Running cables is always a puzzle, especially in older homes. I’ve worked on a few remodels where the original floor plans made zero sense for modern tech—like, who puts the only phone jack in the laundry room? I get why people love wireless, but honestly, nothing beats a hardwired connection when you’re dealing with thick plaster walls or those weird little nooks that just eat signal.
I’ve had clients ask if we can “hide” Ethernet runs behind crown molding or baseboards, and it’s actually not as tricky as it sounds if you plan ahead. The real headache is when someone wants everything invisible but also wants to avoid cutting into any walls... that’s when you start getting creative with furniture placement and cable covers.
Wi-Fi mesh helps, but there’s always that one spot—usually right where someone wants to stream or work—that just refuses to cooperate. At this point, I just expect to spend half a day crawling around attics or under floors whenever we do a tech upgrade.
That’s the story of my house—built in 1923, and I swear every wall is like a bunker. I tried mesh, range extenders, you name it, but there’s always that one spot in the den where the signal just vanishes. Ended up running Ethernet through the old laundry chute (which we never use) and hiding cables behind some really chunky baseboards. Not pretty, but it actually works. Sometimes you just have to accept visible wires or lose your mind chasing a perfect setup.
I hear you on the old house struggles. I’ve flipped a few places from the 20s and 30s, and those plaster walls are brutal for wifi. Honestly, sometimes I just give up and run cable too—at least you found a clever route with the laundry chute. Ever tried powerline adapters? I had mixed luck with them, but they saved me once in a basement office where nothing else worked. Curious if anyone’s actually managed to get mesh working in these old houses without drilling holes everywhere...