Installation Options (Generally) for Three Story Condo Building

[vcr1980]

Can someone please shed light on what to generally expect for installation options?

I live on the 3rd floor of a condo (similar to an apartment) building. There are already many DISH and DirecTV satellites on the roof. Actually, they are right above my unit.

So, in my mind, I imagine they'd just put up another DISH next to all the others and then run a wire down to my unit. But how the heck do they get the wire inside to my unit?

Do they drill a hole in the dry-wall? Do they thread the wire in through the AC? Do they somehow take the wire all the way down to the ground floor and somehow connect in to the existing (Cable TV) wires?

It seems like a real crazy thing especially when I read about sloppy jobs done online.

For the record, I'm not asking how my actual situation will be assessed and installed. But, I'm asking for the general ways that can be done or that are usually done in these situations. Thank you in advance!

 

[HipKat]

All of the above? Everything you said is a possibility. Hopefully, one of the dishes on the roof are dormant and can be used for your install

 

[Ganthet]

They do have the ability to bring the cable into your house without drilling holes. I was in a rented Townhouse for 18 months and they used a flat cable that fit in the window.

 

[Claude Greiner]

Either 1 of three things

1) They find where the wire terminates to your apartment and after mounting the dish on the roof, they run the wire there.

2) they drill a hole next to your window and run the wire over the side of the building

3) they use a piece of flat wire on the window and run the wire over the side of the building.

 

[vcr1980]

They do have the ability to bring the cable into your house without drilling holes. I was in a rented Townhouse for 18 months and they used a flat cable that fit in the window.

Do you have a flat window ledge? I've got sliding windows with tracks and bulky grooves and can't visualize how a wire would nicely fit.

 

[vcr1980]

Either 1 of three things

1) They find where the wire terminates to your apartment and after mounting the dish on the roof, they run the wire there.

2) they drill a hole next to your window and run the wire over the side of the building

3) they use a piece of flat wire on the window and run the wire over the side of the building.

Will a technician drill a nice neat little hole and make it look all pretty on the outside and on the inside and clean up all the mess so it's one neat little tidy thing or will it be a mess on my hands. Grrrrr.

Flat wire in the window -- it sounds like my window will have problems closing. I've already got condensation issues with it.

Please reassure me if you can in any way. This sounds like so many things can go wrong.

 

[HipKat]

Will a technician drill a nice neat little hole and make it look all pretty on the outside and on the inside and clean up all the mess so it's one neat little tidy thing or will it be a mess on my hands. Grrrrr.

Flat wire in the window -- it sounds like my window will have problems closing. I've already got condensation issues with it.

Please reassure me if you can in any way. This sounds like so many things can go wrong.

Flat wire depends on the window frame. As for drilling, I would hope and expect that he'd do it nice and neat, seal it from the outside, use a new wall plate inside, etc.. Actually, I'd demand it and make sure you let it be known that aesthetics is very important

 

[osumike]

If it were me, I'd try to find an existing dish that already has wires running into the building where everything terminates, and then use existing cables that run into your apartment. That is, as long as the cable is good, and you're not already using it for internet.

 

[Ganthet]

Do you have a flat window ledge? I've got sliding windows with tracks and bulky grooves and can't visualize how a wire would nicely fit.

Yes, it was a sliding window. It was a little skeptical too. It was in the corner where the window meets the frame.

 

[vcr1980]

I went outside and took a look at how the other units have their's done.

They are all crazy badly installed.

The cord comes up over the roof and just hangs in the wind -- not attached to the building at all. It hangs down and then travels back up to the individual unit. One goes through the AC. The other's are all holes in the wall beneath the window. The holes look random and very quickly done.

Crazy to me!

 

[osumike]

Yeah. Sounds like someone needs to come in there and start from scratch. If there's an HOA there, you might consider talking to them about hiring a subcontractor company to come in and clean it all up, and maintain all the installs and service calls in the building moving forward.

Any way you could post a few pictures of it? Just curious....

 

[navychop]

Wall fishing is just not that hard. I HATE seeing coax running on outside walls or blowing in the wind.

A contractor might run home runs to every apartment.

I doubt many places would pay for that.


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[Bobby]

Wall fishing is just not that hard. I HATE seeing coax running on outside walls or blowing in the wind.

A contractor might run home runs to every apartment.

I doubt many places would pay for that.


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Unless it is an outside wall, like in this case. Two things can hinder that easy wall fish, insulation and fire blocks. It is not easy to just drop that cable down through insulation and fire blocks have to be drilled through mid wall.

 

[JSheridan]

Unless it is an outside wall, like in this case. Two things can hinder that easy wall fish, insulation and fire blocks. It is not easy to just drop that cable down through insulation and fire blocks have to be drilled through mid wall.

I kept clicking the Like button but it still only liked this one once.

 

[JSheridan]

You can have coax running outside and not blowing in the wind. It can tucked into and under siding and hid in other ways that make it nearly invisible.

 

[navychop]

That’s why avoid outside walls.

Generally much easier and more desirable to run interior.

Long ago, I saw an apartment building being retrofitted for cable. Attic drop down thru walls adjoining the center hallway. Then horizontally thru walls. One drop per apartment. Sometimes they could use existing access ports.


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[charlesrshell]

And two story home is not fun too.

 

[navychop]

I fished all the low voltage wires in my tri-level. And may well run another one or two.


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[dishdude]

Condos and apartments are usually nightmares to install wiring, more times than not a wall fish is impossible.

 

[HipKat]

Run one line where accessible and then have the talk about Wireless Joeys