# Pre wired home,where's the junction box



## Jathanw

Just got into a home that already had cat 5 wired throughout the whole house.also has coax cable in each room, 2 plugs per outlet.
I've looked in every room and can't find the junction box.it has 12-14" of insulation in the attic (radiant barrier). Plus to top it off it's a two story. I want to make the house fully functional, but can't find that box.
It's a history maker home built in 2005. If that helps


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## SayWhat?

Basement, garage, attic, utility room, closet, .................

Any number of options.


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## harsh

See if you can figure out where the phone and/or cable service came into the house. The bulkhead will probably be near that.


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## lugnutathome

Jathanw said:


> Just got into a home that already had cat 5 wired throughout the whole house.also has coax cable in each room, 2 plugs per outlet.
> I've looked in every room and can't find the junction box.it has 12-14" of insulation in the attic (radiant barrier). Plus to top it off it's a two story. I want to make the house fully functional, but can't find that box.
> It's a history maker home built in 2005. If that helps


Is there a door under the stairway? A basement (ish) crawlspace, a "second" or very large primary electrical fuse panel box in the garage? a similar box outside under a raised porch?

Likely this was done with the idea of being serviceable so it's most likely somewhere easy to work on with power for the switching.

Don "it's there right in front of you somewhere and will be the last place you look" Bolton


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## SayWhat?

I've seen houses where there is a separate media room off the back of a closet.

If nothing else, contact the realtor and have them ask the former occupant.


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## RasputinAXP

lugnutathome said:


> Don "it's there right in front of you somewhere and will be the last place you look" Bolton


Well of course, if you keep looking after you find it, that's just silly.


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## trh

Ive seen a lot in laundry rooms and walk in closet in the master bedroom. And by the back door to the garage. But just guessing at this point.


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## Getteau

my last house was pre-wired this way and the box was in one of the walk in closets in the master bedroom.


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## Jathanw

No basement. See I've looked in every closet,bathroom, storage space. Right by the ac u it outside is the phone box. It only has 2wires coming out of it. There's about 9 cat 5 plugs. U deer the stairs there's a storage area with a door in the laundry room, but no box. In the garage is the main electrical panel, but I don't see a junction box anywhere near it


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## SayWhat?

You have a deer by your stairs?


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## Jathanw

Under*


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## Drucifer

You need someone with a mouse and a probe. The mouse puts a beeping tone on the wire that the probe can pick up.

But a call to the realtor is probably a hell of a lot easier.


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## billsharpe

Besides the realtor, you might try contacting the builder at www.historymaker.com. Click on contact us near the top right.

I had a tough time finding the electrical circuit box in a rental home in Tahoe a couple of months ago. Finally located it in the garage -- I had a popped circuit breaker in the master bedroom.


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## matt

It's all wired in series, there is no junction box. :lol:


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## dsw2112

matt said:


> It's all wired in series, there is no junction box. :lol:


I've actually seen this happen; all daisy chained... It was a friend of a friend situation, and I was asked to look at the wiring because the owner couldn't figure it out. The owner was told all rooms were wired with CAT5 when he bought the house (he was pretty excited too.) The rooms were wired with CAT5E, but each jack was in series with the next. Usefull for phone, but little else (the rooms did have a separate phone jacks as well.)


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## lugnutathome

Jathanw said:


> No basement. See I've looked in every closet,bathroom, storage space. Right by the ac u it outside is the phone box. It only has 2wires coming out of it. There's about 9 cat 5 plugs. U deer the stairs there's a storage area with a door in the laundry room, but no box. In the garage is the main electrical panel, but I don't see a junction box anywhere near it


So you have a wall panel under the stairs with 9 cat 5 plugs? Is there electricity near this? I'm guessing they routed all the cat 5 there and you'll need "patch" cords to a switch you would locate there...

Probably no consideration of side by side integration with coax and phone which have a separate entry points into the domicile but there may be a cat 5 receptacle near enough for a DSL router, CCK, or cable modem as appropriate somewhere where the multiple networks converge...

Check your neighbors homes outside and see where their CATV/SAT line come in, bet you have something under the eves, in the attic, or in the crawlspace for this.

Sounds like they gave you the backbones but not the heart.

Don "batteries not included, some assembly required, instructions? who needs instructions?" Bolton


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## trh

Any possibility there is a stack of moving boxes blocking your view of the box? just asking. Seems odd you can't find it.... Did you trace the wires (cable/phone) from where they enter the house?


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## SayWhat?

matt said:


> It's all wired in series, there is no junction box. :lol:





dsw2112 said:


> I've actually seen this happen; all daisy chained...


Yeah, I've seen it too.



lugnutathome said:


> So you have a wall panel under the stairs with 9 cat 5 plugs? Is there electricity near this? I'm guessing they routed all the cat 5 there and you'll need "patch" cords to a switch you would locate there...


I was having trouble deciphering the jumble of letters, but that could be it. Mine were all run to one place with RJ45 plugs on them that plugged directly into the router or switch - no patch panel.


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## Henry Yates

Awesome feed, I have my own IT company and was helping my son in a town home with no crawlspace, no basement, but finished Cat 5e wiring and Ethernet ports. We found all phone and ethernet run to a Honeywell Panel in the Master Bedroom walk in closet. The phones were run in white Cat 5e and the ethernet for internet, RJ-45 in blue CAT 5e. They were tucked into the empty space of the wall and weren't terminated so that you could choose a panel or terminate the ends to connect to a router. An electrical outlet was within 3 feet. We used a router and not only are all the ports live, he now has a wifi for his second floor. Thanks for all the input.


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