How to follow cables inside walls?

[Fedorgasm]

The people who owned the house before me set up the Internet so the modem is in the utility room with the water heater and furnace.

There are 3 Ethernet cables in that room, that can go from the modem/router to other rooms. They disappear into the wall and I'm not sure where the other end is.

I've searched the entire house and can only find one room that has an Ethernet hookup. So I know that's the other end of one of the Ethernet cables. But where are the other two?

I can only guess that they put in the other cables before they finished the basement as a way of future-proofing the house. And the guy that did it just knew where those cables led, so he could go poke holes at the right spot if he ever needed Ethernet in those rooms.

But I guess he never needed Ethernet in those rooms so he just left the other end hidden inside the walls and eventually sold the house.

Any clever ideas on how I can find the other end of those cables without tearing random holes in my drywall?

 

[jx820]

A flexible USB borescope camera is like $20 on Amazon. They're pretty decent for a cheap peice of hardware.

 

[ObsoleteSoul]

Get a tracer. You can use them for energized wires or non-energized. We used them in electrical work. They are great for any home owner to have in their tool collection

 

[Pizza Werewolf]

Tear targeted holes in the walls instead of random ones ?

 

[The Apostle]

Does your house have an attic or a crawl space? Whichever one is where I would start. Go directly below or above the modem and look for network cables and trace from there. Also if you have a regular electrical outlet/receptacle nearby where the modem network cables penetrate, the previous homeowner probably fished the network cables down the same path in the sheetrock. You should be able to see either set of wiring penetrate up into the attic or down into the crawl space.

 

[Tone C]

Oh , those aren't ethernet cables......

 

[nonoob]

A flexible USB borescope camera is like $20 on Amazon. They're pretty decent for a cheap peice of hardware.

Those things are awesome, but they usually require a hole to push them through.

Get a tracer. You can use them for energized wires or non-energized. We used them in electrical work. They are great for any home owner to have in their tool collection

That sounds like the ticket, any link to show one to purchase?

 

[jx820]

Those things are awesome, but they usually require a hole to push them through.

Yeah, but your walls are already full of holes. You can typically either use something that's already there, or slightly open the hole that the wire you're follwing is in. Worst case you drill a new hole and have to patch a tiny spot in the drywall.

 

[ObsoleteSoul]

Those things are awesome, but they usually require a hole to push them through.

That sounds like the ticket, any link to show one to purchase?

My Fluke is a bit overkill, as it was used mainly for commercial work, but this guy will work for home use too. I would recommend getting at least a Klein though. They come in handy when you don't want to crawl under your house, or in your attic.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VYN98QV?tag=bg1-754904-20&th=1

Oh, and if you add any new circuits, or run cables, or have someone run them, use colored electrical tape to mark them. It is a simple solution for future problems. Rarely see people do it, but it saves a lot of time if any issues arise.

 

[THEfightsAREfixed]

have you ever seen honey i shrunk the kids? go big. make it an adventure for the whole family.

 

[Fedorgasm]

My Fluke is a bit overkill, as it was used mainly for commercial work, but this guy will work for home use too. I would recommend getting at least a Klein though. They come in handy when you don't want to crawl under your house, or in your attic.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VYN98QV?tag=bg1-754904-20&th=1

Thanks. Is the probe sensitive enough to detect Ethernet through drywall?

 

[ObsoleteSoul]

Thanks. Is the probe sensitive enough to detect Ethernet through drywall?

No. You have to have both ends. It sends a signal through the wire, and will beep if the other end receives the signal. You can still use it to find out which wires are NOT the one/s you are looking for, and go from there. It is still good to have so you can narrow down the possibilities. If that makes sense.

 

[Sonny Qc]

punch the wall, grab the cord

 

[Fedorgasm]

Does your house have an attic or a crawl space? Whichever one is where I would start. Go directly below or above the modem and look for network cables and trace from there. Also if you have a regular electrical outlet/receptacle nearby where the modem network cables penetrate, the previous homeowner probably fished the network cables down the same path in the sheetrock. You should be able to see either set of wiring penetrate up into the attic or down into the crawl space.

