Installing a Phone Jack

	Tools & Materials
	About Phone Wire
	Install the Jack

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Tools Wire strippers Drywall saw Screwdriver Drill/driver

Materials 4-wire phone wire Electrical wall-box Phone jack plate Wood screws

Red > Line 1 Green Yellow > Line 2 Black

Most homes have 4-wire phone wire. The wire has a sheathing, which contains four color-coded wires, usually red, green, yellow and black. The red and green wires make up the primary phone circuit and the yellow and black wires can be used to run a second phone line into the home. If you look at the back of an existing phone jack in your home, you should see the red and green wires from the incoming line connected to their corresponding color-coded screws in the jack. Since the yellow and black wires are only used for a second line, they aren't normally connected to the jack. If yours are connected, it's a good idea to continue connecting them to any future jacks.

There are several ways to connect the line for your new jack. The three most common are:

• Behind or along the top of your baseboard moulding.



• Down the inside of the wall, under the floor joists in the basement or crawlspace.



• Up the inside of the wall, through the attic and over the ceiling joists.

The best place to connect the new wire to the circuit is at the screws on the back of an existing jack.

Installing a phone jack is a simple procedure. Just follow these steps:

1. Wired phone jack.

   Locate and mark the edge of a wall stud in the area where you want to place the new jack.



2. Trace the outline of the wall box onto the wall at the edge of the stud. Use a drywall saw to cut out an opening for the box.



3. Run the wire using one of the techniques described above:
   
   
   • If you're running the new phone wire through the wall, pull it from the location of the new jack to the most convenient existing jack before installing the box. Leave at least 10" of wire running through one of the knockouts in the new box.
   
   
   
   • If you're running the line along the baseboard, it can enter the box from the front. Make sure you cut the wire long enough to reach into the box easily.
   
   
   
4. Screw the wall box to the side of the stud.



5. Strip 3/8" of the protective coating from the end of each
   individual wire. Connect the wire to the screws in the new jack plate: red to red, green to green and so on.



6. Secure the jack plate to the box using the screws provided with the jack plate.



7. Strip 3/8" of the protective coating from the unattached end of each individual wire. Connect the wires from the new line to the existing jack using the color code.



8. Plug a phone into the new jack and call your best friends to tell them how easy it was. Or, plug in the computer and send an e-mail. (Maybe you should forward this article so they can see for themselves).