Cable installation questions...(any installers out there?) (1 Viewer)

[Kevin Reckelhoff]

I recently purchased a house in the greater Chicago area. I currently subscribe to digital cable in an apartment, and I'd like to transfer to the new house.

The house is currently wired only in the family room; I would want to have it installed to the living room, master bedroom, and at least one other bedroom (for cable modem). The problem is that these rooms are not contiguous, and I don't want to put the theater equipment in the family room (fireplace makes placement difficult). The living room is on the opposite side of the house from the family room. Master bedroom is above the living room, other bedrooms are above the family room.

What are the options for running the cable? The house has a slab foundation and frame construction (built in 1977 if it matters). Ideally the cables would all be wall runs; is that something the cable company would do, or would I need to hire a contractor? Is it even possible without ripping out large pieces of the wall? Alternatively, could I run the cable from the outside source up the wall into the attic, and then drop the cable down through the floors?

Any ideas about what kind of cost this might involve? If it's too high I may just go with satellite and dsl. The living room has a south wall, and the SE exposure is pretty open.

I'm completely ignorant about home construction, so please feel free to point out things I'm not considering

(mods, if this seems more appropriate for the construction and interior forum, please move it)
thanks!

 

[JeremyFr]

Most cable companys will no longer "wall fish" you typically have to hire a contractor to do so as for costs I've never looked into it myself. Typically the cable company will run the lines on the outside of the house only and drill the walls where you want the jacks to be.

 

[Mathew Shelby]

I would second Jeremy's response. I just moved into a house near Tampa, FL. The cable company said that they would run the cable on the exterior of the house and drill a hole where the jack should go, but when the installer came, he said it would be easier for him to do a wallfish. I didn't argue with him! BTW, most cable companies will install three outlets for free (Comcast, Time Warner). I just had to pay for one so it was really nice. I needed four outlets just like you did.

 

[LewB]

Kevin:
I know that Chicago has some very tough electrical codes (due I think to the fact that most of the town burned down once). Do you know if Skokie followed along ? If so, I think I'd contact the cable company or the local building department to see what the local regulations are like. You can then decide if you want to do this yourself.

 

[Grant B]

Cable is in the low voltage catagory and doesnt have the same regulations as AC.
Generally installers get a fixed amount for cable runs and the faster the better