What's new
  • Please do not post any links until you have 3 posts as they will automatically be rejected to prevent SPAM. Many words are also blocked due to being used in SPAM Messages. Thanks!

Need suggestions on how to network my home.

dbear

Active member
Joined
Jun 3, 2010
Messages
28
Hello,

I'm fairly new at setting up network connection throughout my 2 story home (+ basement) and wondering if anyone has any answers or suggestions.

I'm planning on setting up my desktop computer on the 2nd floor which is located at the corner of the house. I have two smart tvs, one is located in the main floor and the other in the basement. See the image I provided which is the layout of my home.

1. Should I Place the Modem/Router on the main floor so its centralized and use Powerline adapters? I'm hoping there is enough wifi coverage through all floors of the home.

2. Should I place the Modem/Router on the 2nd floor where my desktop is and then get some kind of network meshing system like Google Wifi? (by Placing all 3 pucks on each floor?

I want to make sure my desktop computer has a good stable connection for gaming/streaming purposes. Same with both TVS especially the the basement where I plan to hook up gaming consoles. How would you guys set up a functional network for this layout? Let me know, thanks!
 

Attachments

  • house_layout.jpg
    house_layout.jpg
    140.7 KB · Views: 17

ZZLEE

Well-known member
Joined
May 31, 2009
Messages
2,872
Location
KANATA
You want your WIFI to be on the second floor at your desk and a shirt run of CAT7 to your computer. WIFI will work better the higher it is in the house.

If you can find a way to run CAT7 to your other locations they will work better. If it cant be run then power line will work better than WIFI.
 

dbear

Active member
Joined
Jun 3, 2010
Messages
28
I don't know if I want to run cables all over the house on each floor, but its a last resort option :D
 

Lysrin

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 10, 2014
Messages
7,804
Location
Nova Scotia
I have a two story house and basement as well. 2200 sq ft on two main levels, not including the basement. Currently I am supplying my entire house with wifi from just the Bell Fibre modem/router. My modem/router is in the basement. For main desktop PCs on the first floor and my TVs, one on first and one on second floor, my house is pre-wired with CAT5 so they are wired connections. I do have a TV that is occassionally used for streaming content in the basement that is on wifi. Works fine. But honestly, I can stream to my Chromecasts from anywhere in the house over wifi.

Unless your house is very large, I suspect your wifi coverage would be fine depending on the modem/router, but if you want the most stable connection for certain devices you really can't beat wired and that means running at least a few cables. You might also consider power plug connections, ones that use the electrical house wiring as network, but they aren't as good (I don't think) as actual CAT cables. I think there are some guys on here that have tried those and would be able to comment.
 

JD

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 16, 2007
Messages
11,931
Location
Toronto, ON
In your office, I'd suggest moving the modem/router/AP closer to the stairwell/central point of the house. I'm guessing right now it's in the far corner (just based on your drawing). Getting it as close to the middle and as high as possible in the house generally will work the best.

A mesh WiFi system could help if you have any dead spots or places with low speed, though I'd suggest keeping them close to that central stairwell too if you have nearby power outlets. You may want to look at Plume or Mercku as well if you want something with a smaller footprint. Their mesh AP's simply plug directly into the wall outlet, so it might be easier to "hide".
 

Izerous

Well-known member
Folding Team
Joined
Feb 7, 2019
Messages
3,621
Location
Edmonton
I have a large bungalow and detached garage. A 3 pack of Google wifis allowed me to place one in the base to in the networking area as the master, one upstairs at the front of the house, and one near the rear with physical cables run for my desktop and main living room area although both could run off of wifi if I wanted but a physical connection is always better. I can actually stream video in the garage without issue or stream music anywhere in the yard (mowing the lawn) without issue. The garage door works via wifi so the solid coverage is nice.

I have messed with EoP devices and it will always depend so drastically on your houses wiring. At my in-laws I could not get the devices to connect to eachother. After 15 minutes of screwing around I peeked in a different bedroom to see a touch lamp going phsyco while they were trying to sync. Unplugged that lamp and I was finally able to get them to sync. And they also come in a wide range of speeds some being even slower than what you will be able to achieve with wifi.
 

Mercku_Dan

New member
Joined
Sep 17, 2019
Messages
1
In your office, I'd suggest moving the modem/router/AP closer to the stairwell/central point of the house. I'm guessing right now it's in the far corner (just based on your drawing). Getting it as close to the middle and as high as possible in the house generally will work the best.

A mesh WiFi system could help if you have any dead spots or places with low speed, though I'd suggest keeping them close to that central stairwell too if you have nearby power outlets. You may want to look at Plume or Mercku as well if you want something with a smaller footprint. Their mesh AP's simply plug directly into the wall outlet, so it might be easier to "hide".
Dan from Mercku here! Thanks JD for mentioning us. It sounds like the "Bee" nodes in our Hive Mesh Wi-Fi system might be exactly what you need. They're small units that plug into any electrical outlet and Mesh together with our central "Queen" router which connects directly to the modem you got from your internet service provider. It's a flexible solution so you can plug in nodes exactly where you're experiencing deadspots. (I just joined the forum so can't share a link to our site yet according to forum rules but you can find us at www [dot] mercku [dot] com). We're also a proudly Canadian company based in Waterloo and Toronto!
 

KaptCrunch

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 23, 2008
Messages
4,382
Location
Ontario
Wired option
If own home, find where the plumbing vent stack runs to roof top can see location and run 3 cables or more in that cavity to each floor and satellite wifi or go with merku wireless for plug n play
 

Babrbarossa

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 2, 2006
Messages
3,776
Location
New Brunswick

Mercku having a 30% off sale on their kits right now.
 

Latest posts

Top