I want to run two Cat5e or Cat6 cables (to opposite sides of the room) and one or two RG-6 cables to my bedroom. I also want to run a cable (or cables) to my computer room for one telephone and one DSL line.
I am not well enough to go into the crawlspace. I could probably do the wiring inside the house.
What is the best way for me to hiring someone to run the wires in the crawlspace (about 30 inches tall with dirt floor)? I want someone who will do a good job at a reasonable price. I do not need it done quickly. Thank you in advance for all replies.
I'd ask friends and neighbors for recommendations. A basic handyman type is all you need. That is the best route. If that doesn't work, then I guess there is always Craigslist, but definitely not my preferred method. Make sure to get referrences and check them and have a simple agreement in writing that specifies the scope of the work and price.
If you're going to do this I'd run 2x CAT5e/CAT6 and 2x RG-6 quad shield to every room you're touching, for future-proofing. (1 CAT for network, 1 CAT for phone, 1 coax for cable, 1 coax for antenna.) I know that didn't exactly answer your question, but just thought I'd throw that out there.
My isp was a real bargain for computer and TV ($20/hr including wires) but policies change.
Now I'm paying a monthly insurance charge for future work I know needs doing. With isp you can pick up insurance before job and drop soon after if you want.
Call the local office of your IBEW (electrical workers union) and explain your situation. It's possible that they know a retired old timer that needs a few $$ for essentials. Your insurance agent can confirm that this casual employment is covered in your home owner policy.
Your best bet for cheap is a good friend or neighbor.
40 years of cleaning up after smart, well-intentioned people doing simple things led me to the conclusion that there ain't no simple things.
While probability is overwhelmingly on your side, statistics don't do any good for the poor soul who is the exception. You may have half a second to ponder, "what idiot put a water main, or electrical wire or gas pipe right where I drilled?"
Make sure your homeowners insurance is paid up and covers damage to your property and your helper. What do you do when your helpful neighbor impales himself something poking out of the ground or hanging from the floorboard? He may be your best friend, but the lawyer handling his estate ain't. But this will never happen....until it does...
Random hires off the books are probably worse.
Hire a licensed, bonded professional to do it if you wanna be safe and poor...
But don't overlook the possibility of the licensed professional doing something dumb. I had floor insulation installed. The licensed professionals who did it got tired of snagging their clothing on the nails sticking down from the floor. What did they do? They banged them up till they were flush. Who'da thunk that the nail heads would pop up under the rugs? GRRRRR!!! EVERY TIME I've hired something done, they've screwed up their work PLUS some unrelated stuff I had to fix.
You don't say exactly what you're doing, but most things are wireless these days. I can't imagine most people needing a wired phone.
Here's what I did, originally to clean up DSL signal properties. I ran a wire from the phone junction box on the outside, and poked it thru an outside wall near the computer. Put a DSL filter inside the junction box to isolate the WHOLE house at once. Now, that old house wiring is isolated from the DSL. The wire goes to the wireless router/dsl modem combination. The base unit(s) for one or more cordless phones can go anywhere there's an existing phone socket. Everything else is wireless. You won't have any problems when that new big screen tv forces a rearrangement of the room.
And the whole wireless setup is probably cheaper than having a wire put in by a professional. Especially if you include the cost to fix up what they break.
Some kids think they know what they're doing but don't know.
And their parents may not know what they know either.
You'd need some way to vet such kids, maybe those they've done the same thing for. Quality-minded is not quality-competent.
BTW, the kid who mowed my lawn is now a vice-president of a Fortune-20 ocmpany. The person who had his current job until 3 months ago is one step up now and has his picture on the corporate webpage.
You say, "EVERY TIME I've hired something done [by a licensed professionsal], they've screwed up their work PLUS some unrelated stuff I had to fix." but you want him to hire a good friend or neigbhor to do a job requiring undetermined time which includes drilling holes in his house.
That's a great way to ruin a friendship and make an enemy of a neighbor.
Never do any kind of business with such people if you can avoid it, and certainly not this.
M & M ARE YOU THE PEANUT BUTTER OR PLAIN KIND ??? THAT'S QUITE A QUANTUM LEAP...SOME FOLK MAKE MONEY, OTHERS SPEND IT AND THEN OTHERS EARN IT...I BET HE MISSES THOSE LAWN MOWING DAYS, AFTER ALL IT'S WHAT FOT HIM INTERESTED IN BUSINESS & FINANCES...WHAT A WORLD.
Peanut M&M's if I buy them, but if at a party they only have plain, I'll eat them.
Crunchy peanut butter for many years, but lately I like the smooth texture of plain (and I think the mice like plain better.)
He must be in his 30's by now. He got a masters in engineering, then went to work in Detroit, which I feared would be a dead end for him. But then he got a job in NYC, and his new employer has an office for him to work from in NY or NJ and has given him a year to move to their hq city.
At the time, he told me that his friends worked at McDonalds etc. and he mowed lawns and made about 3 or 4 times what they did per hour. (He used his parents' lawnmower so he didn't have to make a capital requirement, but his friends' parents had lawnmowers too.)
One time, he read the community newsletter and saw there was a board meeting at my house that night. So he made a point to mow the lawn that day. A lot of kids wouldn't even read the newsletter to begin with.
Plus played varsity football and made the honor roll. At least some semesters, don't know about all of them.
Black kid, btw.
Maybe. Our financial transactions were pretty simple. :) He's vp of data processing, or whatever they call it now, for a company that makes mechanical things. Maybe knowing some engineering helps him in his job. When he was in HS, home computers were just starting and I doubt even his parents had one. I had a PCJr.
See, this is exactly the sort of nightmare job that pros won't touch unless they are allowed to do all the work...
Confined space ? Be prepared to pay for someone who takes on that kind of work...
A pro isn't going to want to run the wires for you and let you connect them, that just opens up all sorts of cans of worms unless you are willing to sign a waiver up front... All sorts of grey areas there and you could hook up the connections wrong and complain that there is something wrong with the wire, the pro would be out time and energy to come back and figure out how you incorrectly connected it... However, an installed, fully connected and tested outlet will carry some kind of written guarantee...
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