How to Run Ethernet Cable Through Walls (Including Solid Stone)

Wi-Fi is convenient. Ethernet is reliable. If you’ve ever been on a video call that froze, had a smart TV buffer mid-film, or watched your download speed crater because someone turned on the microwave, you already know the difference. Running ethernet cable through walls is one of the best upgrades you can make to a house — and it’s entirely doable as a DIY project.

This guide covers the full process, from planning your cable runs to terminating and testing. I’ve included specific advice for solid stone and brick walls — the kind you’ll find in older UK houses — because that’s a challenge most American-focused guides completely ignore.

Why I Wired My Entire House with Ethernet

Living in a stone house with walls over a foot deep, wifi doesn’t move far, and as this was an L shaped house, the far edges just couldn’t get wifi, the only answer was extenders, or wired, I went wired as extenders never worked well. Now I have moved on to Unify networking gear again, utilising the wired connections but wifi is not everywhere

Planning Your Cable Runs

Cat5e vs Cat6 vs Cat6a — What You Actually Need

This is one of those topics where people overthink it. Here’s the simple breakdown:

My recommendation: Cat6. It costs only marginally more than Cat5e, supports 10-gigabit speeds over typical household distances, and is rated for the next decade of home networking needs. Cat6a is technically superior, but the thicker, stiffer cable is notably harder to pull through walls and terminate — not ideal for a DIY install.

Mapping Out Your Route

Before you drill a single hole, plan every cable run on paper (or a simple diagram). Think about:

• Where does your router/switch live? This is the hub — every cable run starts or ends here. A utility cupboard, under the stairs, or a corner of the office are common locations.
• Which rooms need drops? At minimum: office, living room (for TV/streaming box), and anywhere you use a games console. Consider adding drops to bedrooms for future use — it’s much easier to run cable during a renovation than to retrofit later.
• How many drops per room? Two per room is a good standard — one for a device, one spare. It costs almost nothing extra in cable but saves you from running more later.
• Vertical routes — how will you get cable between floors? Common paths include: alongside existing plumbing or electrical runs, through airing cupboards, inside wardrobes, or through a newly drilled hole in a corner.

Measure each run and add 3-4 metres of slack. You can always trim excess cable, but you can’t stretch one that’s too short.

Tools You’ll Need

• SDS+ hammer drill — essential for solid stone and brick walls. A standard drill won’t cut it.
• SDS+ masonry bits — long ones (at least 400mm for solid walls, 600mm+ for thick stone).
• Fish tape or electrician’s draw wire — for pulling cable through cavities and conduit.
• Cable stripper
• Punch-down tool (110 type) — for terminating cable onto keystone jacks and patch panels.
• Cable tester — absolutely worth the £15-20. Testing each run takes 30 seconds and saves hours of troubleshooting.
• Stud finder (for stud walls) — to locate timber and avoid cables/pipes.
• Dust sheets and a vacuum — drilling through stone creates a shocking amount of dust.

Drilling Through Solid Stone Walls — What Nobody Tells You

The Right Drill Bits (SDS+ Is Non-Negotiable)

If you’ve got an 1870s house (or anything pre-1930s), your external walls are likely 300-500mm of solid stone or brick. A standard masonry bit in a combi drill will barely scratch the surface. You need:

• An SDS+ rotary hammer drill — these deliver a hammering action that pulverises masonry. You can rent one for about £25-35 per day if you don’t own one.
• Long SDS+ bits — a 16mm × 600mm bit handles most solid walls. 16mm gives enough space for a single Cat6 cable with conduit. If you’re running multiple cables through one hole, step up to 20-25mm.

Critical tip: Drill slightly downward from inside to outside (a 5-10 degree angle). This ensures any rainwater runs outward rather than inward along the cable. It’s a small detail that prevents damp problems later.

Dealing with Dust and Debris

Drilling through 400mm of Victorian stone produces an extraordinary amount of dust. Seriously — it fills the room. Prepare properly:

• Cover everything in the room with dust sheets.
• Have someone hold a vacuum nozzle next to the drill bit as you work (or tape it in place).
• Wear a proper FFP3 dust mask, not a paper one. Stone dust is no joke for your lungs.
• Keep the drill bit clear by pulling it out every 50mm to let debris fall out of the hole.

Expect each solid-wall hole to take 10-20 minutes. Factor this into your timeline if you’ve got multiple exterior wall penetrations planned.

