Want to make sure I am not creating apotential for a house fire, or any other bad issues.
I am prepping for my FiOS install, and am running all new RG6 and Cat 6 in my home. Trying to do it right, and not have things visible.
My home is a split-foyer two-story, and I have a closet on the bottom level that I am calling my "telecom" closet. This is where I will have the Tech place the ONT and related equipment. (The tech actually already saw the spot last week when he came out for a service call. He stated it was a good spot.)
My plan of attack is to run the cabling (both coax and Cat6) from the closet straight up the inside of a wall, all the way into the attic, and back down walls and into rooms. This really is the simplest way given the fact all of my walls and ceilings are finished up.
I am using RG6 quad shield and Cat6 UTP. I'm pretty sure the Cat6 I purchased from monoprice is rated for in-wall use. I know for sure the coax is.
I will have 8 runs of the RG6 and 19 runs of the Cat6 (covering both voice and LAN ports). Logest of those runs will be 75 ft.
So the question(s)...
Is there anything I can do WRONG in installing this in my walls? That's probably a loaded question, but other than the obvious stuff like pull tension and kinking/nicking the cabling, etc... is there anything fire-hazard-related that I should ensure I avoid?
I will be going through frame/floor joists (not studs) in the floor twice in order to make it to the attic, and then of course again in various spots to drop back down into the walls of rooms. Any concerns with this? How big should my hole NOT be in the 2x4 stud, which is really only 3.5 inch? So I am thinking it's obviously important to keep the diameters of my holes down to 1-inch or so? So I'll probably need to bundles and two holes... maybe coax bundled and Cat 6 bundled, each running through a seperate spot in the joist. I'm thinking out loud here really... just looking for advice.
And what about the one spot where it is impossible for me to avoid the 120v line that my bundle of runs will perpendicularly cross past in the wall? In other words they will be up against it really (because the interior of wall is only 4 inches wide of course). This would be all runs passing by this 120 line in one spot. Should I run them past this area inside a stick of conduit in just this area? I do have access inside the wall, thanks to a drywall saw and boredom the other night.
Additional thought... am I required to fire-stop the holes I make?
Bottom line, I want to ensure I am doing this correctly inside my walls.
Thanks for any help.
Regards,
Rusty
As far as fire concerns, the lines are low voltage so there are no issues. You should be fine running across a high voltage source, however if you have to run with the high voltage the L\V lines need to be a minimum of Ft away to avoid interference. Codes are different for different states on the holes you drill, but a safe bet is if you take out more than a third of the stud a nail plate should be installed. If possible you shouldn't drill the joists, run on top of them. You only have to foam/firestop the holes if you are drilling through a firestop. So the top plate holes would need to foamed along with any other horizontal fire breaks installed between the studs.
Thanks!
Although my only way to the attic would to be to drill through the joists. But maybe I am using the wrong term when I say "joist" though. I think the correct term might be the "sole plate"...?? In other words, not the floor joists, but rather the bottom most horizontal portion of a framed wall. This is the portion I would assume that many floor-to-floor runs might penetrate, yes?
How do I know if it’s a fire-stop? Is any horizontal surface between two levels of a structure considered a fire-stop?
Regarding the pass by the high-voltage line... would it be beneficial to place the cable runs in conduit just in this section? Or is that a bad idea?
If it’s beneficial, what type conduit?
Thanks for the help!
I have always known it to be called "bottom plate" and it is ok to drill through. Although just like the top plate of a wall you would need to foam the hole.
As to the fire stop question, all horizontal breaks of continuous air space are a fire stop, however not all are considered/called fire stops. All penetrations of the top or bottom plate must be sealed. Generally extra fire stops are put in any wall over 8', normally on outside walls where there is a joint in the plywood sheeting. In an enclosed wall the only way to know they are there is if you can't feed the wire all they down the wall.
As to the cross wire, conduit really wouldn't help. Any interference you would get would be electromagnetic and the conduit wouldn't stop that.
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