Day 3- Adding Internet Turns into Garage Renovation

The blows keep coming as we are getting neck deep into this project. The original drop for cable/DSL was a few feet from the aerial termination, where the installer lazily drilled a hole through the wall. The modem was sitting in the open on the fireplace; and this was unacceptable. So, what was our solution?

I wanted the network gear to have one termination point; and this lead to a six phase project that incorporated skimming the walls, scrapping the ceiling, relocating the irrigation wiring and controllers, painting, adding light fixtures, and ending with mounting a 9U structured wiring cabinet. All in a week’s additional work…

We have thirteen irrigation channels that were divided between two 1980’s era sprinkler timers. The wiring was strung haphazardly across the ceiling and through another wall. All of this was removed in favor of a RainMachine 16 channel wifi capable setup. I don’t have many pictures, since this meant I had to run almost 100 feet of wiring through the attic to the front of the house, and had to terminate two additional irrigation wires outside as well. This added nearly two days of research and work, not including shipping times.

Garage skimmed, scrapped, painted, and new fixtures installed. With the previous cabinets removed, we had a clean slate to stage the project from garage. A new door opener is waiting for a day to be installed as well…

This ended with part seven, hanging one of the overhead racks we moved from the old garage. Staying organized is important for efficiency and your own sanity. Now back to work inside the house!