My Wiring Plan

So I'm going to be wiring my house up in the next few weeks (probably about 2 weeks). I made a list of what I THINK i need. I may be way off on some things. Please feel free to tell me I'm an idiot if I'm way off. I plan to run HDMI over cat5e for my video, which is why you will see at least 3 and as many as 5 cat5e for each video location. All wires will be run directly to the destination from the wiring closet. I'd like to be able to locally control the volume for the in ceiling speakers (centrally applified), so to do this I'm assuming I'd have to run a wire to the keypad then to the speaker. Any help is GREATLY appreciated, feeling overwhelmed


Kitchen
Purpose Wire
Network Drops 2xCat5e
Video RG6
Video 3xCat5e
In Ceiling Speakers 2x 16/2
Security camera Cat5e
Keypad access Cat5e &16/2

Great Room
Purpose Wire
Network Drops 4x Cat5e
Video 5x Cat5e
Video 3x RG6
Audio 7-1 7x 16/2
Audio - Sub RG-6
Keypad Acess Cat5e & 16/2

Deck
Purpose Wire
Network Drop 1 Cat5e
Video 3x Cat5e
Video RG6
Security Camera Cat5e
Security/Door 2x22/2
Audio 2x 16/2

Front Door
Security Camera Cat5e
Front Door Security 22/2

Master Bedroom
Purpose Wire
Network Drops 2x Cat5e
Video 4x Cat5e
Video 1x RG6
Keypad Acess Cat5e & 16/2
In Ceiling Speakers 1x 16/2

Master Bath
Purpose Wire
Audio 2x 16/2
Video 1xRG6
Video 3x Cat5e
Keypad Acess Cat5e & 16/2

Second Bath
Purpose Wire
Audio 1x 16/2

Second Bedroom
Purpose Wire
Network Drops 2x Cat5e
Video 4x Cat5e
Video 1x RG6
Keypad Acess Cat5e & 16/2
In Ceiling Speakers 1x 16/2

Third Bedroom
Purpose Wire
Network Drops 2x Cat5e
Video 4x Cat5e
Video 1x RG6
Keypad Acess Cat5e & 16/2
In Ceiling Speakers 1x 16/2

Purely my own opinions attached - but here's my thoughts...

1. If there's any way possible, try to run real HDMI too; there are plenty of baluns out there, but if you can get a real HDMI cable (50' or less) then that's usually ideal. Affordable ones can be had from monoprice.com in pretty long lengths.
2. For your centrally amplified speakers, are you going for true multi-zone music, or just single source that can be shared around the house? The *most* universal way to do whole-house-audio is to run speaker wires from the amp location to the keypad location (looped through) then up to the ceiling speaker. This provides flexibility for direct speaker run or any systems that use locally amplified keypads. Also run a Cat5 to the keypad, and consider if you'd want any local-sources in a room (multi-zone system) as many let you run a speaker input to the keypad to another location (behind the TV or nightstand).
3. For your Video/RG6 locations - Personally I'd run 2x of those - reason being, a single application like DirecTV makes full use of the cable - nothing left to multiplex some cameras onto the wire or anything like that - so a second can be a nice option.
4. For your keypads, Cat5e + 18/2 is usually sufficient, though I'd prefer 18/4. You don't need the 16 gauge but the extra 2 wires could be handy now or in the future.
5. Kind of a general comment, but I personally don't like the idea of a central keypad; I like having several around the exits and also one in the master bedroom. Reason - the keypads are where you enter/exit; if using the Elk and have the speakers behind the keypads, it makes for good distribution of speakers around the house as well; often it makes it harder for someone to look in the house and see the status of the alarm (if you forget to arm, etc). Save the "central" location for a touchscreen.
6. Consider if you want any auxiliary screamers/piezo sirens - they're horribly loud and effective for little current draw; same with any indoor strobes you might want. Either will run of 18/2.
7. I don't see mention of Motions; but if you're talking security, the basics are 22/2 do any door/window contact, and 22/4 for any powered sensors (motions, glass breaks, etc). If you need to get into placement of those we can help - especially if you have a floorplan to upload.
8. For security cameras, CatX cable is often fine with the baluns available, but for the absolute most flexibility, you could run a RG6&18/2 Siamese cable as well - that'll handle power and analog video as well and support all options.
9. Hopefully this goes without saying, but please make sure to use in-wall rated speaker wires...
10. For front doors, I'd do 2x CatX wire - in case you do camera and doorbell/intercom station.
11. Another one I recommend these days - depending on the house size and layout, I often recommend some ceiling mounted Wireless Access Points these days - they're so clean and if you can pre-wire, you can make a very nice looking install for them - several brands are available. It's not effective just putting an all-in-one router in the closet with your equipment - if you get them out into the open they'll perform so much better.
12. For the Master Bedroom, consider if you want to pre-wire for a touchscreen on/in the wall in the future.
13. For your in-ceiling speakers, it looks like you've only spec'd for a single speaker in most rooms - I would *definitely* wire 16/4 instead! Even if only going for a single speaker for a small space like a bathroom, you'll get much better sound with a Dual Voice Coil speaker (two speakers in one housing so you still get left/right imaging). In most rooms like a bedroom or living space, you'd want at least 2 speakers.
14. At first I thought Keypad Access was security, but now they're in every room - is that your audio keypad? Either way I covered it above; just curious.

