How difficult is it to run cable to different rooms?

Question

My roommates and I moved into an apartment recently and discovered that they don't include cable in any of the rooms, only in the living room. Cox wants 50 dollars to do it. Is this worth it? How hard is it to run the cable ourselves?

Answer 1

Pay them the $50 and tell them what you want. Also, the complex should be happy for getting the upgrade at no cost to them.

A professional install is worth the money. It look neat and it is guaranteed to work.

Answer 2

You can get a splitter and cable line at Radio Shack. Just run the line to your room. To make it professional looking get the outlet as well. Really easy.

Answer 3

You can purchase a splitter, and run it to the different rooms in the apartment. I still believe that it is best to let Cox do it, to ensure that nothing will go wrong.

Answer 4

It would be easier to go wireless.

http://www.dark-circuit.com/directron/so...

is $14.00 US. All you would need is a wireless router which you may already have.

Here's one

http://www.directron.com/tlwr541g.html

So you could do 2 computers and have a new router for less then the cost to run cables which you can't take with you when you move.

Answer 5

in an apartment just buy the splitter and run the cable under the carpet there is no use you paying the cable company to run them and upgrading your apartment at your expense for the apartment owners.

Answer 6

dependds on how nice of a job you want to do....if you want it run thru the walls it can be a real pain for someone who is unfamiliar with how to do it....otherwise ypu can simply put a line splitter(available at any radio shack type store) on the incoming cable line and run coaxial cable to any where in the apt. you like....good luck

Answer 7

The question boils down to how familiar you are with running cable and if you have the tools and time to do it.

I believe nothing is too hard or impossible to achieve; however I also believe that things take time and equipment for accomplishment.  I ask myself if I have the time and equipment to do the job and if it is practical for me to do that.

Answer 8

It will take about an hour to do it neatly. How much is your time worth? Do you have a staple gun? How many feet of cable do you need? If you do it yourself, you will have to buy the cable.

I am guessing it is probably worth it to pay the cable company.

Answer 9

Pay them.  For one simple reason: they're more likely to insulate you from getting a bill from your apartment for damaging things.

Otherwise...  it's not hard to run cable from room-to-room, as long as you're happy with not hiding it.  Coax cable can be purchased in varying lengths at BestBuy and other similar places.  Just snake it around the walls.  You'll need to buy splitters and, if the distances are long, you may also need to buy signal boosters.

If you need to run it through walls, first check with your apartment complex.  They may not like you doing this.  Second, this can be difficult and can require special tools, depending on angles.  Third, you can risk cutting through wires if you don't know what you're doing.

If Cox is only charging $50 and is not going to charge for the cable or the splitters (they won't give you signal boosters), take it.  The cables and splitters will cost you nearly that much.