[l008com]

I'm having a real hard time finding some cable management solutions. I even went to a little local "got everything" computer shop, and they had nothing at all. Well, other than permanent, nail-down cable fasteners. I had a hard time even explaining to them what I needed, which was very weird since I was showing them a picture, pointing and explaining. But anyway, here's what I need:

1) I do a lot of wall-mount stuff, and I need some kind of clips I can attach to bare plywood (so adhesive clips don't work) to hold cables, data and power (separately of course). But I tend to add things over time, so I can't be taking the whole wall board apart every time we add stuff. So I need some kind of clips that, while the clips are permanently attached to the board, the wires the clips are holding can be removed, and new ones can be added.

Here is an example of the kind of wall mounting stuff I do:
http://i.imgur.com/I7mkjw9.jpg
Generally for small businesses (this one is a hair salon) that have no need for a rack, but clearly need something to keep stuff straight. The clips I used here are adhesive clips from Cyberguys.com. They don't stick to bare wood, so I had to drill holes through the back of each one, then get a bunch of screws at the hardware store to screw them to the board with. Not the most ideal solution.


2) Totally different situation, similar need. I bought a new house that I will soon be wiring up with CAT6. It's a single story home and the basement is not finished. So running all of the ethernet will be very easy. EXCEPT I do need some kind of hooks or rods or something to rest the cables on. The flood joists are standard 2 x 8's spaced about 12". So I need something every 12" that is reasonably priced since I need a ton of them. Again the people at this computer store, that does this kind of wiring in offices every day, kind of looked at me like idiots when I tried to explain what I need, and suggested I "maybe check out home depot?". So I've seen different kinds of data cable "channels" in older buildings that get repurposed into offices. Something like that could possibly work well for me. Except I don't know what these things would be called, or where I'd search for them.

Here is a not quite up to date map of my port locations:
http://i.imgur.com/doXe8MC.png
I'm going to have a main center channel of data cables going along the basement, that will then branch out to each of the port locations.

Whaddaya think?

[ibook_steve]

Would perfboard, like what I use to put tools on the wall in my garage, work for #1?

I know what you're talking about for #2. I've seen those in many offices, hanging down from a higher ceiling. But if it's in your basement and the wood joists are exposed, why don't you just add pieces of wood or metal that go from joist to joist (perpendicular to the joists) to build a channel?

Steve

[ghporter]

Velcro for the win. I have much of my hardware (modem, router, printers) on a wire shelf system, and the cables are grouped and secured with Velcro cable wraps. It doesn't require wire shelving, though that helps make things neater. My entertainment center is cable-managed the same way.

Here's one option, with various colors to make it easier to keep things straight. And another in either black or gray for more mundane - but still very effective - cable management.

[l008com]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Velcro for the win. I have much of my hardware (modem, router, printers) on a wire shelf system, and the cables are grouped and secured with Velcro cable wraps. It doesn't require wire shelving, though that helps make things neater. My entertainment center is cable-managed the same way.

Here's one option, with various colors to make it easier to keep things straight. And another in either black or gray for more mundane - but still very effective - cable management.

Yeah but that still doesn't solve the problem of securing the wires. The velcro will make the bundles nice and neat but they'll still be dangling all over the place.

[abbaZaba]

Why screw the Velcro to the panel? Just use staples.

[ghporter]

Stick 3M Command sticky hooks wherever you need them, hang the Velcro on the hooks. Problem solved, and no mess when you need to move the hooks.

[BLAZE_MkIV]

For #1, what I did was screws into the plywood and then twisty ties around the screw then around the wires.

For #2, you'd want cable staples. I just typed "wire staple" into lowes web site. Also leave a little slack at the turns and a lot at the outlets.

[l008com]

I found a great solution for running the cables across the basement. These pipe holding hooks. They are cheap, available in a large variety of sizes, and you can mount them rotated 90° any way you want them. Shop Cambridge Resources 1-1/2-in - 1-1/2-in Dia Plastic Adjustable Pipe Hanger at Lowes.com

A whole bunch of those will hold my data cabling highways very nicely.

[ghporter]

Those should work great. I'd zip tie the cable to each one to keep it from sagging, but that's just me.