house wifi/network improvements

[Mabs]

so, bought a house, having the whole thing rewired /yay

so while this is going on, is there anything worth doing to improve wireless etc in the house ?
or any sort of network type thing it might be worth to put in while we have all the walls etc off, before it gets redecorated ?

not worried about price, im more after a "whats available", and have -no- idea what, if anything is practical, but as were having it done, then redecorated, figured now is the time to find out

 

[Tuthmes]

If possible I'd make sure a cable (cat6 is the highest I presume?) connection is going up and make room for a nas somewhere. If you don't have one already, you will want one in the future. Streaming music, vid's and foto's from one central location, aswell beeing able to upload/download them anywhere you are in the world.

 

[Fweddy]

I'm in the process of buying a house that will need a complete rewire and I plan on getting a wired network put in at the same time. A network socket or two in every bedroom and a bunch where the TV will go all leading to the cupboard under the stairs where I'll keep my NAS and a router/switch. That should be a reasonable set up no matter how many smart devices and/or computers I buy in the future. It shouldn't cost a lot more as they're doing most of the work all ready for the rewire.

 

[Killswitch]

I helped my mate do that when he bought his house. Even got a nice patch panel from Screwfix in the cupboard under the stairs. I think it really adds value and you can get good quality faceplates for the connections so they don't look out of place next to the power sockets. I'd also be tempted to run some coax around with a splitter under the floor somewhere so you can send digital TV or Sky signals to TVs around the house. If you're doing the wiring, it's only an extra £50 or so I'd expect.

 

[MYstIC G]

After many years of arguments with my Dad about the computer kit in our family business, we just recently moved office and I forced him into a Cat 5 installation (more here). Absolutely everything now just freaking works, all the time. We literally just have double socket + network socket to the side at every terminus point.

So basically I agree with the other suggestions here, if you're having it rewired get them to run Cat 5 while they're at it? It's small potatoes in terms of the extra material cost and you can stick a switch in the loft or garage or under the stairs so it's accessible but out of the way, i.e. hide the fugly.

Without knowing the property I'd suggest that the electrical supply is likely under the stairs and you could stick a shelf up above that and have a switch and your internet connection brought in at that point (cable / adsl master socket). Your spark would likely wire in the telephone sockets where you wanted as well if you thought about it, e.g. master socket tucked away then put in a socket by your tv if you've got sky, one where you'd put your phone in the main living space, maybe one in the bedroom, etc.

Gotta be worth thinking about mate.

 

[Noc0de]

I'm so gutted. Had house re-wired a few months back and didn't think about any of this Gah!

 

[SheepCow]

If money is no object, fibre everywhere!

(fibre is about £5ish per metre and then ofc you need a fibre switch/media converter etc )

 

[Killswitch]

This might sound a bit mad, but if you're wiring back to an under-stairs cupboard or the loft or something, think about getting a small rack (6U-10U). You have lots of options of really good, really cheap rackmount switches and also rackmount mini-ITX servers for things like backups, network storage and so on. Stick your patch panel and switch in there and you're good to go!