Cable outlet installation by someone other than the cable company?
November 28, 2011 12:42 PM Subscribe
Cable outlet installation by someone other than the cable company?
The cable TV wiring in my house is hinky (long, long runs along the floor rather than in the walls, splitters in odd places, etc.) It looks like the previous owner did a little DIY and made it functional, but only just so. I am tripping over wires and the whole thing is not neat, and it bothers me. Also I need a couple of new outlets.
BUT ... I hate Comcast with every fiber of my being. I don't want to call them and have them do this work because a) I think they will overcharge me, b) I know I will end up waiting around all day, and c) Just on principle I don't want to give them money if I don't have to.
Is this the kind of thing that there are "independent contractors" to do? Or would that be needlessly complicated and I should just suck it up and deal with Comcast?
I don't need a home theater or any fancy audio or a bunch of wall-mounted TVs, I just need all this coax straightened out into some coherent system and put inside the walls/ceiling.
How do I find somebody to do that? What do you call that service? I don't even know what to Google.
(+1 million if you can recommend someone in the DC area ...)
The cable TV wiring in my house is hinky (long, long runs along the floor rather than in the walls, splitters in odd places, etc.) It looks like the previous owner did a little DIY and made it functional, but only just so. I am tripping over wires and the whole thing is not neat, and it bothers me. Also I need a couple of new outlets.
BUT ... I hate Comcast with every fiber of my being. I don't want to call them and have them do this work because a) I think they will overcharge me, b) I know I will end up waiting around all day, and c) Just on principle I don't want to give them money if I don't have to.
Is this the kind of thing that there are "independent contractors" to do? Or would that be needlessly complicated and I should just suck it up and deal with Comcast?
I don't need a home theater or any fancy audio or a bunch of wall-mounted TVs, I just need all this coax straightened out into some coherent system and put inside the walls/ceiling.
How do I find somebody to do that? What do you call that service? I don't even know what to Google.
(+1 million if you can recommend someone in the DC area ...)
Is this the kind of thing that there are "independent contractors" to do? Or would that be needlessly complicated and I should just suck it up and deal with Comcast?
Yes, there are independent contractors, and heck, if you called Comcast, there's a good chance you'd get an independent contractor hired by Comcast. That's part of the problem, actually.
In the trades, this work is know as "low voltage" wiring. I'd talk to some nearby homeowners and the like and see if they had a good experience with an electrician, and then call them. If they don't do LV work, they'll have somebody they call to do that for them when they're working a site, and if they have a good rep for quality work, they'll make sure that their subcontractors are good too.
posted by eriko at 1:06 PM on November 28, 2011
Yes, there are independent contractors, and heck, if you called Comcast, there's a good chance you'd get an independent contractor hired by Comcast. That's part of the problem, actually.
In the trades, this work is know as "low voltage" wiring. I'd talk to some nearby homeowners and the like and see if they had a good experience with an electrician, and then call them. If they don't do LV work, they'll have somebody they call to do that for them when they're working a site, and if they have a good rep for quality work, they'll make sure that their subcontractors are good too.
posted by eriko at 1:06 PM on November 28, 2011
If you don't feel comfortable fishing wires in walls and terminating cables yourself, I'll nth "call an electrician that does low voltage work" -- it might cost you a bit more than you'd be expecting, but letting an unskilled worker or DIY er do it is what got it into the current state. Mainly, signal strength needs to be calculated and tested after splitting a cable run, and people who don't do low voltage work don't have the testing equipment necessary.
Depending on where you are, internal low voltage work might even require a permit. They can pull one for you if it's necessary.
posted by SpecialK at 1:24 PM on November 28, 2011
Depending on where you are, internal low voltage work might even require a permit. They can pull one for you if it's necessary.
posted by SpecialK at 1:24 PM on November 28, 2011
An electrician, a home av installer, someone who runs telephone cabling (at least my company will run any cable, home or office).
posted by magnetsphere at 2:07 PM on November 28, 2011
posted by magnetsphere at 2:07 PM on November 28, 2011
Response by poster: Great answers, thank you! Sounds like "low-voltage" is a keyword that will be helpful to me!
posted by mccxxiii at 3:34 PM on November 28, 2011
posted by mccxxiii at 3:34 PM on November 28, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by chrisfromthelc at 12:47 PM on November 28, 2011