Plasterboard and wiring...

I'd like to install a couple of ethernet, phone and coax (antenna) connections in an old fibro home I have just purchased. Trouble is that underhouse access is ridiculously tight (well no way am I going to fit anyway :) ) so my only other option is to go from the roof down. I obviously need to drill down from the ceiling to the ground to thread the wires through. Can anyone offer me some advice on how best to approach this?

My plan was to use a stud finder to locate crossmembers in the wall and cut a gyprock panel enough for a drill to fit and drill a hole repeating this until I reach the ground. Now to make replacing the gyrpock panel easier I was thinking of cutting it so it overlapped with the vertical member so that I could glue/stick the panel back on to give it some stability when I put it back into position and plaster around it. Does this seem the right way to go about it? Note about 10 wires will be fed down (2 RJ45, 2RJ11, 1Coax) for each room. The wall will be shared by 2 rooms so I only have to cut one wall's gyprock.

Any other ideas on how to tackle this or tips from those that have done it.?

I hate retrofitting wiring in old houses. I thought wireless would be fine but it's performance sucked for what I want and you can't have wirless aerial connections so in for a penny, in for a pound as they say. I'd hire a tradesman in a second but am on a budget which won't allow it.

RePO

A lot is going to depend on a few things. If your ceilings are higher than 2.400 metres you will probably have two noggins. If that is the case it is going to be difficult because the spacings of the noggins are going 1/3 of the height of the ceiling.

If it is only 2.400 it means you need a speed bore or spade bit with a 1200 extension. You can buy extensions from electrical wholesalers to do this.

Before you could buy them my friend who is an electrician had one made up by welding a steel rod to a speed bore. You would want about a 11/4" to 11/2" speedbore.

Once you have the holes drilled cut your holes at the bottom then get a strong cord and tie a sinker to it to drop it down through the holes then draw a strong pull wire to it and pull that through then tie all your cables to the pull wire and then pull your cables through.

My suggestion is get a sparkie in he does this every other day.
Properly do it quicker and neater and would have all the necessary equipment.

Doesn't have to be a sparky though, get an antennae installer in. Will probably be cheaper.

Or get a data cabling installer.

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Originally Posted by Barry_White

RePO
If it is only 2.400 it means you need a speed bore or spade bit with a 1200 extension. You can buy extensions from electrical wholesalers to do this.

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I don't think it will be that simple. With 1200 extension I'm assuming that once I get past half the height there won't be any more horizontal members inthe wall to pass through. I have the kitchen exposed atm and the horizontal members seem to be spaced roughtly every 60 cm all the way down. The house is old and done before prefab frames so it's kind of built like a rock..

Hmm options. I'll get a studd finder and confirm how the existing walls are structured.

I appreciate the suggestions of cablers etc but money is way too tight with all the things I need to do and I figure it's a good experience anyway. Can't see a bit of plaster and tape being cheaper than a tradesman for all the rooms I want to do, 4 in total.

Oh yes the speedbor welded to a 2400 length of steel rod that bring back the days watch out it gets the wobbles up and you have to be spot on in the middle of the noggin otherwise your going to spear out through the gyprock or the fibro instead and if you are not use to this it can be a pain in the butt to operate if you are hell bent on doing it yourself i would just do what you are going to do get a stud finder and mark the noggins cut holes and drill them then feed them through then patch later a lot easier for a novice and probably cheaper in the long run! I got around this hassle on one job by running a lenght of aussie duct right along side a split A/conditioner duct work and it blended in a treat!that was on an external wall of course

If you are going to cut the plasterboard to give access which is the way I would do it I would cut battens to fix to the existing wall sheet at the top and bottom of the opening. These battens need to be longer than the opening is wide but short enough to fit between the studs. These are attached to the back of the sheet by glueing and screwing through the plasterboard. Your new panel can then be glued and screwed to these battens and will give a sound joint which can be taped and set. If you choose to drill using any length extension remember you need the clearance in the roof cavity to get the extension through the top plate to start with. If these walls are near the perimeter walls you will need to take some of the roof sheeting off to give sufficient room to get the extension with speed bore attached into the hole in the plate.

Good luck
Bob:U:U

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Originally Posted by bob w

If you are going to cut the plasterboard to give access which is the way I would do it I would cut battens to fix to the existing wall sheet at the top and bottom of the opening.

Good luck
Bob:U:U

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Thanks Bob. I was talking with the Bunnings man. For the first time in my life the guy I spoke to actually knew what he was on about and suggested the same thing as you just did. I think I'll follow this plan and see how it goes.


PS Thanks everyone for the input so far!

I've seen a couple of electricians use an old length of 'Yellow Tongue' tongue (if that makes sense) to feed teh wire through. It's stiff, yet flexible and about the same dimensions as a power cable.

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Originally Posted by OBBob

use an old length of 'Yellow Tongue' tongue.

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Yep!
As a Snakes tongue.
Slit it;
and tape the wire into the slit.
then pull it through, SLOWLY

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Originally Posted by OBBob

if that makes sense.

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:doh::B

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Originally Posted by OBBob

I've seen a couple of electricians use an old length of 'Yellow Tongue' tongue (if that makes sense) to feed teh wire through. It's stiff, yet flexible and about the same dimensions as a power cable.

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Standard issue to Telstra Techs and Linies. A great piece of kit.

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Originally Posted by Barry_White

Standard issue to Telstra Techs and Linies. A great piece of kit.

