What is the RIGHT way to run a cable through an exterior wall?

[Wade Lippman]

I just asked a question about running an Ethernet cable.
There is a two opening low voltage box in the area with a TV cable and a filler. I decided to run the Ethernet in place of the filler.
First problem is that the area to drill was above the basement wall, so I only had 6" of space to drill iin.
Second problem is that it is an exterior wall, full of insulation. It took me an hour to poke a wire in the new hole and find it at the box. (the box was like a standard electrical box, but the back was missing; not as minimal as it should have been.)
I taped a string to the wire and pulled it though.
I taped the Ethernet cable to the string and pulled it through.
That was the big problem. It kept getting snagged on the insulation and I was really lucky to have succeeded.
Presumably there is a better way. I mean, they get them up a full story don't they and I only went 15".

So how do you get an Ethernet cable through an exterior wall? JIt would have been much better to have taken plain cable and put the end on once it was through; can you do that?

[Rich Riddle]

I either use a fish tape or the flexible rods that you can see in the dark. You can attach your wire to either of those and pull. Pushing that wire is going to be like trying to push string.

[Chris Padilla]

Fishing wires through walls is a bit of an art but it also takes some intuition about how a wall is built and what might be in the wall that gets in your way. Along with the fish tape and flex rods Rich mentioned, a drop chain can also be used if working from above and needing to go down but that assumes nothing will be in the wall, like insulation, that will get in the way, so interior walls work best with a chain.

[John Terefenko]

Taper the tape on the line so it cuts through the insulation. Don't bunch it up. It has to be sleek.

[Jay Jolliffe]

What John said. Works great.

[Rich Riddle]

the rods have a "spear like" front attachment you can push through insulation. It's quite effective.

[paul cottingham]

We always fished with fibreglass poles; we had 2 sets, a really rigid set and a really flexible set we used whichever one the situation called for. Ours came with the point, it had a hole drilled thru it presumably for pulling, but we always taped wire to the pole for pulling.

Taping is is in itself an art, keeping it tight, but still able to be removed. As an aside, never pull with an end on the cable, a) it will snag, and b) you will get better performance if the in the wall cable has two female connectors on it. Don't even think about pulling one of those through a wall space. You'll lose it for sure.

[Gary Cunningham]

Back in my satellite install days we used a long 7/16 wood bit. Drill hole, then strip the wire back & run some through the hole in the bit. Tape the stripped wire to the non-stripped and pull the bit back out of the hole.

it works better with one guy pulling the bit as another guy feeds the wire.

[John K Jordan]

...So how do you get an Ethernet cable through an exterior wall? JIt would have been much better to have taken plain cable and put the end on once it was through; can you do that?


Yes, I usually run the cable through then crimp on the connector afterwards. It takes a special tool but is not rocket science, you just have to line up the wires in the right order.

When pulling any wires I usually use a long piece of stiff wire (I use thin steel welding rod made for gas/heliarc welding), make a hook if needed then tape the connection so it is smooth with nothing to catch on insulation or anything else. If insulation is in the wall I use some rod or tool like a big screwdriver to expand a tunnel through the insulation so I can see light before I start to feed.

Sometimes an inspection camera (with a stiff, flexible shaft) helps - if there is enough space inside you can tape the wire to the camera and see to guide it perfectly to the other side. I bought a Bosch camera long ago and it has been invaluable for working in walls and ceilings. These cameras have a light on the end, hook and magnet attachments, and some are pretty cheap these days.

Another thing I've done for wires through walls, insulation or not: feed a peice of plastic conduit through the hole and glue it into place. This makes pushing things through easy, both initially and later if there is any rework. I did this in my shop when bringing compressed air lines through insulated walls. I had to feed four pipes at once from a manifold I built. Pushing them through insulation would have been frustrating.

JKJ

[paul cottingham]

As an old cabler, I don't recommend crimping ends onto solid wire. It will fail eventually, unless you buy a very specific (and more expensive and hard to find) kind of end, and use a proper, (and expensive) crimping tool. Buy the proper, female rj45 ends, punch them down on both ends, and use a patch cable. Not only will it last forever, it will be faster as well.

i know many people "get away" with the other way of cabling, but 20 years of troubleshooting installs: many, many times the problem was a hand crimped cable with the wrong end on the wrong kind of wire.

just a thought.

[John K Jordan]

As an old cabler, I don't recommend crimping ends onto solid wire. It will fail eventually, unless you buy a very specific (and more expensive and hard to find) kind of end, and use a proper, (and expensive) crimping tool. Buy the proper, female rj45 ends, punch them down on both ends, and use a patch cable. Not only will it last forever, it will be faster as well.

I have no idea what I use but it is the same cable, ends, and crimping tool used by the pros. (yes, not cheap) I buy the cable bulk.

BTW, I ran ethernet underground (in conduit) 300 ft to my shop. It it pretty useful for security system, WiFi, and personal cell tower (femtocell) since reception was otherwise worthless in my metal-roofed building.

JKJ

[Robert Delhommer Sr]

A straightened coat hanger works good for short distances like 15"

[paul cottingham]

I have no idea what I use but it is the same cable, ends, and crimping tool used by the pros. (yes, not cheap) I buy the cable bulk.

BTW, I ran ethernet underground (in conduit) 300 ft to my shop. It it pretty useful for security system, WiFi, and personal cell tower (femtocell) since reception was otherwise worthless in my metal-roofed building.

JKJ
Professional cablers? Or electricians? Cause if it's electricians, I'd be careful. I made a damn good living cleaning up network cabling after electricians. (Profound apologies to any electricians here who cabled, and knew what they were doing.) honestly, if they pulled a 300' wire and terminated it with male rj45s rather than with female ones, frankly, they don't know what they are doing.

If if you don't believe me, try certifying one. You can't, because a certifier comes with male ends. If you put adapters on them, the cable will fail.

Listen, do what you want. But the OP asked for the RIGHT way to run an Ethernet cable. And that how you do it.

[John K Jordan]

Professional cablers? Or electricians?

Paul, not to worry. I got my info from pros who handled the IT needs at the large gov lab where I worked. These ladies and gentlemen interconnected everything from thousands of office and lab desktops to specialized industrial equipment to super computer installations.

For those unsure of how to make a good connection, the tunnel and conduit method I mentioned works well with a pre-made commercial cable. I recommend sealing the conduit with something such as non-expanding foam if it breaches an exterior wall or can otherwise admit moisture or bugs.

JKJ