Answered inline for clarity


"Crabshell" wrote in message
...
This may be the wrong place to ask this question, but here goes. I need
to
wire the house for cable (TV). This is a peer and beam house with
limited attic space -- an attic install would require a hearty, short
person with a tolerance for blown insulation.

Questions:

1) The cable TV installer said he couldn't do the job under the house
because he needed some sort of right angle drill bit. He said I should
call an electrician. What's that all about?

It is called a lazy installer. Assuming you are putting boxes in the wall
this does require some careful measuring and moderate difficulty pulling the
wire.

2) I figure I should run CAT 5 cable along side the coax at the same time
to be proactive. Can they coexist side by side without interference?

Coax and cat5 are fine side by side. They can terminate in the same box.
You can even buy face plates that have a cable/ network or phone jack.

3) Is it cool to run the lines straight under the house from point A to
point B or should they snake around the perimeter, walls and beams to stay
out of the way? (I like to do things the right way if it doesn't double
the cost.)

Direct lines are fine if supported. Along structual members or perpindicular
to joists is the preferred method. Note that all cable runs should serve
only one outlet (called home run) and should run from the point of entry to
the oulet. I actually prefer to run my phone lines in this manner also but
they are frequently ran in a series (from box to box).

If you are thinking you might want a wired network you should home run each
cat5 box to a central loacation where you can then configure the wires as
you see fit. Note that it not reccommended to use the same cat5 wire for a
data network and POTS. If you are thinking network or other communication
equipment this termination point should not be in the crawlspace (a closet
is good)


4) My house has no ground wires running to fixtures or outlets. Should
this be done at the same time or is that a whole other mess to deal with
later?

That is a whole different ballgame. Do one project at a time.

Thanks in advance,
Crabshell