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How to Install an Ethernet Jack for a Home Network – Fishing Cable

Bob Jackson
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by Bob Jackson

How to Install an Ethernet Jack for a Home Network. An old work wall box is installed in the drywall to wire and mount the 2nd Ethernet jack. This project is continued from How to Install an Ethernet Jack for a Home Network – Part 2.

Install an Ethernet Old Work Wall Box

The outlet will be located in the corner of the room. This location was chosen because it was close to the entertainment console and the wall cavity was readily accessible from the ceiling crawlspace. The electrical box dimensions were marked on the wall. The level is to ensure the outlet is plumb (true to vertical). The hole is cut by hand with a drywall jab saw. Tip: Saw on the push stroke to direct the dust into the wall cavity to minimize the mess on the carpet.

I used an old work electrical box in this project because I had one left over from another job. An old work low voltage mounting bracket would be a better choice and more convenient here, especially if installing several Ethernet drops or other low voltage home theater wiring.

Ethernet Outlet Box Opening Marked on the Drywall
Ethernet Outlet Box Opening Marked on the Drywall

The opening is cut in the drywall and the outlet box fitted as shown:

Fitting the Old Work Electrical Box in the Drywall
Fitting the Old Work Electrical Box in the Drywall

Fishing Ethernet Cable Inside the Wall

Working in the crawlspace between the 1st floor and the basement ceiling, I needed to run the cable down the wall to the opening for the new outlet. This problem is I needed to drill a hole through the horizontal bracing between the wall studs to the reach the basement floor level and the outlet box.

The solution is a six (6) foot long by 3/4 inch diameter drill bit! This is a Greenlee D’versibit Flexible Drill Bit that costs around $50.

72 inch Long Flexible Drill Bit
72 inch Long Flexible Drill Bit

The drill bit is placed between the basement wall studs:

Fishing Ethernet Cable: Drill Bit between the Basement Wall Studs
Fishing Ethernet Cable: Drill Bit between the Basement Wall Studs

The drill is attached and a 3/4 inch hole drilled through the 2×4 bracing.

Hole Drilled through the 2x4 Bracing to Fish Ethernet Cable
Hole Drilled through the 2×4 Bracing to Fish Ethernet Cable

Being a resourceful Handyman and building upon the crescent wrench technique, I went back to my tool box, got a 1/4 inch socket wrench extension and duct taped it to the Ethernet cable. This provided a heavy pointed weight to fish the Ethernet cable through the hole in the wall bracing.

Fishing Ethernet Cable: Duct Tape Cable to a Socket Wrench Extension
Fishing Ethernet Cable: Duct Tape Cable to a Socket Wrench Extension

The socket wrench extension dropped easily through the hole:

Fishing Ethernet Cable in a 2x4 Wall
Fishing Ethernet Cable in a 2×4 Wall

Back at floor level, I reached inside the wall and pulled the cable through the opening cut in the drywall for the new Ethernet outlet.

Fishing Ethernet Cable to Install an Ethernet Jack
Fishing Ethernet Cable to Install an Ethernet Jack

The cable is fed through an old work outlet box. An old work outlet box has wings that automatically flare out and grab the inside of the drywall when box is mounted and the screws tightened. Notice that I broke off the wire cover because it would pinch the Cat 5e cable and either kink it (causing signal loss) or possible break the light gauge wires.

An old work low voltage mounting bracket is a better choice than an outlet box because there’s more room to reach in and pull cable.

Install an Ethernet Wall Jack: Old Work Outlet Box
Install an Ethernet Wall Jack: Old Work Outlet Box

The kit for wiring up the new Ethernet jack consists of:

  • Two port wall plate
  • Blank insert
  • Ethernet jack
Ethernet Wall Jack Wiring Kit
Ethernet Wall Jack Wiring Kit

The new jack is wired as before and snapped into the wall plate.

New Ethernet Jack and Wall Plate
New Ethernet Jack and Wall Plate

The wall plate ready with the jack and blank insert.

Wall Plate with Ethernet Jack and Blank Insert
Wall Plate with Ethernet Jack and Blank Insert

The wall plate is mounted to the outlet box with the provided screws. Notice the cordless drill is set to a low speed and low torque value of “3” for a gentle touch.

Mount the Ethernet Jack Wall Plate
Mount the Ethernet Jack Wall Plate

The Ethernet jack upstairs is connected to the NetGear desktop router and a laptop is used to verify Internet connectivity and LAN connection speed (Start –> Control Panel –> Network Connections –> Local Area Connection).

Home Network Ethernet RJ-45 Jack Speed Test
Home Network Ethernet RJ-45 Jack Speed Test

Lastly, a standard Ethernet cable is plugged into the new RJ-45 wall jack and the Xbox 360. My son reports the Xbox Live performance is much improved and very pleased.

Multi-Room Ethernet Wiring Solution

As a follow-up to the original article, a reader asked what the wiring would look like for Ethernet jacks to several rooms. The following diagram illustrates the multi-room solution:

Ethernet Home Network Wiring Diagram
Ethernet Home Network Wiring Diagram

Local Area Network (LAN) Connection Diagram

The cable or DSL modem is connected to an Ethernet Switch to distribute the broadband internet service to a wall plate with four Ethernet jacks serving different rooms in the home. An inexpensive 5-port NetGear FS105NA Ethernet Switch is shown with a four position wall plate. Wall plates are available with 1 to 12 jack positions.

I personally use an 8-port NetGear FS108P Ethernet Switch with four Power-over-Ethernet Ports for my Panasonic Network Cameras as illustrated below. The NetGear Switch is connected a Linksys WRT54G WiFi router so I’ve got the bet of both worlds, wired and wireless networks.

This is a photo of the my home network equipment on a crowded shelf. From left to right are:

  • Comcast cable modem
  • NetGear WNDR4500 WiFi router
  • ISY-99i Home Automation Controller
  • NetGear Gigabit Ethernet Switch with Power over Ethernet (PoE)
  • NetGear Skype WiFi phone base unit
  • Vonage VoIP phone adapter
Home Networking Gear - Cable Modem, WiFi Router and GigE POE Switch
Home Networking Gear – Cable Modem, WiFi Router and GigE POE Switch

I’m really in need of a structured wiring panel. Please see the comments section below for addition information about structured wiring panels.

Hope this helps,

Bob Jackson

Cat 5e cableEthernet jack wall platefishing Ethernet cablehome ethernet wiringhome network
Bob Jackson
Bob Jackson
Technology product manager by day and a prolific handyman in the evenings and over the weekends. Bob was the founder of the original Handyman How To website and that tradition continues on this site with excellent new handyman content into the future.
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