Installing the phone line ourselves?

[branat]

Bell came and hooked up the box outside. It's another $100 for him to bring the wires in, $75 per jack with the first one at $95. How hard would it be for me to drill through the brick walls and save ourselves some cash? He gave us the general safe area and suggest that I drill through the grout.

[macdonlg]

This is really not at all difficult. your biggest problem will be to run the cabling to where you need it in the house, but even that is not so bad.

[OldFortYork]

Bell will do a hack job of running your lines through the house. They'll just staple it to the wall and run it along baseboards and moulding.

Better to do it yourself.

[threeflags]

With a regular drill ... no bad through the mortar. If you have a hammer drill .. it's lot easier. If you have to drill through the 4 to 6 inch cement poured foundation... you should use the hammer drill. But its not impossible with a regular drill just takes alot longer.

Do it yourself and save yourself $.

[Keigotw]

Bell came and hooked up the box outside. It's another $100 for him to bring the wires in, $75 per jack with the first one at $95. How hard would it be for me to drill through the brick walls and save ourselves some cash? He gave us the general safe area and suggest that I drill through the grout.

on my new house, Bell came and hooked the box outsite and drill a hole on the wall and brought line from outsite to the basemet (by the power box) and hooked up there. And there is NO Charge for that.. They charge you if you ask them to install phone jack on every room.

but for phone jacky you can buy it @ dollarama for $1 and install it yourself

[branat]

Thanks all. I will check the neighbours' phone lines and then eyeballed mine. My main concern is that I may drill through some wirings etc

[rdx]

on my new house, Bell came and hooked the box outsite and drill a hole on the wall and brought line from outsite to the basemet (by the power box) and hooked up there. And there is NO Charge for that.. They charge you if you ask them to install phone jack on every room.

but for phone jacky you can buy it @ dollarama for $1 and install it yourself

Bell did the same thing for me, pulled the line in and mount on the board of the panel box. I wish they could add a jack for me in the basement !

By the way, is it easy to add a phone jack from the line they pulled? If so, can someone help me with the detail steps? Thanks

[Keigotw]

Bell did the same thing for me, pulled the line in and mount on the board of the panel box. I wish they could add a jack for me in the basement !

By the way, is it easy to add a phone jack from the line they pulled? If so, can someone help me with the detail steps? Thanks


buy phone cable and hook it up to the board on the panel box. hook the same colour line together and then you can run the cable in the basement to where you want a phone jack, that is it

[Keigotw]

Thanks all. I will check the neighbours' phone lines and then eyeballed mine. My main concern is that I may drill through some wirings etc

I don't think that you have to pay for this install.
when you get a phone line they must hook it up outsite and bring the line in.

they only charge you if you ask them to install a Jack

[branat]

The installer said the $55 is to install the "tester" box outside of the house. And they only care that the tester box is working, anything else would be extra charge.

from bell's web page

"Demarcation point; CUSTOMER RESPONSIBILITY; Bridging cord; Inside wire; Jacks; Wire Distribution Device

If your house is equipped with a network interface device (NID) outside the building, you will have to run the wires outside of the house or office to connect them to this device. We recommend drilling a hole with a downward angle towards the outside."

[jnette]

Bell did the same thing for me, pulled the line in and mount on the board of the panel box. I wish they could add a jack for me in the basement !

By the way, is it easy to add a phone jack from the line they pulled? If so, can someone help me with the detail steps? Thanks


What do you mean by "add a phone jack from the line they pulled"? If you want 2 phone jacks on the same faceplate thats really easy.

That depends on the faceplate that you get. There are faceplates that you could buy that have these wires (red, green, black, and yellow) or you could buy the jacks and 2port faceplate.

There are lots of information you could find when you google it. You might even check out some videos on youtube.

Let me know if you need help pm me.

[loudsubz]

phones are very simple

everything is paralled
you only need 2 wires (tip/ring) (red/green) (blue/blue white) etc ....

whenever you want to add a new jack just find any telephone line that is active and hook into the red/green, or blue/blue white on a cat3 or cat5e.

As for bell, it is true they are only responsible for the demarc outside the house, so by them running a line from the demarc to the demarc inside the home (dist panel) and not charging must have been up to the tech because they can charge for that as well.

[BuildingHomes]

Okay, let's remove some speculation here:

This is assuming you have a new house and you are the first owner.

