Cat5e cable running thru duct pipes???

Bad idea at soooo many levels. Aside from safety issues, if you house ever burns down, your insurance might not pay.

Unless you're on a slab with a flat roof, well it can be a pain but get used to it. :)

Not a good idea at all. You will probably do more damage to the ducts themselves pulling the cables through them. Additionally, how do you neatly get in and out of a duct with a bundle of cables without compromising air distribution that the ducts were designed for?

Also, think of upcoming duct cleaning ;-) well, maybe not this year but in a couple years time you might want to get them cleaned and you don't want cables on the way.

It needs a plenum cable that's about 3 times more expensive than PVC that you could have put in the walls.

I would say it would be (much) easier for you to patch walls than ducts.

On top of that, do some social engineering at home: ask your significant other if she (he?) wants that wall painted. The answer is almost always 'yes'! This way you get full access to the wall(s) you need outlets on and a nice paint job over your patch (if required) when all is set and done.

OK, thanks guys. I don't want to run cables through the ducts but what if I just drill the hole besides the duct but so close that the grill (register) will cover it (to use the same plywood cut/openning). It that case the cable whould be totaly outside of the duct. Do you think that's safe?

Thanks

DmitriCabl>

djenka2 wrote in part:

It is safe, but likely unsightly. It sounds like you're up North with a basement/crawlspace and force-air outlets in the floor for heating. (The South has no basements and puts outlets in the ceilings for AC).

If you're going to run cabling in the basement/crawlspace, the best way is to locate the interior walls (no insulation, best to avoid plumbing), and drill upwards through the subfloor and sole-plate into the studspace. Push cable up and grab from holes cut in drywall for crimp-on low-voltage boxes. Cover with wallplates and jacks.

If you have to do a second-story, it's best to find a basement-to-attic chase and drop the second story cables from the attic. Sometimes you can go through closets.

-- Robert

As someone who's lived in the south, well KY and NC, most of my life, your descriptions of our housing is a bit off. My dad built houses in KY and we never ran A/C vents in the ceiling and I've rarely seen that done. I keep wondering where these houses are located. :)

Any you're on point. Unless he has a slab floor, flat roof, or crawl space under 12" it's not too hard to run things under the house and in the roof.

If you have a shower on the 1st floor there may be a plumbing access area behind a shower that you can use to get from the bottom to the top.

And then there's always the Comcast way - poke the wall and run them outside no matter what grade the cable is ;-)

Anyways, I've also had some (limited) success with running a cable or two in the cavity between the structural floor, hard flooring (laminate, hardwood), the quarter-round trim and the baseboard trim. Won't work for carpeted areas 'cause you are going to need to tuck the carpet in and so the space is going to be taken, but works on hard floors. Just be careful around the corners to not over-bend the cables.

Oh, and regarding using the air registers to find out where you are (if no other clues can be found): I'm in Northeast and my registers are in the ceiling on the first floor and in the floor on the second. Makes the duct job much easier, I guess.

OK, thanks guys for help, I still don'y know what to do, it might take some time to decide.

DmitriCabl>