Sheetrock interface

This weekend, I pulled a mile of cable.   Whew!
 
It's all hanging down.   
 
What is the most professional way to pull this into my wiring closet where the rack will be mounted?
I'm thinking of a PVC conduit that the sheetrockers can wall around with a big fat pipe(or 2 or 3) with my wires coming out of.
 
I'm waiting for the electricians to put their panel in and finish up some before I "finish" my wiring.   
 
Is there a professional method of introducing all these LV wires to the room?
 
--Russ

Typically if it's coming from above, then a piece of metal electrical conduit attached penetrating the ceiling is what's done.
 
If coming out the wall, many cabinets will let you hide a 1-2 gang box or sometimes an odd shape (like a big oval) to let you pull the wires straight into the cabinet.  They also make wallplates for the 1-2 gang boxes that'll sort of seal around the wires.

Various wall scoops here:
http://www.aifittings.com/catalog/low-voltage-cable-management/?page=1
 
I've typically stayed away from a ceiling conduit because for me that would be all wiring would be terminating into a rack... and I'm just not that set on things. I change things and move stuff around too much to be tied to those connections (e.g. cables punched down into rack). Having said that, I've typically terminated all of my home run wiring into an in-wall media cabinet (i.e. SMC) and used patch cables out of there into my rack equipment. Maybe not the best thing for everyone but it works well for me.

What I did was just run it all in-between the two studs, bundle it together with zip ties, and left it there.  When the drywall was done, I cut a hole in the drywall, and mounted a wall-mounted 19" rack right over the hole, and installed patch panels.
 
I'd say it largely depends on what you plan to do to terminate them.  If you want some kind of patch panel, maybe do what I said.  If you want some kind of in-wall recessed box, get that mounted in before you do the drywall typically.
 
Also, free tip, if you bundle the cables up, make sure to zip all the loose ends together.  Drywall guys like to find loose ends, and sandwitch them between the studs and the drywall.  Maybe wrap the whole thing in tape.
 
Be careful running large conduit from the inside of the top-of-wall stud down.  This can cause alot of issues with inspection.  For starters, they want a fire barrier between the top of the wall and the inside, so you have to stuff fire stop around all the wires.  If you have a conduit, inspectors get really antsy about that and want a professional firestop installed.  Secondly, if the hole is massive, like a 3" conduit, you really kind of destroy the integrity of the top stud, and they don't like that either.
 
I ended up drilling lots of 1" holes and spreading the wires between them in small bundles.

My thought is to screw a piece of plywood onto the wall and pull the cables down to it.   Then atttach a 48 port patch panel for all the CAT6 stuff and run speakers and alarm directly to their components.
Maybe I'll ask the electrician how I should terminate to make his life easier.  A nice conduit would make it look neat.
 
I've got 48 CAT6 cables
About 25 Coax
Dozens of alarm wires and 9 speaker cables and a few window shade controls.  It aint gonna fit in a nice neat in-stud cabinet.
 
--Russ

Bzncrewjr said:

My thought is to screw a piece of plywood onto the wall and pull the cables down to it.   Then atttach a 48 port patch panel for all the CAT6 stuff and run speakers and alarm directly to their components.
Maybe I'll ask the electrician how I should terminate to make his life easier.  A nice conduit would make it look neat.
 
I've got 48 CAT6 cables
About 25 Coax
Dozens of alarm wires and 9 speaker cables and a few window shade controls.  It aint gonna fit in a nice neat in-stud cabinet.
 
--Russ

Click to expand...

 
Yeah, I could certainly see dividing that up into 2-3 in-wall cabinets if that were the route you went... I don't think it is, but that's about what I would expect for that amount of cabling.
 
I think I have about 24 Cat5E and 12 coax in a single 28" SMC and I have some room to spare. I have a separate 28" SMC for alarm equipment.

The big question is how is the room being finished.
 
Irregardless, all penetrations through the top plate of any framing would need fire caulk. Conduit or sleeves would require the same.
 
I would bundle by cable type and then install mud rings if a finished outlet is needed. 2 or 3 gang plastic rings would be my choice. D rings are probably better.
 
Remember, category cable should "normally" be terminated on a patch panel, then cross connected. Not saying I haven't just put 45's on and plugged straight into network gear, but the right way is to terminate your permanent cabling, then install patches between.

This is a utility room.   Will house furnace and other mechanical stuffs.
 
The electrician is running a dedicated circuit to the wall where I am thinking of attaching a piece of plywood to mount a patch panel, connectors, routers etc.
Something like this.
 

 
 
Here's the wall where the plywood panel will go.
I could drill a hole in the top stud and bring the cables into the wall and let them sheetrock it into the wall and pull it through a mud ring or something to my panels.
OR....I could get a 2" PVC elbow and bring it in through the sheetrock ceiling (see below).
 
All my cables are hanging down on the other side (in the garage).   So I could also mount a rack in the garage.   I'd prefer it in the utility room for climate control.  
 
 
 

 
--Russ

I would run them through the little red circle in your picture. I think conduit is optional, but given that you appear to have 2x6 studs there, you could probably get away with a 2" PVC.  However, it might need to be EMT instead with a fireplug at the top for inspection purposes.   Depends on your area and your inspector.
 
I would punch a hole post-drywall and then mudring it through to your panel setup.  That being said, I doubt it would fit in a 2".  That's nearly as much cable as I ran, and it needs more space than that I think.  Might need two 2" pipes.  Also, make sure you put in those nail-stop plates over the studs where the conduit is, to keep the drywallers from putting a nail into your cable.
 
Personally, I didn't do the plywood thing.  I just installed one of those wall-mount 19" racks.  It's actually quite nice, and does everything I want.  It even has a cutout on the wall side for cable to enter, so you don't even need a mud ring.

Garbled-

Which wall mounted rack did you use?

Bring it through the top plate of the wall and down to where you are intending. You're more likely to end up with damaged cabling and a general mess by attempting to bring the cable through a sleeve and have it worked around. You're also going to have a LOT of weight on the bottom of a sweep with that much cable hanging down through.
 
If you're not going to mount enclosures and split the space, then bring the cable inside the wall and then cut it down and pass through a mud ring.
 
Then bring the cables out the ring, mount a data "U" to the wall and terminate. Patch from the wall to the rack.
 
I know here, with a furnace room, especially if closed, they're going to require the sheetrock ceiling to be continuous without open penetrations above the furnace for fire spread and at least a double mud job on the tape.

It's been years since I built that room, but here is something on amazon that is similar.  They have them in lots of different sizes, depths, and configurations.  This will at least give you an idea of what I'm talking about.  I don't necc. reccomend the one I'm linking.
 
http://www.amazon.com/CNAweb-19-Inch-Network-Equipment-Bracket/dp/B01B0ZSLW2/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1459956065&sr=8-12&keywords=wall+mount+19%22+rack

I have this rack which is expandable (has 3 different configurations; 8U, 12U, and 22U):
 
http://www.amazon.com/TRIPP-Mount-Cabinet-Components-SRWO12UHD/dp/B00NOTY0OG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1459993870&sr=8-2&keywords=SRWO8U22
 
I don't currently have it wall mounted today; I built a specific wooden cabinet to house it as well as a number of other items for now. I'll likely wall mount it in our next home though.