Just some of my thoughts to work through - please follow up with any additional questions.

Thanks work2play. Here are my questions/comments

1. Thats fair I'm going to attempt to run them on the first floor and could probably run them to the second too. Do I just get female to female? How does this work?
2. When you say loop through what do you mean. How do I prewire this
3. Will do
4. Will do 18/4
5. I thought I had a few keypads. I am hoping to be able to control security from a few areas, will wire to reflect that
6. Will add this
7. I agree. I will add them
8. Will consider adding the siamese
9. Yes
10. Will do
11. This is a great idea. Any links to describe the install? Do I need to do anything more than prewire before drywall?
12. Yes would want to pre-wire for touchscreen. This is what I had for keypad access. If this is not the wiring needed for this please let me know
13. Two single coil speakers? Not an issue and I will wire for this, but need to know if I should 16/2 or 16/4 if two speakers
14. I want to have audio as well as touchscreen access in all of these locations

A few more questions:

I need to order my equipment today, any recommendations for speaker mounting brackets, wire stapler that I can use with all of the wire
Any easy way to estimate the amount of wire needed?
How do I handle the fireplace, the TV will be going above it. Should I run all wire right next to it or above it where the TV will be.

This is long - so I'll try & add comments inline this time:

1. Thats fair I'm going to attempt to run them on the first floor and could probably run them to the second too. Do I just get female to female? How does this work?
Check out Monoprice and find the right length - just one super long patch cable.
2. When you say loop through what do you mean. How do I prewire this
Run the speaker wire from your source location to the keypad along side the Cat5, then up to the speaker location. Some whole house audio systems amplify at the source, and some do at the keypad - this allows for both. Have enough slack there that someone could cut the wire and attach to the keypad if necessary. You don't have to do this, but it adds flexibility.
5. I thought I had a few keypads. I am hoping to be able to control security from a few areas, will wire to reflect that
I saw the word "keypad" in nearly every room so I wasn't sure at that point if you meant for audio or security. Basically my personal recommendations for keypads is right near the main doors you use - along with the master bedroom. Especially with something like an Elk with the speaker behind, it lets you hear things like door chirps and alerts well around the house vs. just a central spot in the middle.
11. This is a great idea. Any links to describe the install? Do I need to do anything more than prewire before drywall
These are generally POE so as long as you have an ethernet cable, you're in good shape. They'd be powered from the source end. A couple that I use are Ubiquiti or Engenius (I like the Ubiquiti ones the best).
12. Yes would want to pre-wire for touchscreen. This is what I had for keypad access. If this is not the wiring needed for this please let me know
It's hard to say for sure with Touchscreens - it depends on what you end up using. For a lot of the self-contained options (keypad, elk touchscreens, etc) you're fine with a single Cat5; if you run software like HomeSeer or CQC and use their touchscreen, you might do something different - either an all-in-one computer, or a remote touchscreen; in those cases you need to be able to accommodate more power or a video connection. Personally I think an iPad nicely mounted is the way to go these days - and there's a great list of all the iPad mounts on the market here on CT.
