Need RG-6 installed in an old farmhouse in Annapolis.

BurtonRW · Dec 11, 2013

So... my mother-in-law has finally had it with broadcast TV and is ready to make the leap to (groan) Comcast. Problem is, her old farmhouse in Annapolis doesn't have a single strand of coax and needs to be wired completely.

I'm not even sure what kind of contractor I'm looking for (regular electrician? A/V specialist?), so I thought I'd throw it out here since I also need someone I can trust, who will charge a fair price, and who will take care of her house as though it were her own (clean work, clean result). Looking for someone licensed/bonded/insured, please.

Send me a PM or e-mail if you're interested, otherwise, feel free to post referrals here as well.

Looking to do this ASAP.

Thanks!

-Rob

FrankOceanXray · Dec 11, 2013

Get her the Leaf antenna.

Comcast sucks.

At any rate, low voltage so no need for an electrician. Only someone comfortable fishing through walls and cielings.

Have you talked with the cable company? Seeing the new client, they may do the first run for free. She may only need one run.

byf43 · Dec 11, 2013

FrankOceanXray said:
Get her the Leaf antenna.

Comcast sucks.

At any rate, low voltage so no need for an electrician. Only someone comfortable fishing through walls and cielings.

Have you talked with the cable company? Seeing the new client, they may do the first run for free. She may only need one run.

Nowadays, especially in So. MD, Comcast runs the cable outside, then 'punches' a hole through the wall for the cable.

On the other hand....... my next door neighbor rented out his house, and Direct TV came in, and ran cable for the tenant, and I've never seen such shoddy work.
Holes 'punched' into the ceilings and cable dropped inside of closests, then around the room, to the tv.
Baaaaaaaaaaaaad workmanship.

BurtonRW · Dec 11, 2013

FrankOceanXray said:
Get her the Leaf antenna.

Comcast sucks.

At any rate, low voltage so no need for an electrician. Only someone comfortable fishing through walls and cielings.

Have you talked with the cable company? Seeing the new client, they may do the first run for free. She may only need one run.

She has the leaf. Reception in her house sucks (worse than Comcast) and she'd rather not have an old-timey roof mounted one (which would still require lines in the house).

Re: Comcast - believe me, I know they suck. Verizon hasn't run FIOS down her road yet.

With respect to contacting Comcast? That has been a total clusterf***k. There are too many issues to go through here, but I finally got one of their live chat folks to tell me that they wouldn't charge her to run service approximately 1600 feet from the road to her house. I wanted that in writing just in case, so now I have a transcript.

If they come out and balk at the suggestion, I'll just call DirecTV (which is not the preferred option here).

I know the actual running of the coax isn't a big deal and I'd do it myself if I had wall-fishing skills and didn't mind crawl spaces (where there might be spiders). I'd also rather not be the one to drill through her exterior wall to mount whatever it is that gets mounted out there, so yes, I'm looking for a pro.

-Rob

Streetgang · Dec 11, 2013

byf43 said:
Nowadays, especially in So. MD, Comcast runs the cable outside, then 'punches' a hole through the wall for the cable.

On the other hand....... my next door neighbor rented out his house, and Direct TV came in, and ran cable for the tenant, and I've never seen such shoddy work.
Holes 'punched' into the ceilings and cable dropped inside of closests, then around the room, to the tv.
Baaaaaaaaaaaaad workmanship.

This is why you want to run the lines yourself or hire a pro. It's not hard, just takes the know-how.

t84a · Dec 11, 2013

Directv has wireless receivers now. If I were closer, I'd help you out. Find an electrician to run the coax and then have Comcast terminate them.

GoGoGadget · Dec 11, 2013

I know a guy who does good cabling work in Arnold:

http://www.hesscommunications.com

BurtonRW · Dec 11, 2013

GoGoGadget said:
I know a guy who does good cabling work in Arnold:

http://www.hesscommunications.com

Looks like a commercial-only business, but I shot him an e-mail.

Thanks.