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The funny thing is that the first time I saw it I had just moved into my first house ... and I thought, that a cool tool you must be able to buy them at the electrical shops. It wasn't until later when I got into the reno's that I realised what it actually was. :doh:

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Originally Posted by OBBob

The funny thing is that the first time I saw it I had just moved into my first house ... and I thought, that a cool tool you must be able to buy them at the electrical shops. It wasn't until later when I got into the reno's that I realised what it actually was. :doh:

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I was fortunate enough to scrounge a length from Bunnings. The minute they have a spare length somebody snavels it so it's hard to get hold of unless you buy a sheet of yellow tongue.

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Originally Posted by Barry_White

I was fortunate enough to scrounge a length from Bunnings. The minute they have a spare length somebody snavels it so it's hard to get hold of unless you buy a sheet of yellow tongue.

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I keep hearing about this but in reality I have no idea what it is. If I went to bunnings and asked for yellow tongue would the guy just stare at me and laugh?

Anyone got pics so the mystery is cleared up for me once and for all?

Yellow tongue is the trade term for chipboard tongue and groove flooring. The 'tongue' is a yellow plastic material which fits into a groove in the edge of the chipboard. I have never seen it sold separately, you can usually find an offcut at a building site.

If you ask for yellow tongue at Bunnings, they would know what they thought you meant, but it would be more than you bargained for :)

http://www.chhwoodproducts.com.au/in.../Image+Library

Yellow tongue is a strip of plastic about 15mm wide by about 3mm thick by 3600mm long yellow in colour and is the strip that goes in the join of the yellow tongue flooring to lock it together so that it doesn't move up and down. It is ideal for pushing or pulling cables in roofs and walls. Electriction's, Communication workers & Telecom workers use it for pulling and pushing cables. When you see it you will know why. It is both flexible and rigid at the same time.

Thanks. I think I have a better idea of what you are talking about. :2tsup:

It comes in Green and Blue too

The color i believe is the thickness of the timber

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Originally Posted by ReP0

I keep hearing about this but in reality I have no idea what it is. If I went to bunnings and asked for yellow tongue would the guy just stare at me and laugh?

Anyone got pics so the mystery is cleared up for me once and for all?

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It's only the piece of plastic that is used as a tongue in the particleboard flooring. Yellow in 18mm thick sheets and red in 25mm thick. The board is manufactured with a groove in both edges and into one this loose plastic tongue is inserted to form a tongue and groove joint. It is very handy for anyone doing reno's but you still have to drill the holes before it can be threaded through.
Cheers
Bob:U

Thanks everyone. Seems like a handy bit of "offcut" to have. Will be keeping my eye out for it but unfortunately it seems like it's the type of thing tradies would come across during their work rather than regular joes.

Have a look in the next skip you walk past. I chucked out a heap of it a couple of years ago.

Not sure if you intend to cut a series of holes, ie at each noggin, but I suggest one single strip as deep and wide as it needs to be.

I have found it easier to patch one big piece back in than a couple of smaller pieces so don't be shy when marking out where to cut! Good luck, Ron

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Originally Posted by Ronaldo451

Not sure if you intend to cut a series of holes, ie at each noggin, but I suggest one single strip as deep and wide as it needs to be.

I have found it easier to patch one big piece back in than a couple of smaller pieces so don't be shy when marking out where to cut! Good luck, Ron

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It's kind of funny because I was just thinking the exact same thing actually while I was marking out the wall just then. Bugger cutting 3-4 small squares. I'll just cut down most of the wall starting from the first noggin at the top and the width of the vertical "noggins" so that each side of the plater cut sits on a vertical "noggin" so I don't need to do too much re-enforcing when I patch it back. It'll also mean better access with the drill rather than working in a cramped little box area.

Got all my cat6 wiring and connectors. Just waiting for the 6way keystone plates to come from the US. Couldn't source a 6way plate without paying through the nose here, plenty of 4 ways though.

I know its not in the woodwork forum spirit, but, have you considered going wireless? For computers, a wireless router modem at an existing phone socket should allow PC access throughout your house. You can get wireless phones and also wireless TV signal links too.

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Originally Posted by T-Rex

I know its not in the woodwork forum spirit, but, have you considered going wireless? For computers, a wireless router modem at an existing phone socket should allow PC access throughout your house. You can get wireless phones and also wireless TV signal links too.

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T-Rex

You must of missed his original post.

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I hate retrofitting wiring in old houses. I thought wireless would be fine but it's performance sucked for what I want and you can't have wirless aerial connections so in for a penny, in for a pound as they say. I'd hire a tradesman in a second but am on a budget which won't allow it.

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Yellow tongue is a long strip of semi rigid plastic. It comes as the tongue in chipboard flooring. It is used to help secure two sheets of flooring together. It is useful for cable work as it has the right combination of stiffness and flexibility for passing wires.

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Originally Posted by T-Rex

I know its not in the woodwork forum spirit, but, have you considered going wireless? For computers, a wireless router modem at an existing phone socket should allow PC access throughout your house. You can get wireless phones and also wireless TV signal links too.

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Yeh I do like to stream data around the house (HDTV) and be on the net downloading at the same time. I found the bandwidth was just pitiful and can't handle it anymore. I used to have wire running around the place and although unsightly it was a superior solution so I figured I'd go all out this time. I'll leave wireless for when I walk out onto the verandah or I'm sitting outside and am the only one using it. Add to this that the amount of coax outlets is extremely limited in the house and I needed to expand it was an o brainer to just go and wire it all in one go.

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Originally Posted by gpkennedy

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Thanks for the pic :2tsup: