Planning Network Wiring During Renovations: The Smart Homeowner's Guide
A renovation is the best time to add network wiring to your home. Learn when to plan your Ethernet runs, where to place drops, and how to coordinate with your contractor for the cleanest, most cost-effective result.
Why Renovation Is the Best Time for Network Wiring
Renovating a kitchen, finishing a basement, or remodeling a bathroom all share one thing in common — walls get opened up. When drywall comes down and studs are exposed, running Ethernet cable through your home becomes dramatically easier, faster, and less expensive than retrofitting through finished walls. The cost difference is significant. A single Ethernet drop through a finished wall typically costs $200 to $300 with labor. That same drop through an open-stud wall during renovation might cost $75 to $150 because the technician can see the framing, drill directly through studs and top plates, and pull cable without fishing tools or exploratory cuts. For a whole-home wiring project of 8 to 12 drops, the savings can reach $1,000 or more compared to doing the work after the drywall is back up. Beyond cost savings, renovation wiring produces cleaner results. Cables follow the most direct paths through wall cavities without navigating around obstacles. Keystone jacks and wall plates get installed before trim and paint, so everything looks intentional and built-in rather than retrofitted. And because the technician can see inside every wall cavity, there is no risk of hitting unexpected plumbing, HVAC, or electrical lines during cable installation.
When to Bring in the Network Wiring Technician
Timing is critical when coordinating network wiring with a renovation. The ideal window is after rough electrical and plumbing are complete but before insulation and drywall go up. This is sometimes called the low-voltage rough-in phase. At this point, all the structural framing is in place, major utilities are routed, and the wall cavities are still fully accessible. If you wait until after drywall is hung, you lose the cost advantage entirely — the technician will need to cut access holes, fish cable through insulated cavities, and patch afterward, just like a standard retrofit job. Communicate with your general contractor or project manager early. Let them know you want to include structured wiring so they can build the low-voltage rough-in into the project timeline. Most contractors are familiar with this workflow and will coordinate scheduling to ensure the network wiring technician has access to the walls at the right stage. For basement finishes, the timing is especially straightforward. The basement ceiling joists are typically accessible throughout the project, providing easy cable routing from one side of the house to the other. If your basement finish includes a media room, home office, or gaming area, this is the time to run Ethernet to all of those locations.
Where to Plan Ethernet Drops During a Renovation
Think about every room that will benefit from a wired connection — not just the ones you use today, but the ones you might use in five or ten years. Common locations include home offices (one or two drops per desk location), living rooms and family rooms (for streaming devices, gaming consoles, and smart TV connections), media rooms and home theaters (multiple drops for AV equipment), bedrooms (at least one drop for a smart TV or desktop), kitchens (for smart home hubs or a wall-mounted display), and any location where a security camera or access point will be installed. For wireless access point placement, plan Ethernet drops in central ceiling locations on each floor. A hardwired access point delivers dramatically better WiFi coverage and throughput than a mesh system relying on wireless backhaul. Placing access points on the ceiling of hallways or central rooms provides the most even coverage. Do not forget about the central wiring location. All cable runs terminate at a single point — typically a utility room, basement corner, or closet. Plan for a small structured wiring panel or rack at this location with adequate ventilation and access to power. This is where your router, network switch, and patch panel will live. Running two cables to high-priority locations like a home office gives you redundancy and flexibility. One connection for your computer and one for a VoIP phone, printer, or secondary device means you will not need to add a switch at the desk later.
Coordinating With Your Contractor and Electrician
Structured wiring is considered low-voltage work, which is separate from standard electrical wiring. In many jurisdictions, low-voltage cabling does not require the same permits as line-voltage electrical work, but it does need to follow specific building codes regarding cable separation, fire stopping, and pathway requirements. Your network wiring technician should coordinate with the electrician to ensure data cables maintain proper separation from high-voltage electrical lines. Running Ethernet cable parallel to power lines in the same wall cavity can introduce electromagnetic interference that degrades network performance. The standard practice is to maintain at least 12 inches of separation when running parallel to power cables and to cross at 90-degree angles when paths must intersect. Fire stopping is another coordination point. In multi-story homes, cables that pass through floor and ceiling assemblies may need fire-rated sealant around the penetration point to maintain the fire barrier. Your technician should be familiar with local code requirements and apply appropriate fire stop materials. For kitchen and bathroom renovations specifically, coordinate cable paths to avoid areas that will have tile backsplashes, shower walls, or other finished surfaces that cannot easily be modified after installation. Planning the exact wall plate locations before tile work begins ensures the finished result looks clean and intentional.
Materials and Cable Selection for Renovation Wiring
When wiring during a renovation, you have the opportunity to install the best cable for your situation without the constraints of working through finished walls. Cat6 cable is the standard recommendation for residential renovation wiring. It supports gigabit speeds reliably and can handle 10-gigabit connections over runs up to 55 meters — more than sufficient for any room in a typical home. Cat6a is worth considering if you want maximum future-proofing. It supports 10-gigabit speeds over the full 100-meter Ethernet specification distance and has better shielding against crosstalk. The trade-off is that Cat6a cable is thicker and less flexible, which makes routing through tight spaces slightly more challenging — though this is less of a concern with open-stud access during renovation. Use plenum-rated cable if any runs pass through air-handling spaces such as drop ceilings used as HVAC return paths. Plenum cable has a fire-retardant jacket that produces less toxic smoke if exposed to flame, and it is required by building code in these locations. For wall plates, use keystone-style plates that accept snap-in jacks. This modular approach lets you mix Ethernet, coax, HDMI passthrough, and speaker terminals in the same plate if needed. At the central location, a small structured wiring panel keeps everything organized. A 12-port or 24-port patch panel provides room for current connections plus future expansion. TV Solutions can design and install a complete structured wiring system during your renovation. Schedule a consultation and your technician will coordinate directly with your contractor to ensure the wiring phase happens at the right time.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much money do I save by wiring during renovation?
Running Ethernet through open walls during renovation typically costs $75 to $150 per drop compared to $200 to $300 per drop in finished walls. For a whole-home project of 8 to 12 drops, you can save $800 to $1,500 or more by doing the work while walls are open.
Can my electrician install the network wiring?
Some electricians handle low-voltage wiring, but network cabling requires specific termination skills and testing equipment. A dedicated structured cabling technician ensures proper termination, certification testing, and cable management that an electrician may not specialize in.
What if my renovation only opens one room?
Even a single-room renovation is an opportunity. Run cable from that room to your central network location while the walls are open. You can also use the open walls to run cable through to adjacent rooms or upstairs, taking advantage of the access while it lasts.
How many Ethernet drops should I plan for?
Plan for at least one drop in every room that might use a wired device, plus ceiling drops for wireless access points. For home offices, plan two drops. Over-provisioning during renovation is far cheaper than adding drops later. Most homes benefit from 8 to 16 total drops.
Should I run cable for security cameras during renovation?
Absolutely. Running Ethernet to exterior camera locations during renovation is easy and inexpensive. After walls are closed, running cable to exterior soffits, eaves, or exterior walls becomes much more difficult and expensive. Plan camera locations before drywall goes up.