I need 2 drops, 15 feet apart but it needs to be run through the attic. I have the wire etc, just looking for someone to run it. Also no, I can’t do it myself.
Thank you
Do you have an electrician you like? If you just want the cable ran most can/will do it and you may want them to install the wall patch while doing it?
Otherwise you're deal with A/V or Network installers which are going to charge more just because.
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Agreed... however, if you want a networking guy I know someone over in Hillsborough, Kentel Communications Service 742 Mill Ln Hillsborough, NJ Telephone Equipment & Systems Service/Repair - MapQuest I've used them for some commercial work before.
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I would say electrician would be the best, but I work down the street if you just need help running the wire. I ran all the cat6 wiring in my house.
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As I’ve asked around it seems in nj it’s really dangerous because something about power wires not behind shielded. Am I making any sense?
The short story is keep network cable as far away from power wires as you can to avoid interference. If you do have to cross power cables do so perpendicularly. I don’t know anything unique about nj. If it’s a very old home it could be knob and tube wires which would have the same problem but can cause worse interference.
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Yeah - it's not Chicago with conduit wiring requirements.
By chance do you have regular phone lines in your house that you are not using?
I only ask this because sometimes the phone runs are cat5 and you can use those to your advantage.
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I do. How can I tell if it’s cat 5?
If you remove the cover and look at the connected plug - the wire will look like a cat 5 (or older cat 3) cable... maybe blue wire with the usual 8 wires but only 2 or 4 will be connected to the plug. Sometimes on the sleeve of the wire you can tell there too..
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Also go look in your utility room and see where all the wires connect to the distribution panel - you should be able to see what type of wires are there.
IF they are cat-5 then you could crimp some of those wires with ethernet connectors or attach to a patch panel and hook them up to a switch. On the related phone jack end you'd swap the jack out for an ethernet jack. You may have to replace the faceplate - I'd use something like a keystone plate so you keep it flexible as to what you can put in there.
I think he will be best to hire a networking professional, not an electrician in my experience. They have extremely basic training and typically don’t have the right training and equipment to test the connection and/or diagnose issues during the install.
I was putting drops in an office building and the electrician accidentally cut through the line. His attempt at repairing it was beyond laughable. It was odd that he thought I wouldn’t notice when I tested.
Also keep in mind that CAT5 is not adequate for gigabit ethernet, but will be fine if you’re only running 100 Mb/s. Gigabit must have at least CAT 5E, because the gauge of the wires is thinner on CAT 5 and the number of twists in the pairs to prevent cross talk is not high enough.
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What’s a decent estimate per drop? Round about
It can vary greatly. Really depends on many factors, like how far from the switch, and what's involved in the pull. I don't personally give off-site rough estimates unless I have very specific information, like drop-ceiling, wall type and distance from the switch. Sorry, but I won't throw out a number that might screw over the installer.
You can probably get some rough numbers online, but your installer will charge what the job needs in the end. $500 wouldn't be unreasonable if there's a high level of difficulty in the pull. If that's too much, then consider just using Powerline Ethernet adapters instead.
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@SmartHomePrimer surely you could be coaxed to fly to NJ and get this fellow community member set up. 
@frmWink2Hubitat I would see if there are Youtube videos and see what it takes to run wires. I don't know how your home is laid out etc but it isn't very difficult. I have electrically rewired most of my home and haven't needed more than an extra hole or two in the walls to pull fresh wiring and adding tons of extra switches and outlets. Once you do one or two drops, you will have a skill for the rest of your life (and many new friends).
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And low voltage is a good way to get started.
Edit - if there's a Harbor Freight near you, you can pickup the tools/knick-knacks you need to fish wire for less than $30.
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Very true having pulled several 1000 feet but fun comes to an end when you have blocking in the walls... the horizontal 2x4s used when ceilings are 9feet and higher. But if you are dropping wires from above into insulation free stud bays this is the most handy device ever:
https://www.amazon.com/LABOR-SAVING-DEVICES-LSD85124-Retriever/dp/B00009WE0H/
Sure. If you have the time and inclination, it’s not too hard to learn. But wouldn’t Powerline adapters work for you @frmWink2Hubitat? They’re a lot less expensive and easier to setup than installing two drops
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If it has a RJ-45 outlet, it usually is a 4 pair cable. The Cat 3 vs. the cat 5/6 cable, would probably not give you any trouble with todays network cards over fairly short distances (within a house, if it is not the White House) Are you planning to max out the 1 GB/s network card. Normally these speeds and above is only seen/relevant in datacenters, so i would not worry too much if there is a Cat 3 cable in the wall. The standards have lots of slack, and apply to long distances, but in a home, i go out on the limb to say it would work just fine. Just shink about what one normally use as a patch cable. Short, mostly unsheilded cable, let say max 10 meters, no problem with the network... As a networsk specialist and having installed several thousen network ports the last 30+ years, the standard is very forgiving. One can argue a long time about min and max speeds, but who really maxes out the standards at home these days... Just saying.. 
You will probably be fine, just test it, you will see (If you already have the cabling for phone, just try it)
Kind regards,
RogerThat
Oslo, Norway
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If I where you, I would rather look into a good WiFi router and bridge one up to the second floor from the intake. The routers these days are amazing and stable. Cable is great, but usually the hastle is to get it to where you want, which this post confirms..
Specially Asus routers have great stable firmware, and the speeds on WiFi these days almost hitting 1GB/s in realtime usage. Do you need more?
RogerThat
