Replacing coax cable runs with cat6

southernlead · Sep 15, 2022

Hi,

I have bought a new house. It has coax cables running to pretty much all rooms. I would like to replace these with cat6, and install new face plates/keystones. I'm pretty comfortable with the process of terminating the cables for RJ45, but I would like some advice on how to run the new cables. Here are some of my questions and thoughts.

I guess I need to figure out the topology of the existing coax. Is it all running to a central place, where an aerial or other cable box was situated? What's the best way to try and figure this out? Unscrew the wall plates, and give things a bit of a tug?
Is there a tool I can buy to test connectivity through a coax cable so I can understand which ends run to where?
In terms of running the cables, my thinking was to remove/snip any terminators on the coax, duck tape a cat 6 to the end, and start pulling it back through the wall. Presumably there may be places where the cable is secured (I think I have seen some cables running up the inside of a cupboard), but if those are accessible I should be able to remove them. How difficult is it likely to be to pull the cables through unknown walls and cavities in this manner?
Any tools I should invest in to make this easier?

Basically, is this going to be either a) a bit of a fiddle but maybe quite fun, b) doable but best left to someone who knows what they're doing, c) nobody does this because it's a total nightmare?

Thanks for any insight!

Andy.

loz2754 · Sep 15, 2022

Hi Andy.
Welcome to the forum.

That's quite a task you've set for yourself, but hopefully with a bit of luck one that shouldn't be too taxing a task

.

The most difficult part will no doubt be pulling in new cables in place of the old ones. This is where the luck comes in.
If the old cables move freely when tugged, then it should be possible to attach the new cables to them as you suggest, and pull them into place. This is almost impossible to do on your own, so some help will be needed.
And of course, you'll need to be able to get access to both ends of each section of the existing cables. This might involve lifting floorboards above.

All of this is bread and butter work for an electrician, who will have the necessary tools and skills.