Home Network Planning & Design

Planning is, by far, the most important part of the job; deciding what services and equipment will be needed in each room of the house, where to mount hardware, designing each network, and developing a list of materials and cable we'll need. Planning and system design can be divided into 8 logical steps:

Rough-in and Prewire

After the planning process, we're ready to do the pre-wire. Pre-wire rough-in work is divided into a number of simple steps -

1. Install the rough-in enclosures and outlet hardware.
2. Prepare the cable runs
3. Pull and label the cable then secure it
4. Protect the prewire until the trim-out

We'll be using the cable and equipment schedule we created during the planning phase to determine what to install where.

Trim-out, Configuration, and System Testing

In the trim-out phase, we'll be doing the following tasks:

1. Terminating and testing the cable
2. Installing the outlet hardware and covers
3. Installing security system and home automation equipment
4. Installing the speakers and audio distribution equipment
5. Installing the network support equipment in the distribution panels
6. Installing off-air and satellite equipment
7. Configuring and testing each system for proper operation