The modem is in a utility room in the basement. The Ethernet wires go upwards into the ceiling of the basement, which is also the floor of the main level of the house. So I think wherever the other two go, they are run through the ceiling/floor between the basement and the main floor above. But they could be pulled back down through a wall to some of the bedrooms in the basement, or they could be pulled upwards to one of the bedrooms on the main floor.

So even if I use a bore scope and camera, there are a lot of possibilities, so it would take many holes being poked through walls.

 

[ObsoleteSoul]

The modem is in a utility room in the basement. The Ethernet wires go upwards into the ceiling of the basement, which is also the floor of the main level of the house. So I think wherever the other two go, they are run through the ceiling/floor between the basement and the main floor above. But they could be pulled back down through a wall to some of the bedrooms in the basement, or they could be pulled upwards to one of the bedrooms on the main floor.

So even if I use a bore scope and camera, there are a lot of possibilities, so it would take many holes being poked through walls.

Are all the wires accounted for, or are they going up into the basement ceiling and then you don't know? I might have read your post wrong, as I thought you just weren't sure what wire was what.

 

[ObsoleteSoul]

I would like to know how they are running the wires too. How does it go into your ceiling? You could possibly take the ethernet cable that you know is going up, and to that room, and use fish tape. Disassemble the ethernet from your wall, tape it up super tight to the fish tape from the room, and pull all the wires back down. The fish tape will still be connected when you pull them out, along with the other cables, and you can then pull the fish tape back up to reconnect the cable that works. I would really need to see how everything was set up, as there are many ways to skin a cat, ya know?

 

[nonoob]

My Fluke is a bit overkill, as it was used mainly for commercial work, but this guy will work for home use too. I would recommend getting at least a Klein though. They come in handy when you don't want to crawl under your house, or in your attic.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VYN98QV?tag=bg1-754904-20&th=1

Oh, and if you add any new circuits, or run cables, or have someone run them, use colored electrical tape to mark them. It is a simple solution for future problems. Rarely see people do it, but it saves a lot of time if any issues arise.

Thanks for the reply OS.
​

Every Klein I've ever bought is a purchase for life. Klein hand tools are tools I love using, they will last your entire lifetime with proper care.

 

[ObsoleteSoul]

Thanks for the reply OS.
​

Every Klein I've ever bought is a purchase for life. Klein hand tools are tools I love using, they will last your entire lifetime with proper care.

For sure! Klein is the standard in the electrical field.

Klein and Milwaukee fella here. All my tools are pretty much Klein and Milwaukee. DeWalt is great too, but I have tons of batteries of varying sizes and chargers that are Milwaukee, so I'm in that gang for life now.

 

[Renard]

Pay mouse contractors with tiny night vision goggles

 

[The Apostle]

The modem is in a utility room in the basement. The Ethernet wires go upwards into the ceiling of the basement, which is also the floor of the main level of the house. So I think wherever the other two go, they are run through the ceiling/floor between the basement and the main floor above. But they could be pulled back down through a wall to some of the bedrooms in the basement, or they could be pulled upwards to one of the bedrooms on the main floor.

So even if I use a bore scope and camera, there are a lot of possibilities, so it would take many holes being poked through walls.

Is the utility room in a corner of the basement? Or, does it share a wall with the exterior?

Unless the previous owner ripped out all of the sheetrock on the ceiling in the basement, running wiring in between floors is a difficult task. Just guessing but I would think the wiring stays downstairs as not only would they have had a hard time fishing between floors, they would’ve been trying to fish up into the main floor walls.

Are you aware of any blank cover plates in other rooms where they maybe were thinking of running wires to?

I don’t know without seeing it and truly understanding the layout of your house. Try to imagine how you would’ve accomplished this work, generally people take the most efficient/easiest/cheapest way to get a project done.