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I am attempting to run coax for cable to the upstairs room, and CAT6 into what will be designated a networking closet. I feel as the only option is to make multiple holes throughout the drywall to go through every stud and any potential blockers.

I have never ran cable through the ceiling, and I doubt I will be able to match that texture. I also am pretty sure one coax cable and three CAT6 cables will be noticeable if I attempt to run them under the carpet.

This floor of the house in a slab, so running underneath isn't an option. The wall pictured runs 19 feet up to the second floor ceiling, so I am considering running the coax into the attic above the second floor room. The exterior is brick, and I am trying to avoid breaking the vapor barrier just to have an ugly cable running up the side of the house.

What would be the best way to run this cable, as every option I can think of will have considerable difficulty?

Here's what I am attempting: enter image description here

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  • I agree with @ecnerwal .. this is likely more fishable than you’ve imagined. Also consider you don’t need the most direct route, you need the easiest route, even if that means 25 more feet of cable. Call an electrician and ask for an estimate to fish your cables, when they come to look ask questions then decide if it’s better to pay a pro or tackle it on your own.
    – Tyson
    Commented Dec 26, 2017 at 17:18

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Always hard to tell before opening things up, (and from limited pictures) but you appear to have a "thicker section of ceiling" out there in front of the closet, as compared to the underside of the presumed stairway (based on clues like the angled section of ceiling but it's a first floor location, and the open to second floor bit.)

If so, you can probably just punch one hole in the wall that goes through to that space, and one into that space from the closet, and have far fewer places to patch than if you run it through the studs, only one of which needs to be nice enough for company to see. Connecting between the holes is a matter of "fishing" a stiff-but-flexible fiberglass rod or spring-steel tape either through, or in from each side and hooking the two. I can't guess if that will be of any help with the room above, as I don't know the relationship of that room to this room.

That is, of course, if the space is not completely full of something else (like ductwork.)

If you do go up to the attic, run a conduit to save trouble the next time - there's almost always a next time.

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  • Also consider getting a long, flexible drill bit, which will allow you to drill through horizontal blocking through a single hole, or through several joists with one hole. This helps to minimize the number of drywall patches you need to do.
    – mmathis
    Commented Dec 27, 2017 at 16:21
  • While I know that some/many folks choose to do that, I've never been comfortable poking a long sharp things into unknown territory - all too easy to drill into a pipe or wire. Drywall repair is a lot easer and cheaper than dealing with plumbing/electrical aftermath. I might be willing to use one to reach blocking I can see from above and below without putting a new hole right next to it. I suppose I should pick up one of those little cameras you can pop into a hole one of these days.
    – Ecnerwal
    Commented Dec 27, 2017 at 17:24

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