There will have been no phone service connected up to it. You need to get a line 'activated'. Activation means they will put a grey demarcation box on the side of your house and provide dialtone up to that box. This is $55*.

In new houses many builders will have a line from the outside to the inside, usually next to the electrical panel. If not, Bell can bring this in for you. This is $75*. That $75* usually includes hooking up the first jack in the house.

Depending on your builder, you will either have phonejacks and plates on the wall, or just openings that can be covered with jacks and plates. Regardless the wires that run to all of these locations will go down to the basement beside the electrical panel.

Depending on your builder, you will either have one wire for each phonejack (5 jacks, 5 wires), or one wire that loop of wire that goes to all the jacks (5 jacks, daisy chained to one wire)

You need to connect the wire(s) for the phone jacks to the wire that comes into the house.

For some people this is not a big deal. For others it's just an area of technical ability that they do not care for and hire a professional, such as Bell, or myself.

So, what do you have?

* Some of the prices may have changed. Bell seems to be offering different promotions in different areas at different times of the year.

[loudsubz]

Okay, let's remove some speculation here:

This is assuming you have a new house and you are the first owner.

There will have been no phone service connected up to it. You need to get a line 'activated'. Activation means they will put a grey demarcation box on the side of your house and provide dialtone up to that box. This is $55*.

In new houses many builders will have a line from the outside to the inside, usually next to the electrical panel. If not, Bell can bring this in for you. This is $75*. That $75* usually includes hooking up the first jack in the house.

Depending on your builder, you will either have phonejacks and plates on the wall, or just openings that can be covered with jacks and plates. Regardless the wires that run to all of these locations will go down to the basement beside the electrical panel.

Depending on your builder, you will either have one wire for each phonejack (5 jacks, 5 wires), or one wire that loop of wire that goes to all the jacks (5 jacks, daisy chained to one wire)

You need to connect the wire(s) for the phone jacks to the wire that comes into the house.

For some people this is not a big deal. For others it's just an area of technical ability that they do not care for and hire a professional, such as Bell, or myself.

So, what do you have?

* Some of the prices may have changed. Bell seems to be offering different promotions in different areas at different times of the year.

Bell? Professional?

When was the last time you saw them tap into a CA38A jack properly :D

[toky]

I asked those guys who installed my alarm system to connect the phone lines for me and they just charged me $5 each. Not a lot and save my time.

[rdx]

What do you mean by "add a phone jack from the line they pulled"? If you want 2 phone jacks on the same faceplate thats really easy.

That depends on the faceplate that you get. There are faceplates that you could buy that have these wires (red, green, black, and yellow) or you could buy the jacks and 2port faceplate.

There are lots of information you could find when you google it. You might even check out some videos on youtube.

Let me know if you need help pm me.

There is no phone jack in my basement (brand new house). Bell only pulls the line from outside to the wood board under the panel in the basement, and somehow activate all my phone jacks upstairs. All I need is to add a phone jack in the basement.

[BuildingHomes]

When was the last time you saw them tap into a CA38A jack properly :D

Probably as often as I have seen security installers know what a ring and tip are :)

Usually you would want Bell there before the RJ31x goes in.

[loudsubz]

Probably as often as I have seen security installers know what a ring and tip are :)

Usually you would want Bell there before the RJ31x goes in.

You gotta stop working on those cheap cookie cutter houses, thats where the hacks like to hang out :D

[AudiDude]

Probably as often as I have seen security installers know what a ring and tip are :)

Usually you would want Bell there before the RJ31x goes in.

Gotta second that one. I've had more than enough security retards cut a jumper on a BIX and B-Connect it. Also the majority of homes I go to the security system is installed incorrectly (no connection at all, no RJ31X, or only input to the system from a common junction point). The security cameras are screwing up the cable and every other cable based service in the house. The POS Teledoorbell is busted and destroying the phone line. Hell once I had to fish a wire for the ADT guy at a friends business because he was clueless. I've stood inside Burtek and watched guys purchase equipment they have no idea how to install. My favourite are the european ones that tell me "in their country, they were an engineer". Like I care, just connect the system and leave...