Running Cable Through Stud Walls

Internal stud (plasterboard on timber frame) walls are much easier. The process:

1. Cut your wall plate hole — mark the position of your network wall plate, then cut the opening with a plasterboard saw or oscillating multi-tool. Cut it neatly — the plate needs to sit flush.
2. Check for obstructions — shine a torch into the cavity and check for cross-braces (noggins), pipes, or electrical cables. Use a stud finder before cutting.
3. Drill through the top or bottom plate — to get cable into or out of the wall cavity, you’ll usually need to drill through the timber plate (the horizontal timber at the top or bottom of the stud wall). A 20mm spade bit does the job.
4. Feed the cable — drop it from above or push it up from below. Fish tape helps enormously in tight cavities. Tie the cable to the fish tape with electrical tape and pull it through.

Important: Keep ethernet cables at least 200mm away from mains electrical cables running in the same wall. Running them parallel and close together can cause interference. Crossing at 90 degrees is fine.

Running Cable Between Floors

Getting cable from one floor to another is often the trickiest part of the whole job. Options include:

• Through the airing cupboard — if you have one, this is usually the easiest path. The hot water cylinder often has pipe runs that go between floors, and there’s typically space alongside them.
• Through wardrobes — drill through the floor inside a built-in wardrobe. The hole is hidden and you can route cable neatly down the back wall.
• Through corner voids — the corner where two walls meet often has a small void that runs between floors. A long drill bit from above or below can access it.
• Surface-mounted trunking — if concealed routing isn’t possible, mini trunking (25mm × 16mm) painted to match the wall is barely noticeable and much easier than chasing into plaster.

Terminating and Testing Your Cables

Keystone Jacks vs Direct Connections

At each end of your cable run, you need a termination — a socket you can plug a short patch cable into. You have two options:

Keystone jacks in wall plates (recommended) — these snap into a standard single or double gang face plate. They look professional, they’re easy to replace, and they give you a proper socket at each end. Terminate the cable onto the jack using a punch-down tool (follow the colour code printed on the jack — T568B is standard in the UK).

Direct RJ45 plug crimping — skip the wall plate and crimp a plug directly onto the cable end. This works but is fiddly with solid-core cable and creates a less durable connection. I’d only do this for temporary runs.

At the router/switch end: If you’ve got more than 3-4 runs, a small patch panel (12 or 24 port) mounted on the wall or in a small cabinet keeps everything organised. Terminate all your incoming cables onto the patch panel, then use short patch cables to connect to your switch.

Testing: Once terminated, test every run with a cable tester before plastering over anything or declaring victory. A basic tester (£15-25) checks that all eight wires are connected in the right order and have continuity. It takes 30 seconds per cable and will catch wiring mistakes, damaged cables, and poor terminations. I’ve had a couple of cables test faulty because I’d nicked the insulation while stripping — much easier to fix before the wall plate is screwed on and the trunking is painted.

Hiding the Cables — Trunking, Chasing, and Plastering Over

How you conceal the cable depends on your wall type and how neat you want the finish:

• Inside stud walls — cable runs inside the cavity, completely hidden. The neatest option.
• Chased into solid walls — cut a channel in the plaster with a bolster chisel, lay the cable in (ideally in conduit), and plaster over it. Time-consuming but invisible. Only practical if you’re replastering anyway.
• Mini trunking — the pragmatic option for retrofit installs. Self-adhesive trunking runs along the top of skirting boards, around door frames, and across ceilings. Paint it to match and it nearly disappears. Most visitors will never notice it.
• Under floorboards — lift boards, run cable, replace boards. Works well between the ground and first floor. Clip the cable to the joists to keep it off the ground and away from pipes.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

• Running cable too close to mains electrical — keep at least 200mm separation for parallel runs. Use shielded cable (STP) if you can’t achieve this.
• Sharp bends in cable — Cat6 should not be bent tighter than four times the cable diameter (about 25mm radius). Sharp kinks degrade signal quality and can cause intermittent connection problems.
• Using stranded cable for in-wall runs — stranded cable is flexible (great for patch cables) but doesn’t terminate well onto keystone jacks. Always use solid-core cable for permanent in-wall installations.
• Not labelling cables — once you’ve got 6+ cables arriving at your patch panel, you’ll have no idea which goes where unless you labelled them. Use a marker on both ends of every cable before you pull it through the wall.
• Not testing before closing up walls — test every single run. A 30-second test saves hours of rework.
• Forgetting to seal exterior penetrations — every hole through an exterior wall needs sealing with silicone or expanding foam to prevent draughts and water ingress.

My Recommended Network Wiring Kit

Here’s what I’d buy for a typical house wiring project (4-8 cable runs):

Total estimated cost: £120-200 for a complete wired network installation. That’s less than a year’s worth of upgrading your broadband package, and the speed and reliability improvement is transformative.

If you’re renovating anyway — stripping walls, replastering, lifting floorboards — there is genuinely no better time to run ethernet. The cable itself costs almost nothing; it’s the labour of concealing it that takes time. Do it now while the walls are open and you’ll thank yourself for years.