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Wi-Fi and network installation in El Cerrito

Flatland bungalows and mid-century houses in the hills. Contra Costa County, California.

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Homes in El Cerrito

El Cerrito's oldest houses are a few 1890s Victorian cottages and many simple California bungalows from the early 1900s, built for working families. Houses of that age usually have raised foundations with crawl spaces, and their original walls are often plaster over wood lath, which soaks up Wi-Fi.

The 1930s added Spanish Revival houses, and a building boom in the late 1940s and 1950s gave the city its reputation for mid-century modern homes, with open plans, walls of glass and work by architects including Richard Neutra, Roger Lee and Henry Hill. Examples stand along Arlington Boulevard, Vista Road, Brewster Drive and View Avenue. Mid-century houses on hillside lots often step down the slope on two or three levels, with flat or low-sloped roofs.

Refugees from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake settled here, and the city incorporated in 1917 with about 1,500 residents. A housing boom in the late 1940s and 1950s added many mid-century homes.

What that means for your Wi-Fi

Plaster and lath walls in the older bungalows

Thick plaster absorbs signal, so a router in the front room fades by the back bedroom. We use the crawl space to bring Cat6 to access points in the rooms that need them.

Mid-century homes with flat roofs and no attic

Exposed ceilings and glass walls leave few hiding places for cable. We plan short exterior runs in conduit that follows the trim, and use slim in-wall access points inside.

Hillside houses stacked down the slope

A router at street level rarely reaches the lower floors or the deck. We wire one access point per level and add an outdoor unit for the deck and garden.

Around El Cerrito

  • Cerrito Theater: The restored Art Deco movie theater on San Pablo Avenue dates from 1937 and shows films on two screens.
  • Hillside Natural Area: Roughly 80 acres of undeveloped hillside are kept as a nature preserve within the city.
  • Ohlone Greenway: The 2.6-mile trail through El Cerrito is popular with walkers, cyclists and runners.

Questions about Wi-Fi in El Cerrito

Why does Wi-Fi fade in the back rooms of my El Cerrito bungalow?

Probably the walls. Original walls in older bungalows are often plaster over wood lath, which soaks up signal room by room. If the house has a crawl space, we use it to bring Cat6 to access points in the rooms that need them.

Can you hide cable in a mid-century modern house with a flat roof?

Mostly, yes, though not through an attic, since flat and low-sloped roofs usually have none. We plan short exterior runs in conduit that follows the trim and use slim in-wall access points inside, so the glass walls and open ceilings are left alone.

How do you cover an El Cerrito hillside home on several levels?

One access point per level. A router at street level rarely reaches the lower floors or the deck of a house that steps down the slope. We wire each level separately and add an outdoor unit where you use the deck or garden.

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