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This is probably the most amateurish question here :)

I always lived in brick houses where i had conduits to pass cables thru. life was easy.

Now i'm on a rented wood panel(?) house. And i want to pass a network cable from the top floor to the bottom floor, on a wall that is shared with the neighbor.

I am hopping that simply opening up the outlet panels and pushing in the cable with some weight from the top floor i will be able to get it on the outlet in the bottom as it is almost liner... but i'm sure i won't be that lucky.

what am i bound to find in the way? i am almost sure there will be something on the second floor height blocking my way... and any way to overcome obstacles that do not involve cutting holes in the wall?

edit: found this question but i don't think this applies as i don't have a crawl space...

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  • Since the answer below explains what a tough task you're up against, have you considered routing a wire via the exterior? (Or if it's a simple network wire, could a homeplug system work?) Feb 10, 2015 at 13:59
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    The fact that you are in a rental is significant. You really shouldn't be running wires in the walls - it's not your house. If I were in the landlord business, I'd be looking to evict you right after I came over to investigate the odd noises in the walls the other tenant will be calling the landlord about. A point-to-point wireless link should get the job done with no alterations to the structure, barring unusual construction.
    – Ecnerwal
    Feb 10, 2015 at 14:46
  • @Ecnerwal really? a cable connecting two female plugs secured in wall plates would make noise? well, but you raise a good point regardless. what if my landlord is like that :) will probably call him
    – gcb
    Feb 15, 2015 at 0:46
  • Quite apart from the foul language you may or may not emit, making holes for the cable and getting the cable run is a noisy process; rather like having squirrels in the walls.
    – Ecnerwal
    Feb 18, 2015 at 18:45
  • @Ecnerwal ah! you mean the process of passing the cables? i thought you meant resulting continuous noise from having the cable there.
    – gcb
    Feb 18, 2015 at 19:23

2 Answers 2

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It's going to depend on the type of framing used. Balloon and platform framing are the two common methods.

Framing

Platform

If you're dealing with platform framing, you're going to have to drill through quite a bit to go between floors. First you'll hit the bottom plate of the upper wall, followed by the decking (subfloor). Next you'll hit a double top plate, which once you're through you'll be in the lower wall. Since it's a common wall, you'll also likely have to deal with blocking and insulation.

Balloon

If it's a balloon framed structure, you're lucky. You'll likely only encounter blocking, bracing, and insulation. However, these elements are a bit less predictable, so you'll have to take things as they come.

Fireblocking & Draftstopping

Any time you create a passageway for fire or gases to pass between floors, you'll have to provide adequate fireblocking and/or draftstopping. This could be as minimal as some fire resistant spray foam, but you'll have to check with your local government to determine what's required.

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Well, anything is possible, we really don’t have any info how does the house look like (technically speaking).I am working with one prefabricated house at the moment so I can tell you how does it look like in my case: back in a factory they make the whole panel with everything ready inside including plastic pipes through which later on thy place cables. So keeping that in mind, maybe, just MAYBE you can find some socket, remove it and use those plastic tubes as a high way for you cable (I’m sure there is enough space for it), but even I don’t like this idea. Second one is to drill a small hole in the corner of a room, where it is not too visible and push the cable near some column or something like that where no one will spot it.There are some ways for you to go through the panels, put I think they are too expensive and complex for a small thing like getting a cable to a bottom floor.

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