The picture below is actually two projects. One I am actively working on and the second will start as soon as I finish the first one. I am motivated because I need to finish these two projects before I start working on my shop. I need to finish my shop so I can get the garage cleaned out. So, this is an important log jam in my frustration to finally moving in.

Honestly, if were completely up to me I would do things in the reverse order. I would finish the shop and then start doing projects. But, my wife and I think about things is two opposite ways. There is currently a handyman and interior decorator in the mix so I also need to get my part done.

It may not be abundantly clear from the picture what the projects are. Project two is a wine bottle shelf to the left of wine fridge which also includes finishing the trim and a floating shelf, like a mini bar table. In order to get there, I need to clear the way. That means moving the internet so that it is not sitting on the floor in front of everything.

This is the nerve center of the house. Being that we both work from home, internet is absolutely critical to our lives. I am always amazed at how something so critical gets second fiddle in most households. The router is put wherever there happens to be a jack (typically the easiest place to punch a hole through the wall) and that is where the story ends. . I guess I shouldn’t necessarily be surprise since most people don’t have the tools or the knowledge to do something about it. I would think at the very least people would want a safe, organized and logical place to install the internet nerve center. I professional terms, it is called a ‘Demarc‘.

I am sure based on what I have gone through that this is where the previous owners had their internet. How am I so sure? It is the only place it works. I know they worked from home because they left the desk that that had the computer. I just don’t remember seeing a router when we toured. But then again, I missed the fact that there was no furnace, so I guess that is fair. I think that you get what is wrong, I would like to spend more time on what needs to happen. Here are the requirements.

  1. The demarc needs to be out of the way, I dont want to have to decorate around it.
  2. It needs to be flexible. We are starting with the mesh network that we have been using. I do not expect to have a wired back haul like I did at the old house. I do expect to install the outdoor unit somewhere which requires Power of Ethernet (PoE). Most devices will use wireless but I want Cat6 capability if desired.
  3. My low voltage area will also have a space for a door bell transformer. I am already tired of changing the battery in the Ring doorbell, sometimes after 2 weeks.
  4. I am installing the original Spectrum wireless router again. I want the ability to see what the WAN is doing with the onboard diagnostics which I cannot see with the TPLink Deco system.
  5. I want the ability to reboot the system from a central location.

Installing the demarc in the basement was one of the best things that I did. I spent untold amount of hours running cables and modifying as things evolved. Our primary TV location moved at least four times in 20 plus years. Although we never used it, each location was wired for surround sound. What is old is new again and some locations were used more than once. The advantage was that I could go to the basement and pop a new cable on the main floor in a few hours.

I wish that this was one of those posts that I could show beginning and ending. Instead slow and steady progress is the name of the game. I was waiting for weeks for the electricians to finish power in the garage and the furnace to get installed. Then I had to get up the desire to crawl under the house. Once I cut the internet cable for a splice, I was under the gun to get it running again. That day I had visions of significantly more progress. But I was able to re-plan when things didn’t go quite the way I had expected.

I have my board on the wall, I built the shelf to set the wireless router on. I have the hole in the drywall so I can cut out the low voltage location, I have my supplies in order. It is a matter of mounting hardware on the board, building cables and connecting things together. Because it is in the garage, this is something I can do after work and now in the dark.

End Your Programming Routine: One thing that I am learning is that I am getting old an my eyesight is getting worse. I had to crawl under the house multiple times because my cable splice had bits of shielding touching the copper conductor (The fine wire mesh under the plastic skin of the cable). When I finally tested the line, it was registering ‘short’. I literally could not see it in the low light and confined space. That took several hours to resolve. Live and learn; as soon as you think something is going to take twenty minutes and two hours later it is finally resolved. Look for a follow-up with the finished product.