-Rob

Matlack · Dec 11, 2013

I've done it many times and would possibly do it but I'm doing work for my uncle right now.

Never ever let the cable company run your cable lines. The crap work I have seen. If you want your windows, walls, floors, and ceillings ruined then by all means. Nothing irks me more than when I go to someone's house and see a cable line run up the side of the house and a hole punched for a cable lines.

redhawk_hj · Dec 11, 2013

dealing with Comcast similar to this experience??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6G-wNyIxzM

MDlocal · Dec 11, 2013

Be very careful of Comcast. Document everything the technician does. Had a technician come to my house for what was supposed to be a free service. Technician did some unnecessary work that was not approved by me and now I'm fighting a service bill from Comcast that they refuse to dismiss. If it's not dismissed by Fri which would be 2 months of fighting so far, I'm turning in my cable box and cancelling service. The dishonest technician worked out of the Frederick office.

BurtonRW · Dec 11, 2013

redhawk_hj said:
dealing with Comcast similar to this experience??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6G-wNyIxzM

Worse.

Maybe I'll start a separate thread in the WC and post the chat transcripts.

-Rob

byf43 · Dec 11, 2013

Streetgang said:
This is why you want to run the lines yourself or hire a pro. It's not hard, just takes the know-how.

I've wired several houses, including my Dad's, my sister's, my M-I-L's and my own.
(The beauty of doing my own, I got permission to wire it before the drywall guys did their 'thing'!)

I've got almost 1/2 reel of RG-6Q still, and fish tapes and other fish rods, plus all the terminating tools, etc.

My arthritis is getting my hands and already has my knees, pretty badly.
That's why I don't offer to do the job.

Zibner · Dec 11, 2013

Between Comcast and DirectV my home junction box looks like a rats nest with all the wires. Some are Comcast some Directv, half arent used and the other half running though multiple boxes. I'm OCD so I like things neat and before this started everything fit nicely in the box with the door closed; not any more by far... :mad54:

GoGoGadget · Dec 11, 2013

BurtonRW said:
Looks like a commercial-only business, but I shot him an e-mail.

Thanks.

-Rob

I think he *prefers* commercial, but does residential too - at least the last time I talked with him. Good guy and should be reasonable.

BurtonRW · Dec 11, 2013

BurtonRW said:
Worse.

~~Maybe I'll start~~ I've started a separate thread in the WC and posted the chat transcripts.

-Rob

.

BurtonRW · Dec 11, 2013

GoGoGadget said:
I think he *prefers* commercial, but does residential too - at least the last time I talked with him. Good guy and should be reasonable.

Nope. Just commercial now.

STILL LOOKING.

-Rob

t84a · Dec 11, 2013

You're going to have to bite the bullet and pony up. Coax is cheap but what you want done (and done right) is labor intensive. You can get 1000 ft of RG6 for less than $100. If you're only looking at a couple of runs, buy 500 ft. No need for quad shield.

How many runs are you looking at? Are you trying to get runs on multiple floors? Coming up from the crawlspace is pretty easy as is coming down from an attic. Getting to the attic may be a challenge and you may have no choice but to run up the outside and the into the attic. Try to locate your jacks on interior walls so you're not fighting with insulation. If its a really old house with plaster walls, then you're in for a greater challenge.

Like I posted earlier, if you know a decent honest electrician, buy the coax and have him (or her) run it to the locations. Comcast tech are more than capable of terminating the ends and installing a splitter (and probably an amp).

Boom Boom · Dec 11, 2013

Comcast TV service is the worst. I thought you were trying to get her internet service in the other thread. Just get her a basic package of DirecTV. My entire neighborhood is run with Comcast fiber and almost everyone has satellite service instead because Comcast's TV signal quality is so bad.

Bolts Rock · Dec 11, 2013

Never EVER let Comcrap or Verizon do your cabling, they suck! Harry Homeowner does a better job laying extension cords than those clowns do running "permanent" coax. That's my professional opinion, Cable and Electrical Harness Lab Manager at NASA.

Need RG-6 installed in an old farmhouse in Annapolis.

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