Help! New House, but No Phone Jacks!
#1
09-18-07, 03:28 PM
Help! New House, but No Phone Jacks!
I moved into a new/old home and it appears when the refinished the place the covered up all of the phone jacks. All there are is electrical outlets. If I go up into the attic should I be able to see phone lines going into the walls and how do I identfy these.
Sorry first time clueless homeowner, but want to learn.
Thanks,
Joe
Sorry first time clueless homeowner, but want to learn.
Thanks,
Joe
#2
09-18-07, 05:34 PM
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Yikes!
Looks like the previous owners were........cheap
Your best bet would be to find the cable coming into the home and trace it's location. Look on the outside of your home where the electric meter is located, usually your demark (telephone box) will be located next to it. This should give you a point of reference in the attic/basement to trace the wire.
If for some odd reason there are no phone lines, it's not dificult to fish some in the walls in most cases.
Looks like the previous owners were........cheap
Your best bet would be to find the cable coming into the home and trace it's location. Look on the outside of your home where the electric meter is located, usually your demark (telephone box) will be located next to it. This should give you a point of reference in the attic/basement to trace the wire.
If for some odd reason there are no phone lines, it's not dificult to fish some in the walls in most cases.
#3
09-19-07, 03:56 AM
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Depending on the age of the house, if it's really old, the original installation may have used exposed wiring along the baseboards with small square boxes mounted to the baseboards. They may have been a casualty of the renovation.
My house was built in 1973 and they used 4-pair crossconnect from the attic into every room. This consists of one pair each of blue/white, orange/white, green/white and brown/white. The wires are thin (24-gauge) and twisted around each other.
My mom's house, built in the 50's, used a cable containing one each of red, green, yellow, and black wires.
You may also find cables containing two pairs of blue/white & orange/white, or four pairs of the same colors as my house.
My house was built in 1973 and they used 4-pair crossconnect from the attic into every room. This consists of one pair each of blue/white, orange/white, green/white and brown/white. The wires are thin (24-gauge) and twisted around each other.
My mom's house, built in the 50's, used a cable containing one each of red, green, yellow, and black wires.
You may also find cables containing two pairs of blue/white & orange/white, or four pairs of the same colors as my house.
#5
09-19-07, 05:37 AM
The house I live in had exactly one telephone when I moved in. We bought the house from a retired couple and I think it was common in the day for people to have one telephone in the house, period.
Another possibility is that someone switched over to using cordless telephones. You can buy systems that have multiple handsets and a single base station unit.
Regardless, you can easily run phone wires to where you need them.
As was suggested, find where the line enters the house. You can then possibly trace it in the house to see if it does go anywhere. If it does not, or you just want to abandon what is there, you can start new.
I recommend that you also run Ethernet (cat-5e) and coaxial (RG-6) cables at the same time as you run phone lines (use either cat-5e or cat-3 for the phone lines), so as to provide maximum flexibility.
Another possibility is that someone switched over to using cordless telephones. You can buy systems that have multiple handsets and a single base station unit.
Regardless, you can easily run phone wires to where you need them.
As was suggested, find where the line enters the house. You can then possibly trace it in the house to see if it does go anywhere. If it does not, or you just want to abandon what is there, you can start new.
I recommend that you also run Ethernet (cat-5e) and coaxial (RG-6) cables at the same time as you run phone lines (use either cat-5e or cat-3 for the phone lines), so as to provide maximum flexibility.
#6
09-22-07, 12:29 AM
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Racraft is right. I had the same situation. I ran coax and cat5 to the same location in every room. Ethernet (computer cable) is a nice addition, but I opted not to run the extra cable because I use a wireless router. The only reason why I ran cat5 for the phones was because I had a bunch laying around that were scraps from work. Cat 3's fine for phones otherwise.
#7
09-22-07, 07:18 AM
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A note about Cat5 vs wireless - we do large uploads and downloads on a regular basis and noticed a slowdown with the wireless. The microwave also interferes with the signal. We are running Cat 5 in the remodel for dedicated PCs and keep the wireless for mobile surfing 
#8
09-22-07, 04:47 PM
If you ever have the choice, wired is the way to go. It is more secure than wireless and you don't have the same channel for every communication that is taking place. I even suggest wired connections if you plan on living in the house for an extended period of time.
In my opinion, wireless only make sense if you have a laptop or other wireless device that you intend to move around from location to location within the house, or if you will only be in the house a short period of time and running wires would not make sense.
In my opinion, wireless only make sense if you have a laptop or other wireless device that you intend to move around from location to location within the house, or if you will only be in the house a short period of time and running wires would not make sense.
#9
09-26-07, 06:53 AM
Originally Posted by racraft
If you ever have the choice, wired is the way to go. It is more secure than wireless and you don't have the same channel for every communication that is taking place. I even suggest wired connections if you plan on living in the house for an extended period of time.
In my opinion, wireless only make sense if you have a laptop or other wireless device that you intend to move around from location to location within the house, or if you will only be in the house a short period of time and running wires would not make sense.
In my opinion, wireless only make sense if you have a laptop or other wireless device that you intend to move around from location to location within the house, or if you will only be in the house a short period of time and running wires would not make sense.
Much less latency on the wire as well.
#10
11-04-08, 11:53 AM
Originally Posted by joed
If the house is old it may have had only one phone. There probably never were phone jacks in all the rooms.
#11
11-19-08, 10:38 AM
Originally Posted by Joe T.
I moved into a new/old home and it appears when the refinished the place the covered up all of the phone jacks. All there are is electrical outlets. If I go up into the attic should I be able to see phone lines going into the walls and how do I identfy these.
Sorry first time clueless homeowner, but want to learn.
Thanks,
Joe
Sorry first time clueless homeowner, but want to learn.
Thanks,
Joe
