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Subject:
Installing cable TV in my bedroom
Category: Miscellaneous Asked by: ibcdb-ga List Price: $20.00 |
Posted:
06 Aug 2005 21:39 PDT
Expires: 12 Aug 2005 00:26 PDT Question ID: 552629 |
I live in Northern California and I would like to install cable in my bedroom (we are Comcast customers). First I had the cable company come out to my house to try and install it, but they wanted to drill a hole into my room from the outside of my house and run wires from my garage to my room (clear accross the house). My parents didn't go for this idea because it looks tacky. The cable guy said I would need to call a general electric contractor if I wanted someone to go up into the attic and "fish" the wires down through the wall. Since then, I've had two electricians out to my house. One quoted me a price of $275 and I said that was too much. The next guy actually went up in my attic and said he couldn't find any cable wires near by to splice and that he'd have to crawl all the way over to the garage, get the cable from the box, run it to my room, drill a hole in the sheet rock and fish it down to where I wanted it. He said it would cost $375! I said no thank you. I have another guy coming out to the house on Tuesday. I told him everything I just told you above and he said he'd only charge me $210 (but he hasn't seen it yet). I live in a single story house. The attic entrance is right outside my bedroom door where I want the cable installed. I do have a low roof line so there will be crawling involved. I admit it's messy. How much should I expect to pay for this type of service? |
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There is no answer at this time. |
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Subject:
Re: Installing cable TV in my bedroom
From: redhoss-ga on 07 Aug 2005 06:18 PDT |
How about a wireless solution: http://www.camera-supply.com/ |
Subject:
Re: Installing cable TV in my bedroom
From: myoarin-ga on 07 Aug 2005 07:16 PDT |
Do you know any ten-year olds in the neighborhood? One of them could probably do the crawling faster than an electrician, and for way less. |
Subject:
Re: Installing cable TV in my bedroom
From: drackman-ga on 07 Aug 2005 13:23 PDT |
Your parents are correct to be concerned about how the cable run on the outside of the house. A consientious cable guy will try to do a good job and hide the cable as well as possible. But you could just as well end up getting a lazy cable guy who will do a half-ass job that looks like crap. If your house has vinyl siding, they can often hide the cable underneath a strip. If they're not hell-bent on taking the most direct route, they could run the cable along the bottom of your siding or other wall covering where it meets the foundation (they should be able to hide it under there where you can't even see it), then up the corner of the house closest to your bedroom, either tucked under or hugging close to a strip of siding, and then tucked under or hugging the strip of siding leading to the entry point into your bedroom. If you have a brick house, they still should be able to do a good job of hiding or running the cable so that it blends in with the visual features of your house. Also, if your house is white, buy white cable, and at the location where you have to bring it out of hiding to run into the side of your bedroom wall, you probably won't even see it. Buy good quality cable with specification of RG-6/U. The quad shielded is best. After saying all of that, I would save up enough money to pay a pofessional electrician to fish it through the walls for you. Once it's done, it's done, and there will be no concerns about anything being unsightly. See if your parents will split the cost with you. It will, afterall, add to the value of the house by having one more room wired for cable. |
Subject:
Re: Installing cable TV in my bedroom
From: ibcdb-ga on 07 Aug 2005 13:27 PDT |
I checked out that wireless solution and it doesn't appear that I would be able to control what channel I wanted to watch from my bedroom so I don't think that's a very good option. Also regarding having a 10-year old climb up in my attic, that doesn't solve my problem either since this person will have to get the cable from the "box" and fish it down through my wall, drill a hole in my wall...etc. I want this professionally done. I still just want to know how much I could expect to pay a general electric contractor to do this for me. |
Subject:
Re: Installing cable TV in my bedroom
From: ibcdb-ga on 07 Aug 2005 13:31 PDT |
Thanks drakman for your commnet. I must have been writing my response when you posted yours because I didn't see it until after the fact. My parents are very firm on the matter: it must be fished through the wall. Regarding them splitting the cost - thanks for the suggestion. All I really want to know is what is fair. For some reason I feel like those guys were trying to rip me off. I just want to pay what the fair going rate is for this type of work. |
Subject:
Re: Installing cable TV in my bedroom
From: drackman-ga on 07 Aug 2005 16:10 PDT |
Something like fishing a cable through walls can hold a lot of unknowns. The high estimates you've received thus far allow for those unforeseen problems. If you simply picked an electrician out of the phonebook, it's pretty safe to assume that the estimates you receive will be on the high end. What you need is a reference. "Hi, my good friend, Joe, said I should give you a call. I need to have cable TV service added to a bedroom, and I don't want the cable run along the outside walls. It will need to be run from where the cable enters the house, up the wall into the attic, across the attic, and then down through the wall into my bedroom. Joe said you would give me a professional job at a fair price." Start thinking about all of the friends you know including all older adults. Somebody you know will know a good electrician or will know someone in one of the other building trades who knows one. If you call someone with a reference, you will probably get a quote of something like $50 an hour labor, plus materials, with a minimum charge of $75 labor plus materials. If they tell you it's a two-man job; that they'll need someone to help feed cable to them or for some other helper-type function, ask if you can help to keep the cost down. Going with a professional will ensure that it's done properly and according to code. |
Subject:
Re: Installing cable TV in my bedroom
From: myoarin-ga on 08 Aug 2005 08:56 PDT |
Hi, I was just suggesting to use the youngster for the crawling, intending for the rest of the work to be done by an electrician. |
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