You might need to fixย a poorly installed cable outlet. Or perhaps you want to move a televisionย from one side of the room to another. Knowing how to install a cable TV jack in the wall doesnโt haveย to be a daunting task. In fact, itโs really just a matter of planning the bestย way to route the cable TV wire. After that, you just dress up your installation with a properย wall plate.
What You Need to Know to Install a Cable TV Jack
For this article,ย we plan to spend most of our time on the actual cable jack and wall plate. We have to assume youโve been able to locate the cable in the properย location. With so many houses and so many different variables, itโsย nearly impossible to provide comprehensive instructions for running wire.ย
In general, you can often feed a wire either directly through an exterior wall. Other times, youโll drill through a top plate in the attic, or up through a sill plate from the crawl space. A good cordless drill, paired with a twist drill bit, and a tape measure to get you in the right place should have you ready in no time.
Look at some of our other articles for various methods of runningย cables down and up walls for both low voltage and high voltage applications:
Tools You May Need
- Keyhole saw
- Utility knife
- Philips screwdriver
- Adjustable wrench
- Coax cable installation kit or tool
How to Install the Cable Jack Work Box
Once youโve locatedย the new place for your cable TV jack, we recommend using a standard singleย gang low voltage โold workโ box. Old work boxes use plastic brackets to hold the box secure against the drywall. This differs from a new work box that uses nails which you hammer into the adjacent stud.
This lets you have a niceย finished hole with a cable TV plate. You can also use a standard shallow single-gang box. Either provides easy access to in-wall cable. Both types can be found in anyย hardware or home improvement store.
To complete theย install, simply saw a vertically-oriented rectangular hole approximatelyย 1.75โณ x 3.75โณ. This will be the hole into which the low voltage boxย fits. For drywall, we recommend a standard keyhole saw, which can be hadย for around $10. It makes the job of cutting into drywall (and evenย plaster/lathe) an easy process. If you canโt grab one of these, drywall can beย cut carefully with a standard utility knife.
Note: When using a keyhole saw, be VERYย mindful of what you are sawing into. It is very easy to cut into something youย do not intend to. Pay special attention to the location of any 12/2 electricalย cable. Also be careful to avoid removing or moving around any insulation (on exterior walls). Finally, watch the depth of your cut to avoidย punching through into an adjacent room.
Locking the Box in Place
Once the box is inย place you can use a standard Philips screwdriver or aย DeWaltย 8V Gyroscopicย screwdriver to engage the brackets whichย will secure it snugly against the drywall. These boxes work well with just aboutย any drywall thickness and weโve even had success with lathe & plasterย wall materials.
Low voltage boxes have an open back designed specificallyย for the installation of low voltage devices such as cable television, Ethernet,ย or telephone jacks into an existing wall. The design makes it easy for coaxialย or RJ45 (Cat5x) cables to bend properly into the appropriate connectors. Itย also eliminates the need for old-school metal plates, drywall anchors, andย screws.
Installing a Cable โFโ Jack to the Plate
To complete theย installation, simply hand-screw the F-connector (cable TV) jack onto the backside of the wall plate and then tighten it with an adjustable wrench. Whenย youโre satisfied that the connection is secure, screw the plate into the faceย of the low voltage workbox using the holes provided and stand back and enjoyย your newly finished cable TV outlet. This will look much better than what manyย cable TV installers leave behind, which is often a bare wire sticking throughย the floor or a plate that is haphazardly screwed directly into the drywall.
Some additional notes to consider when installing a cable TVย jack:
- Ifย you are starting with a new cable run, we recommend investing in a set ofย RG6 crimpers. There are many different kinds with the more expensiveย compression style offering the most versatility and ease-of-use.
- Olderย cable TV runs used RG59, however, most new construction, cable andย satellite companies now use RG6 which is more suitable for handling theย higher bandwidth signals offered by digital services.
- Leave yourself some extra room. You never know when youโll need to reterminate that cable jack!
