$20 Future-Proofing Trick!

Have you ever wanted to add a wire but didn't want to drill a hole in your house? How about changing from cable to a satelite dish, or even a rooftop antenna? This cheap tip will save you serious hassle in the future!
I bought all my pipe and fittings locally but if you needed one this is an option too.

Huge thanks to our Show sponsors Polywall, Huber, Dorken Delta, Prosoco, & Viewrail for helping to make these videos possible! These are all trusted companies that Matt has worked with for years and trusts their products in the homes he builds. We would highly encourage you to check out their websites for more info.

[stuffguy]

Don't know how far along you are, but when the house gets electrical rough in talk to the electrician about doing a small sub panel for the a/c condenser instead of a disconnect. The ability to easily add circuits out back without running an entire new circuit through the attic is nice for sheds, small pools, outdoor kitchens.

[MikeGerz]

Great idea! I'm a data guy so when I built my house 25 years ago, I roughed in 1" electrical conduit to all my rooms and ran 3" conduit from my attic spaces to my basement. Those were the days before WiFi and other wireless options. You never knew where you might want a TV, speaker, phone or data cable. Thinking ahead and future-proofing certainly is worth the cost cost and effort. Some have yet to be used, but over the years I have used them many times. In fact, during this pandemic, work from home time, I needed to run a data cable to the dining room to service a temporary office for my wife. I simply pulled off a blank plate and was able to push a cable to my basement to hook her up!

[mikeyfoofoo]

Nice. Love it... Then the cable or satellite installer shows up and drills a hole straight through the wall. Maybe even right next to it.
Gotta keep an eye on those guys.

[Time]

This is the type of thing I wish all builders would think of. Cheap and easy but really makes a big difference.

[Real_Tech_Skills]

Next time use CPVC conduit since one of your stated future purposes for this pipe was an electrical chase.

CPVC conduit is UV resistant and rated for exterior installation. PVC pipe will become brittle when installed in an exterior installation.

[dustinm]

Mom and stepdad built a house in 2009. I had them put (2) 2" PVC pipes, on on each end of the house from the basement to the main level. Have run several sensor wire and data cables for cameras, wifi and other devices.

[quickcode]

typically, any conduit entry should be a vertical pipe with a U pointing down and the wire entering it should have a loop hanging down right before the entry point, no matter how you try to seal it, water will eventually wick along the wires unless you do it this way

[PlanetMojo]

Our house has doors framed into walls, windows that are framed as doors and the water, electric, and communication lines stubbed out ready for additions. We put on the first addition last year, and everything was right there! This summer I will be removing a window upstairs that is framed for a door (no wires in the lower area, the right size, and everything screwed in place) and putting in a door to the flat roof of the addition which will be a Bison Pedestal deck some day (when we can afford it). We did ours this way so we could build things when we could afford them 😊

[bigpjohnson]

For $20 you can buy gray PVC conduit and run it inside an exterior wall from about 4 ft up all the way to the attic. I recommend 1" for your TV/internet service lines. Easy as cake to add or replace a cable down the line. Made it real easy when AT&T wanted to put their fiber line all the way inside my house.

Run 3/4" or 1" conduit from the attic to your TV and computer locations. Find a closet on the top floor and install a media panel box with conduit going to the attic. Now you can run all your TV and internet cabling all inside conduit and make changes anytime you need to! I spent probably $150 on conduit, elbows, straps and glue, and $90 on a 28 media panel, but the whole house is future proofed! 2 CAT6 and 1 RG6 drop to every room that needs one, and two on the big walls in the living room so I can put a TV wherever I want to. You can use low-voltage mud rings, or plastic electrical boxes with a hole drilled in them, for your outlets. Also, dont forget to foam or fire caulk the conduit every time it passes through a top or bottom plate or blocking.

[bengtriise]

This is planning ahead done right. Buuuut. Here in Norway where it rains horisontally, we drill all holes at an downward angle to prevent any water from getting to the wall. Keep it up!

[johnjacobjinglehimerschmid]

Great idea.
Always thought if I ever got into a new house or did a major reno on an existing house. The spouse likes the Christmas lights ... that I'd put exterior outlets under the roof overhangs. get away from extension cords.

[changalangodu]

As a former internet installer, this is great! Especially for slab on grade builds, this prevents the stupid looking “wrap the black coax, or white CAT5 wires around the outside of the house” method of catching up to future technologies. That and Smart panels!

[patmowery]

As someone who installs fiber to the home I can appreciate this!

[mattheww]

Great idea, working as a low voltage installer for years people never think about the low voltage stuff or any type of future proofing, now everyone wants cameras, wifi repeaters, speakers and god knows what else outside and the only options you have all create a mess

[panchonorthmann]

I do a lot of waterproofing of pipe penetrations through sheathing and foundations. Tip for this peel-n-seal type tape: Fold the tape in half the long way, gently score the backing paper along the fold, while still folded remove one half of the backing, then adhere to the sides of the object penetrating the plane/sheathing/foundation. Then remove the other half and stretch onto the plane/sheathing/foundation. Far neater, better seal on the pipe side of the junction.

[thatguy]

Love your ideas Matt and you're always wanting to improve attitude! A technique back when I was a cable, security, automation, and sound contractor for many years was to utilize the gray pvc electrical pipe, carlon orange resigard, and blue "smurf" flexible tubing available at the big box home stores. One trick to get a wire for a camera or speaker to the soffit, but super tough to crawl attic side - just poke a pvc pipe down from attic side to soffit, or from soffit side if there's a nearby vent for access or add an additional one near your desired location. Now you're not eating insulation. On new construction I would run conduits to key areas throughout a home and of course between floors. Many home builds would take years until completion - then I could wire with latest cable i.e. cat 5, 6, 7 available and as needed for project requirements. Always smart to plan for future developments.

[bobblack]

Excellent idea. Want a couple more? Before I poured my driveway, near the garage I installed a 4 inch PVC below the dirt from one side to another and added threaded end caps. Don't know if I might want water lines (sprinklers?) or electrical. I also ran two empty electrical PVC lines from the attic down the outside walls to empty electrical junction boxes in case I want to add a future electrical cable to remote outdoor lights or other.

[eh_bailey]

This is some great forethought, Matt. I bought a 65 year-old house that had 6+ cable/satellite installs, and they were all a mess.

[maximerousseau]

When I bought my place, we had no less than 6 seperate penetrations for low-voltage cabling. I have installed an exterior- rated 12x12 box 10 feet up on my building, right next to the high voltage mast. 2 x 3/4 pipes going inside to a plenum between first and second storey, with a separate small 2-1/2 mast and masthead for low-voltage. The next utilities company to put a hole in my building is going to have a talk with my lawyer.

[archon]

I do low voltage installs. Clients never think about the following when they get their home built. Best spot for the router or access points to go, central in the home if 1 access point. Cat 5e or Cat6 wire to this location. Clients almost always want a camera system on their home now, WIFI is getting better but will never beat a wired system, get a wire to the front door, rear door, garage, and corners of home at a min. I would also run a smurf tube down from the attic to behind each TV to be mounted on the wall and to any area of the house that would almost be impossible to fish wire without an access hole(s), for example from a attic down a 2 story home to the garage. Smurf tube from demarcation to low voltage panel/closet and to attic.