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Wi-Fi and network installation in East Palo Alto
Postwar tract houses and brand new subdivisions. San Mateo County, California.
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Homes in East Palo Alto
East Palo Alto's older housing is postwar. Developers bought up farms and the long, narrow lots of the old Runnymede poultry colony, split them into much smaller parcels, and filled them with inexpensive tract houses in the 1950s. Where a deeper lot survives from the colony years, there can be room behind the house for a second building.
The other half of the story is recent. Since about 1997 more than a quarter of the city, over 400 acres, has been cleared and rebuilt, including the University Square neighborhood, so there are whole streets of houses from the late 1990s and after. Older blocks and new ones sit side by side, and the difference in construction is easy to see.
Charles Weeks started the Runnymede poultry colony here in 1916, promising one acre and independence. Tract builders took over after World War II, and the community incorporated as a city in 1983.
What that means for your Wi-Fi
Small postwar houses with the router at one end
In a 1950s tract house the service usually lands in a front corner. One or two ceiling access points on Cat6, placed centrally, cover the whole house better than any single router can.
Newer homes may already have Ethernet in the walls
Houses built since the late 1990s often came with network cabling run to a central panel. We test every run, reuse the good ones, and put wired access points on them.
Back buildings on deep lots need a wired link
Where a second unit or workshop sits behind the main house, we connect it by buried cable or a point-to-point bridge so it gets full speed instead of leftover signal.
Around East Palo Alto
- Baylands Nature Preserve: The marshland preserve along San Francisco Bay borders the city on its eastern side.
- University Circle: The office complex and its Four Seasons Hotel, opened in 2006, replaced the old Whiskey Gulch retail strip.
Questions about Wi-Fi in East Palo Alto
Where should the access point go in an East Palo Alto tract house?
Near the middle, not where the service comes in. In a 1950s tract house the line usually lands in a front corner. One or two ceiling access points on Cat6, placed centrally, cover the whole house better than any single router can.
Can you reuse the network wiring in a newer East Palo Alto home?
Often, yes. Houses built since the late 1990s often came with network cabling run to a central panel. We test every run, reuse the ones that pass, and put wired access points on them rather than pulling new cable.
How do I get internet to a back unit behind my house?
With a wired link where possible. If a second unit or workshop sits behind the main house, we connect it by buried cable or a point-to-point bridge, so it gets full speed instead of leftover signal from across the yard.