General Wiring
Home-Run Wiring
All the low-voltage communications wiring (cable, satellite, telephone, network, security, etc.) should be ran "home-run." This means that every wire is run separately from it's termination point back to a central distribution point, usually in a utility room. In technical terms, this is referred to as a "star topology."
This differs from how your typical lighting or appliance circuits are run, where one circuit may feed multiple outlets:
For our low-voltage communication wiring, we want to be able to trace every wire from where it ends all the way back to the utility room. The proper place for splitters and splices is in the utility room, NOT in the wall, attic or basement.
Obviously this means you're going to use more wire. It's going to take more time, and if you're paying someone else to do the work, it's going to cost more. But, if you ever change your mind about what you want that wire to do, you'll find home-run wiring gives you much more flexibility. It's also easy to troubleshoot and a broken wire at one location won't normally cause problems at other locations
Planning
If you are wiring a new home each room should have, at minimum:
3 RG-6 coaxial wires, 2 CAT 5 network wires, and 1 standard telephone wire run to it. These wires should be run as a group and terminated close to each other.
Ideally, you would place a bundle of wires like this in every wall separated by doorway (the logic behind this is to eliminate the possibility of tripping over wires placed across a doorway).
Ultimately, you would run PVC conduit to each of these locations and place your wires inside the conduit. This way, if your needs change and you need to run more wires, you can just pull them through the conduit. (If, for example, it becomes economical and desirable to have fiber-optic wire throughout your house.)
Other experts may tell you that you don't need all these wires, so let me explain why I suggest you do. For each location where you might want to put a satellite receiver, you want three RG-6 coaxial wires. One wire is for the signal from the satellite antenna, one wire is for the signal from your off-air antenna or cable TV, and the third wire is for a "back-feed" to other TVs that run off this same satellite receiver. Alternatively, the third wire may be used for the second satellite receiver input if you get a TIVO enabled receiver. The telephone wire is necessary wherever a satellite receiver is placed. And you want two network connections at every location for connecting both a PC and a network printer.
In any case, you're far better off running the wire now and not needing it than you are trying to run a wire through a difficult part of the house later. Of course, if your house is designed in such a way that running wire later is an easy thing to do, don't worry about it. But this is seldom true.
Installing
Whether you are building a new home or adding wires to your existing structure, keep these rules in mind:
Always keep your communications wiring 24" away from your electrical wiring when the wires run in parallel. It's OK if they cross at right angles.
Handle coax and other solid conductor wire with care. If you've ever broken a wire on purpose by bending it back and forth several times you know the danger here.
Don't use electrical type staples to attach coaxial wire. You run the risk of crushing the cable.
Mark your wires at both ends for easier identification.
Use feed-thru bushings when running coaxial cable through exterior siding.
Outdoor splices should be left dry or protected with coax-seal ONLY. Don't use silicone sealant on coax cable as it only servers to seal the moisture IN.
Running and fishing wires in an existing structure
There are many different methods of getting a wire from point A to point B. They all work, but the method you use is going to depend your skills, patience, and how you want the installation to look when it's done.
Through the Floor (or wall)
The "through the floor" method is the easiest, cheapest, quickest, and ugliest method. It's also the method most often used by contract installers. Basically, you just drill a hole all the way through the floor or wall and push the wire through. Simple enough.
Some things to keep in mind:
Always check for wiring, plumbing, heat ducts, etc. before drilling
Drill the minimum size hole you need to get the wire through
Feed-thru bushings on both sides will make the installation look much more professional when you're going through a wall. Always use them on the outside of the house
When using feed through bushings, drill the hole slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the tube part of the bushing. Once you get everything situated the way you want it, pull the bushing out part-way and squirt a generous amount of adhesive caulk into the hole. Push the bushing in and wipe off the excess caulk. This will help insulate the hole and keep the bushing in place
If you use baseboard telephone jacks, this method can look pretty good as long as the jack is located close to the flooring so its shadow hides the wire (when going through the floor).
If you are drilling through carpeting, use a sharp utility knife and cut an X through the carpet and pad as close to the wall as you can (It's OK to drill through the tack strip). Then tuck the carpet and pad under all the way around to expose the hard surface flooring before you drill. This will keep the drill bit from snagging the carpet fibers and unraveling the carpet
Carpet installers tend to forget about the wires. More than once I've had to run new wires again because the carpet installers carpeted right over the wires when the new carpet was installed
In-Wall Wiring
In-wall wiring makes for a much more professional appearance. You'll see less of the wires this way. This method can be much more difficult to install and you're likely to run into a surprise or two when during the installation. A thorough knowledge of your home's construction or general construction techniques is a must. But, when done properly, no one would ever be the wiser that this wasn't part of the original house construction.
To get started, you need to figure out where you want to place the outlet in the wall.
Try to stay away from exterior walls. Exterior walls usually have insulation in them which can interfere with running the wires. Also,if you disturb the insulation you will reduce its effectiveness
Place the outlet at the same height from the floor as the existing electrical outlets and directly between two studs
Use a stud-finder to determine the location of the wall studs. Sometimes stud-finders aren't real successful at finding the wall studs. Try taking a cover off one of your electrical outlets on the same wall. These outlets (if put in when the house was built) are attached to a stud. You may be able to see the stud the outlet is attached to. Your other studs in the wall will then be located 16 inches on center from that one.
Visualize exactly how you are going to get the wire from your new outlet to your distribution point. Look for anything that might block the passage of the wire
Have a second or third choice for your outlet in case you can't make your first choice work.