OTHER TECH

Step 5: Drill Sooner rather than later, you'll be drilling through studs or joists to route your wiring. Since the home run will have the most wire, it will require the largest hole or several holes. Drill into the center of the stud, avoiding the extreme top or bottom. Using a bit larger than 13/4 inches might require checking with a local building inspector to make sure it doesn't violate code. Also, drilling through laminated beams or headers is verboten. Finally, do not share holes with electrical wiring - drill separate ones for the A/V cables.

Step 6: Be Careful with the Pulls Don't put too much tension on the cabling. Pulling too hard can cause it to stretch and lose its rating. Also, avoid kinks and knots in Cat-5, since they will significantly lower its bandwidth. Tight bends in video cabling can move its impedance off the 75-ohm spec, leading to poor picture quality. Stay at least a stud bay away, if possible, from electrical wires, and cross them at a 90° angle. Electrical signals run at 60 Hz, which can produce a hum through speakers. The jackets on some wires (especially RG-6 coax cable) can "burn" through and damage or destroy other wires, so don't let wires drag across each other during your pulls. Finally, wait until the very end to pull the wiring through the holes at the home run - this will keep you from fighting every pull.

Step 7: Pull Extra Wiring If you're going to go to all the trouble of pulling your own wiring, make sure you have to do it only once! Take the time to pull extra cables - especially Cat-5, which is cheap and capable of doing so many things: audio, video, HDMI, data, control, and more. Running conduit from your home run to access points between each floor, the attic, and crawlspaces will also provide a great pathway for adding future technologies.

Step 8: Label and Protect Clearly labeling each wire as soon as it's pulled will save a lot of time and aggravation later. If you're running wires before the house is sheetrocked or painted, coil them up and cover them with plastic cling wrap to keep them protected until you're ready to install your gear. And that's a wrap!

For more wiring tips, see Ready to Retrofit, How to Run Wire Through a Wall, and Basic Cable.

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