13. Two single coil speakers? Not an issue and I will wire for this, but need to know if I should 16/2 or 16/4 if two speakers
This is all about audio quality - but basically, each voice coil uses 16/2; so if you run a Dual Voice Coil speaker (the best way to keep stereo imaging when only using a single speaker) then you need two runs, of 16/2 or a single 16/4. In any room bigger than a bathroom I'd run at least 2 single voice coil speakers. In a large master bedroom or great room I'd probably do 4 - but we like to enjoy our music a little louder than others.
14. I want to have audio as well as touchscreen access in all of these locations
Ah ok - if you've got the budget for it, that's definitely the way to go. I still haven't found my perfect touchscreen solution...

A few more questions:

I need to order my equipment today, any recommendations for speaker mounting brackets, wire stapler that I can use with all of the wire
Any easy way to estimate the amount of wire needed?
Honestly I don't usually worry as much about how much I'll need as I do making the install easier; if a single location will have 5x Cat5e wires and 3 RG6, I'll have 5 boxes Cat5e and 3 spools of RG6 so I can bundle the wires and pull them together. It's not the most cost effective, but it's the most efficient time-wise. There's another thread here right now with discussion on proper hangers; I don't like stapling wire, though it's very rare I'm only running a single wire anywhere. I like to use cable stackers or j-hooks meant for this.

How do I handle the fireplace, the TV will be going above it. Should I run all wire right next to it or above it where the TV will be.
Depends on your equipment; but most likely you'll have an equipment stack nearby and just need to run an HDMI and maybe return audio from the stack to the TV itself; If it were me, I'd run HDMI and a pair of RCA's along with an empty run of smurf tube from a recessed box above the fireplace to wherever your source equipment will live.

Thanks for all your help. i think I'm pretty clear. My one question still is on the HDMI. I'd like to be able to have my HDMI neatly plugged into a plate on the wall. I can still use a normal male to male HDMI cable for this? Not farmiliar with how the plates are. Thanks

Also. In attempting to estimate the amount of wire needed. I'm thinking around 2000 ft of cat5e should do it. but may get 3000 just in case (plus another box to pull)

Here are a couple of options for HDMI outlets. I have never tried these, but they seem to fit your requirement.


http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10426&cs_id=1042609&p_id=6852&seq=1&format=2

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10425&cs_id=1042501&p_id=7330&seq=1&format=2

Here is what I have so far for the house: still need the 22awg security wire but think I have everything else


500ft 16AWG CL2 Rated 2-Conductor Loud Speaker Cable (For In-Wall Installation) $73.76 $73.76 3963
30ft 24AWG CL2 Standard HDMI® Cable - Black $24.28 $48.56 4040
250ft 14AWG CL2 Rated 4-Conductor Loud Speaker Cable (For In-Wall Installation) $104.73 $104.73 7482
1000ft RG6 (18AWG), Quad Shield, CL2 Bulk Cable - White $149.00 $149.00 888
1000FT 24AWG Cat5e 350MHz UTP Stranded, In-Wall Rated (CM), Bulk Ethernet Bare Copper Cable - Blue $83.24 $83.24 889
1000FT 24AWG Cat5e 350MHz UTP Stranded, In-Wall Rated (CM), Bulk Ethernet Bare Copper Cable - Red $83.24 $83.24 891
1000FT 24AWG Cat5e 350MHz UTP Stranded, In-Wall Rated (CM), Bulk Ethernet Bare Copper Cable - Orange $83.24 $83.24

For HDMI, I would either go with some sort of keystone coupler like rockinarmadillo linked above, or the next best option would be using RapidRun cables with their flying leads - they have wall-plate versions as well.