[loudsubz]

Gotta second that one. I've had more than enough security retards cut a jumper on a BIX and B-Connect it. Also the majority of homes I go to the security system is installed incorrectly (no connection at all, no RJ31X, or only input to the system from a common junction point). The security cameras are screwing up the cable and every other cable based service in the house. The POS Teledoorbell is busted and destroying the phone line. Hell once I had to fish a wire for the ADT guy at a friends business because he was clueless. I've stood inside Burtek and watched guys purchase equipment they have no idea how to install. My favourite are the european ones that tell me "in their country, they were an engineer". Like I care, just connect the system and leave...

It boggles my mind why they do that with the BIX as well. I mean, if they don't have a punch down tool they can do that in a pinch, but these guys are supposed to be setup for this kind of thing. Some of the installers we get that work for us don't even have a proper set of hand tools, and it makes me wonder how they even do the most basic tasks.

Not connecting the CA38A jack correctly is another no-no that pisses me off. The whole point is to allow the alarm a fail safe method of dialing out if someone leaves a phone off the hook, or something is wrong with a phone line after the demarc. It takes 1 minute to wire it all up correctly, so why skimp?

Didn't they wire the CA38A jack for the Teledoorbell as well? I mean, all the equipment is provided to ensure a proper operating system, and fail safes are in place if something does happen and you need to disconnect the teledoorbell from the system, so why don't these people put them in???

What Burtek do you go to? Kennedy Rd?

[AudiDude]

It boggles my mind why they do that with the BIX as well. I mean, if they don't have a punch down tool they can do that in a pinch, but these guys are supposed to be setup for this kind of thing. Some of the installers we get that work for us don't even have a proper set of hand tools, and it makes me wonder how they even do the most basic tasks.

Not connecting the CA38A jack correctly is another no-no that pisses me off. The whole point is to allow the alarm a fail safe method of dialing out if someone leaves a phone off the hook, or something is wrong with a phone line after the demarc. It takes 1 minute to wire it all up correctly, so why skimp?

Didn't they wire the CA38A jack for the Teledoorbell as well? I mean, all the equipment is provided to ensure a proper operating system, and fail safes are in place if something does happen and you need to disconnect the teledoorbell from the system, so why don't these people put them in???

What Burtek do you go to? Kennedy Rd?

Yeah, but Kennedy is closed now. Once I prewired an office and while the alarm guy was there, they asked him for an extra outlet (to save time from calling me back). First of all he cut my jumpers on the BIX going to the Norstar for the alarm. Then he takes a Cat 5 patchcord, cuts the end off and B-Connects that to a jumper that was going to the fax (this was for a card swiper, so it used the same line). After he's finished doing that, he plugs the RJ 45 end into my Panduit data panel and hijacks a data jack for himself! Like I terminated all the wires neatly for him to steal what he wants while zig zagging butchered wires everywhere. That cost the company for me to fix it, and in turn cost the installer.

[loudsubz]

Yeah, but Kennedy is closed now. Once I prewired an office and while the alarm guy was there, they asked him for an extra outlet (to save time from calling me back). First of all he cut my jumpers on the BIX going to the Norstar for the alarm. Then he takes a Cat 5 patchcord, cuts the end off and B-Connects that to a jumper that was going to the fax (this was for a card swiper, so it used the same line). After he's finished doing that, he plugs the RJ 45 end into my Panduit data panel and hijacks a data jack for himself! Like I terminated all the wires neatly for him to steal what he wants while zig zagging butchered wires everywhere. That cost the company for me to fix it, and in turn cost the installer.

ADI-Burtek at Kennedy and Courtney park is open, or where you thinking of another one?

[AudiDude]

ADI-Burtek at Kennedy and Courtney park is open, or where you thinking of another one?

Yes, there was another one in scarborough, I thought you were talking about that one.

[stealth]

sorry to hijack this thread, but it seemd the OP's initila question was resolved anyways, and it makes it easier for others to find related info if its all in the same thread.

Is this still the way phone lines are wired? see pic below.
We have 2 lines, Bell came out twice last week to fix a problem, they claim the problem is now on my end and they are done. One of the 2 lines will not work. If I plug the wire in Box #1 (as it used to be before all these problems happened), then neither line gets dial tone.
I'm pretty handy, but not sure how 2 lines should be wired. It seems to me that there should be a central terminal or something (like a breaker panel), instead of al lthe little boxes daisy chained together.

