Home › Service areas › Alameda

Wi-Fi and network installation in Alameda

Island Victorians, bungalows and bay fill neighborhoods. Alameda County, California.

Get a free 2-minute network estimate

Homes in Alameda

Alameda's older streets are lined with Victorians, many of them the large houses that San Francisco businessmen built around Grand Street in the Gold Coast. Houses of that age tend to be tall and deep, often two stories over a raised basement, with plaster walls and rooms set well back from the street. Fernside, subdivided in the late 1920s, has a mix of Craftsman, bungalow and ranch houses.

The island's edges are newer. South Shore sits on bay fill placed in the mid 1950s, and Harbor Bay Isle on Bay Farm Island was also built on fill. In 1973 voters passed Measure A, which barred new buildings larger than a duplex. The former Naval Air Station, now called Alameda Point, was handed to the city for civilian development.

Alameda incorporated in 1854 and became an island once a tidal canal was finished in 1902. Bay fill created South Shore in the 1950s, and the Naval Air Station closed in 1997 and passed to the city.

What that means for your Wi-Fi

Tall Victorians need an access point per floor

A router on the parlor floor seldom reaches the top bedrooms or the basement of a deep Victorian. We run Cat6 up through the walls and wire an access point on each level, powered over the cable.

Old plaster walls soak up signal

Plaster over wood lath, common in houses of this age, weakens Wi-Fi from one room to the next. We place wired access points close to where you work and watch, instead of counting on one strong router.

Shared walls mean crowded airwaves in condos and townhomes

Condos and townhomes pick up interference from every neighbor's network. We wire a small number of access points, reuse existing Ethernet after testing it, and tune channels so your network stays clear.

Around Alameda

  • Park Street: The historic commercial district along Park Street is listed on the National Register, and the Art Deco Alameda Theatre dates from 1932.
  • USS Hornet Museum: The aircraft carrier has been moored in Alameda as a museum since 1998, a reminder of the island's Navy years.
  • Crown Memorial State Beach: The state beach on the bay shore is 2.5 miles long and has the Crab Cove Visitor Center at its north end.

Questions about Wi-Fi in Alameda

Can you run Ethernet through an old Alameda Victorian without damaging it?

Usually, yes. Houses of that age often have a raised basement below and plaster walls that we would rather not open, so we plan each route first and fish Cat6 up through the walls. The result is a wired access point on each level, powered over the cable.

Why does one router not cover my tall Gold Coast house?

Mostly because of height and plaster. A router on the parlor floor seldom reaches the top bedrooms or the basement, and plaster over wood lath weakens signal room to room. We wire an access point on each floor so no room depends on a single box.

How do you stop neighbors' networks from slowing Wi-Fi in a condo?

You cannot remove their networks, but you can work around them. Condos and townhomes pick up interference through shared walls, so we use a small number of wired access points, reuse existing Ethernet once it tests good, and tune channels to keep yours clear.

Nearby