Tools:
- Screwdriver
- Sheetrock Saw
- Measuring Tape
- Box For Finished Rooms
- Face Plate with Slot For an Ethernet Jack
- Ethernet Jack Module (Cat5 Cable)
Cost
- ~$20+
Adding wiring to an already finished room can be tedious and difficult work. The results though are more than worth it. Having wires laying across the floor is often inappropriate and ruins the look of a room. Here we will discuss how to add an ethernet jack to a finished room bringing internet and network connectivity to that room. I have done this to several rooms in my house to enable the X-Box to get on the internet, and bring the internet to the upstairs craft room. While wireless is easier, it is not as reliable, secure, or nearly as fast.
The first step is to run the wire to the room. Running wires will be detailed in another future tutorial. The job is much easier if you have an open basement, attic space above the room or if there is carper along the entire length of where you want the wire run. Often times a wire can be pushed in under the baseboards behind the carpet. This tutorial picks up to where you have the wire run to where the box is to be installed.
Once the wire has been run, you will need to cut a hole in the wall for the electrical box to be installed. Measure the dimensions of the box that is to be installed, and measure how high the other boxes in the room have been installed. Remember to account for the fact that the face plates extend lower than the actual box behind them. Once you have these measurements you will need to find where the studs are in the wall. They are usually placed about 18″ apart. You can find the studs by tapping on the wall and listening to the sound. If it is loud then it is empty space, softer then there is a stud. Other boxes in the room have most likely been nailed into a stud, thus making them easy to find that way also. We are going to want to install our box in the middle of two studs, studs will only get in the way of what we are trying to do. Measure the correct distance up from the floor, and using the dimensions of the box draw its outline on the wall using a pencil. Then using your sheetrock saw cut out the sheetrock.
I recommend getting a full box for finished walls, try to stay away from the metal frames that simply supply holes for the face plate as the tend to not attach as firmly. In the back of the box, there are four tabs. Using a screwdriver push in one of the tabs and thread your cable through it. Then push the box into the hole in the wall. There is no up or down to the box so you don’t have to worry about that. Do not force it into the wall as the sheetrock will break, sheetrock does not break very nicely. If it is a tight fit, take it out and cut it out a little bit more. Be careful not to cut too much away. Once it fits in nicely simply screw in the two screws that are on the box. These screws extend the two tabs on the box, pulling it against the sheetrock and holding it securely in place. Do not overtighten the screws, but make sure that they are tight enough.
Once the box is installed, it is time to attach the cat5 cable to the ethernet jack. On the jack, there is a color code specifying where each wire goes. If there are two sets of color codes follow the ‘b’ set. Just make sure you are consistent on both ends. Using the supplied punch-down tool to push the brown wire into the brown slot, the striped brown into the striped brown into the striped brown slot, etc. Once connected test your connection to make sure it works.
Now you can snap the cat5 module into the face plat. The face plate is labeled up and down on its back side, in general the flat side of the plug is up. Once that is snapped in push the wire back into the box and screw on the face plate. Attach your ethernet cable and you are finished.