Building a Home Office Series: Installing High Speed Internet

by Dave Donovan

In many of today's homes, the high speed Internet connection is networked wirelessly to a number of computers, laptops and peripherals. However, with a home office, you don't want to rely on a wireless Internet connection. For professionalism and connectivity concerns, your computer should be hard-wired to the router.

You can install the cable modem and router in your office, or you can run an Ethernet cable from wherever your router is located to your home office, whichever you desire. The most important thing is to have a constant connection and not one that is easily impacted by the weather, the microwave oven and many other scenarios.

If your home office already has a cable outlet installed, then all you have to do is connect the modem and router and make the necessary connections to your computer. But, if you don't have a cable outlet in the room, you will have to install one. Here is how you do it.

You will need:

• RG-6 coaxial cable (as many feet as necessary)
  
• Coaxial cable connectors
  
• Coaxial cable wall plate
  
• Old-work wall box
  
• Non-metallic fish tape
  
• Utility knife
  
• Drywall saw
  
• Cable crimper
• Drill and bits if necessary to route wire between floors or studs

Step 1: Locate your cable's central hub in the house. This is where the main line branches out to the other rooms. It will feature a large, multi-port splitter. If there are no ports available, then you may have to purchase one with more outputs.

Step 2: Use the fish tape to run the coaxial cable from the main hub to the home office. If you have to go between floors or wall studs, you may have to cut a piece of drywall out and drill access holes. Once the job is complete, you will then have to go back and make the wall repairs.

Step 3: Find the location in the home office where you are going to install the cable outlet. Trace the old-work box at the location and cut the outline out with a drywall saw. Fish the cable through the hole.

Step 4: Remove a knockout on the old-work box and run the cable into the box. Push the wall box into the hole and secure it by tightening the two side screws.

Step 5: Use the utility knife to strip about an inch of the outer sheath off of the cable. Then, carefully use the knife to cut through the plastic insulator at the mid-point. This should leave you with the exposed copper core. Slide a cable connector over the cable and use the crimper to secure it to the cable. Screw the cable onto the inside port of the cable plate and secure the plate to the wall box.

Step 6: Follow the same cable stripping and connector installation on the other end of the cable at the hub. Connect the cable line to the main splitter.

Step 7: Now, just hook up your modem, router and computer and you can be surfing in seconds!

Dave Donovan is a freelance copywriter living in Atco, N.J. An electrician for 15 years, an injury forced him to pursue his true passion - writing.

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