Whats the most cost effective way of getting this resolved? Anyone used Bells "phone line insurance"? I'm reluctant since it seems that once bell was let in my house, all my problems started (I just had line static before). I dont need a ton pof phone accessiblility due to wireless. 2 jacks on the main floor would suffice, although I wouldnt mind having the bedroom jacks working again if it was cost effective.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b88/bigphatgoalie/wiring001.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b88/bigphatgoalie/wiring002.jpg

[BuildingHomes]

Ya that's a bit of a mess.

I would find the incoming line from the outside demarc and put a jack for it on the wall. If there is only one run around the house, I'd put an RJ12 on the end of it and plug it into the jack. If there are multiple runs then I would mount a small bus-box to the wall, wire all the lines in parallel and then connect to the jack.

If you want it sorted out and cleaned up, let me know. I seem to do a few 'clean up' jobs a week.



Is this still the way phone lines are wired? see pic below.
We have 2 lines, Bell came out twice last week to fix a problem, they claim the problem is now on my end and they are done. One of the 2 lines will not work. If I plug the wire in Box #1 (as it used to be before all these problems happened), then neither line gets dial tone.

[AudiDude]

sorry to hijack this thread, but it seemd the OP's initila question was resolved anyways, and it makes it easier for others to find related info if its all in the same thread.

Is this still the way phone lines are wired? see pic below.
We have 2 lines, Bell came out twice last week to fix a problem, they claim the problem is now on my end and they are done. One of the 2 lines will not work. If I plug the wire in Box #1 (as it used to be before all these problems happened), then neither line gets dial tone.
I'm pretty handy, but not sure how 2 lines should be wired. It seems to me that there should be a central terminal or something (like a breaker panel), instead of al lthe little boxes daisy chained together.

Whats the most cost effective way of getting this resolved? Anyone used Bells "phone line insurance"? I'm reluctant since it seems that once bell was let in my house, all my problems started (I just had line static before). I dont need a ton pof phone accessiblility due to wireless. 2 jacks on the main floor would suffice, although I wouldnt mind having the bedroom jacks working again if it was cost effective.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b88/bigphatgoalie/wiring001.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b88/bigphatgoalie/wiring002.jpg

Unless they placed a new demarc, those ones on the wall is the termination of their responsibility. FYI the moron installed them upside down. These outlets look like they are from 1997-1999 before the NID when Bell went to cheap non Bell labeled outlets.

So no NID outside means they cannot charge you to make those older indoor demarcs work. If they came out an screwed up the stuff, and you paid them, there is a standard 30 day warranty on the work.

You could let someone who knows what they are doing, fix it. Try it yourself, or order the wirecare from Bell and tell them to fix it all (which may take them several trips). How sad is that, that the very thing the company is supposed to be doing for 125+ years and be good at, they can't figure out? Oh well, thats why I was such as star when I worked there, I can chew gum AND walk at the same time.


Here is an example from "professionals" that I found during a visit to investigate why the homeowner was having difficulties.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3227/2753954829_a297278a7a_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3262/2754744224_0e38a2a562_b.jpg

But don't worry, most are fixable...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3067/2753973113_ea7c6f7704_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2317/2754763330_66a4eef0e5_b.jpg

[stealth]

Thanks, yes thats more what I would have expected.

[BuildingHomes]

Now if everyone was willing to spend the money to clean up a large job like that..

[plymouthhater]

In the picture in post 24 of this thread - I am surprised that nobody also commented that the 2 old style NID jacks (labelled as 1 & 2) are upside down.

Correct practice is to install jacks with the "pins" up i.e. on the top to prevent dust or moisture from collecting on the pins.

[AudiDude]

In the picture in post 24 of this thread - I am surprised that nobody also commented that the 2 old style NID jacks (labelled as 1 & 2) are upside down.

Correct practice is to install jacks with the "pins" up i.e. on the top to prevent dust or moisture from collecting on the pins.

I did, in post 26...

[plymouthhater]

I did, in post 26...

You're right - I missed the comment.

I am not surprised at the crappy job shown in some of the pictures. I have even seen installers too lazy to re-run a jumper use Scotchlocks to lengthen them.

[AudiDude]

You're right - I missed the comment.

I am not surprised at the crappy job shown in some of the pictures. I have even seen installers too lazy to re-run a jumper use Scotchlocks to lengthen them.

If there doing it in the OPI/JWI, there definitely going to do it at the customers house...

[coolspot]

Here is an example from "professionals" that I found during a visit to investigate why the homeowner was having difficulties.