What's the reason for the 3 different Cat5 colors? I know people used to do different colors for telephone vs. LAN, but IMO, it's best to use a single color, all terminated exactly the same - that way you have the ultimate in future flexibility, and your wire stacks in the closet look better. If you try to use different colors for different standards, before long something will change and cross colors making the whole scheme obsolete anyways... at least that's my opinion. The exception might be the security wires since they'll be run to a different place and not a patch panel - but at that point, I use the Cat5 I already have and don't buy a dedicated color anyway.

Looks like you're just about ready!

Work2Play said:

For HDMI, I would either go with some sort of keystone coupler like rockinarmadillo linked above, or the next best option would be using RapidRun cables with their flying leads - they have wall-plate versions as well.

What's the reason for the 3 different Cat5 colors? I know people used to do different colors for telephone vs. LAN, but IMO, it's best to use a single color, all terminated exactly the same - that way you have the ultimate in future flexibility, and your wire stacks in the closet look better. If you try to use different colors for different standards, before long something will change and cross colors making the whole scheme obsolete anyways... at least that's my opinion. The exception might be the security wires since they'll be run to a different place and not a patch panel - but at that point, I use the Cat5 I already have and don't buy a dedicated color anyway.

Looks like you're just about ready!

Click to expand...

Only thing is I can't find 22/2 or 22/4 on monoprice. Am I missing something?

Oh and one other thing. I want to get enclosures for the in ceiling speakers. Recommendations? going with 8" speakers mainly from monoprice

Don't forget conduit. Run it from your wiring closet to the attic or basement, and from all major locations to attic or basement. Whatever wire you run today, you will need somethign different in the future.

I would confirm with your AHJ regarding leaving raceways. Some are very strict while others are very permissive.

We've had inspectors allow bare conduit packed with fire caulk and duct seal and others that required us to break up the run and end the conduits in an enclosure, while still having a very strict municipality reject any sort of raceway, no matter how it was run or terminated. I think one of the worst I had to deal with, while allowing us to run a raceway, required it to be run in EMT and terminate at steel enclosures.

Will keep that in mind.

My only question now is how to run the security wire. Do I just run them and leave them next to the door or window? How much wire to leave. any pics anywhere?

My 2 cents on the hdmi. As work2play mentioned, monoprice hdmi cables are great. I have several of them in 50 and 75' runs and they work. I ran large conduit to the TV sites (actually used left over central vac pipe) which easily accommodates the connectors. I did not put jacks at the wall but rather ran the wire directly through a cover plate with a large central hole. Since these are behind the TV, you can't see them. Every connector contributes to signal loss and I saw no reason to waste the time/money/effort of potentially lowering the signal strength and gaining nothing. But this is something you do after the house is done anyway so no decision need be made now. If you want to terminate the wires at wall plates at both ends, life will be harder since you will need the wire in the correct length. This means terminating the wires yourself. I would not run the cables loose in the walls since odds are a few years from now hdmi standards will change and your wire will be obsolete. Also, there may be issues with your inspector.

I also would suggest being very generous with running conduit. I ran tons of it through my house and wish I had run more. It is cheaper and more versatile to run conduit than it is to run all kinds of extra "just in case wires". Conduit costs are about the same as a lot of the wires you might use and odds are you will use less than half as much wire in the end. A used some of the smurf tube but prefer the grey plastic electric conduit. It is easier to run fish tape through it, cheaper, and surprisingly flexible when you warm it a touch with a propane torch.