time you drill a hole.
Look up your local codes to determine what kind of cable you’ll need and if there are any other regulations regarding wiring your home for ethernet.
You should test your ethernet connection before you close up the holes in the walls from running the cables so that you have access in case you need to fix anything.
Cables will be labeled according to the speed at which they carry information. For most home installations, CAT 5 or CAT 6 is sufficient, carrying between 5 and 10 gigabytes per second (Gbps). You should also consider avoiding cheaper, copper clad aluminum (CCA) cable in favor of copper cable because the cable will carry a signal over a longer distance with less interference. You should also reference your local codes to be sure that you are following all of the guidelines for installing cable in your wall.
Yes, you can choose to add a wireless hub to your internet set-up in order to use devices like smartphones that don’t easily connect to ethernet. Adding a wireless hub does reduce security on your network for the wireless portions, but you can keep the increased speed, reliability, and security of your wired internet on the rest of your network. You will need to add the wireless router at the point of access to the internet in order to maintain security in the rest of your network.
How far you can run your ethernet cable depends on the cable, but the maximum length of an ethernet cable is about 100 meters. For most home installations, this isn’t a problem, although in larger office buildings, some engineering is required to overcome this obstacle. Most ethernet cables will come with a maximum length on the label that will tell you how long of a cable run you can make while still maintaining a strong signal.