How big was the house? Seems like overkill to install a PBX in the basement ... but I am thinking of installing a VoIP PBX myself :cheesygri

[BuildingHomes]

How big was the house? Seems like overkill to install a PBX in the basement ... but I am thinking of installing a VoIP PBX myself :cheesygri

I just replaced my old Panther system with a Talkswitch and a bunch of IP phones. Love it.

The Panther system was a $1 on ebay.. so I wasn't really complaining.

[AudiDude]

How big was the house? Seems like overkill to install a PBX in the basement ... but I am thinking of installing a VoIP PBX myself :cheesygri

The smallest I have done is about 2700 sq feet. The problem is, certain layouts and sizes of homes don't allow for raising your voice and actually being heard.
So a customer asks how much for a doorbell that rings the phone, plus a paging system for 6 areas with at least 10 phones with hold and hands free capability. They like having all the things in one system. You'll notice the systems are Panasonic. So when somone rings the front doorbell, it says it on the display. You can page any door equipped with a station and eavesdrop or talk.

One customer uses this in conjunction with a front door camera to shoo away salesman before they even ring the bell. Paging can be done by defined zones or just call all the phones. Another customer uses this to page her family for dinner and the family use it to page each other for calls if they don't know who is home.If they do know they will transfer the call to where the person is.

Another leaves the phone on auto answer in the laundry area and pages and listen to see if the washer/dryer is done. Another uses a cordless when in the backyard by the pool.You ring the doorbell by the gate to the backyard and he can release the latch by pressing a button on the phone without getting up.

This is a 5200 square foot home. From the ground up, but missing the security cameras and a few other things as it wasn't complete at the time of the picture. I'd like to take the time to thank the security guy for messing up the neat wiring I ran to his area for him...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3043/2755787608_c03670ed89.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3162/2755787282_fef884bd90.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3285/2755787000_159207f8de.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3288/2755789050_3650cda669.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3157/2755788478_04d883ee1e.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3093/2755789854_84ee02bf88_b.jpg

[BuildingHomes]

Somebody loves their ZIP ties, BIX blocks and Panasonic phone systems :)

[stealth]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3067/2753973113_ea7c6f7704_b.jpg
This one is funny to me, because as tricked out as the phone and network wiring is, the light fixture is just hanging without a box, and assorted other powerbars and receptacles are just hanging loosely from the walls. Would never pass code.
A bit like "Pimp my ride" where they trick out the body and paint, interior and stereo, but leave a leaky 25yr old motor untouched :)

[AudiDude]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3067/2753973113_ea7c6f7704_b.jpg
This one is funny to me, because as tricked out as the phone and network wiring is, the light fixture is just hanging without a box, and assorted other powerbars and receptacles are just hanging loosely from the walls. Would never pass code.
A bit like "Pimp my ride" where they trick out the body and paint, interior and stereo, but leave a leaky 25yr old motor untouched :)

Well, the house is under construction still as in most of the pics and the electrician (as most) underestimated the electrical requirements of the telecommunications. So the cable you see off to the side was moved eventually to the blank spot beside the BIX field and there were more outlets located closer to the equipment.

The electrical however to the right hasn't changed much and there is too many disorganized wires for my liking. I had originally quoted the job and had increased my price due to the fact the builder was doing a $hitty job building the house. I said I would have to hire another person to move all of his materials out of the way because he was still using several rooms for storage. He got mad and told the homeowners they should have used "his guy", which they did. I received the call when they needed the PBX (guess the installer wasn't as smart as they thought) and after the install, the owner couldn't take the difference in having some neat wires and the rest messy. So he told me to do the rest.

The original brainiac installer had run the whole home audio cabling to a "conduit" that went outside, so that we could have music in the cabana. Later on the "conduit" turned our to be the drain pipe for the kitchenette in the basement! The builder is an idiot and has done many other homes in the neighbourhood, which means I get a lot of clean up calls because eventually the owners can't take the fact that their "custome home" features crap wiring.

[mlc2000]

Its about $100 for 500ft spool of telephone wire.
I just bought one for my basement.

[loudsubz]

On the topic of neater wiring, heres a job I did for a rather large company that sells crafts and collectables.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b150/loudsubz/IMG_2862.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b150/loudsubz/IMG_2835.jpg

[Drew_W]

Nicely done.

[BuildingHomes]

Hah, I love the Vantage Point glass 3-shelf on the side there :)

[loudsubz]

Gotta roll in style :D