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Wi-Fi and network installation in Oakland
Victorians, 1920s bungalows, Eichlers and hill houses. Alameda County, California.
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Homes in Oakland
Oakland has a wide range of older houses. West Oakland keeps well-preserved Victorian and Edwardian homes. Rockridge is known for Craftsman houses with wide porches and overhanging eaves, and the 1920s brought a building boom: about 13,000 homes went up between 1921 and 1924 alone. Houses of that age usually have plaster walls, often a crawl space or basement, and sometimes a detached garage at the back of the lot.
The hills hold houses that tend to spread over several levels, and the 1991 firestorm consumed nearly 4,000 homes. Sequoyah Hills has roughly fifty Eichlers, built in 1965 and 1966 and designed by Claude Oakland and Jones and Emmons. It was the only tract Joseph Eichler built in the city.
Oakland incorporated in 1852 and became the western terminus of the transcontinental railroad in 1869. Refugees from the 1906 earthquake and a 1920s building boom swelled the city, and the 1991 firestorm consumed nearly 4,000 homes.
What that means for your Wi-Fi
Plaster and stucco in 1920s bungalows
Plaster inside and stucco over wire mesh outside can make a small house behave like a much bigger one for Wi-Fi. We run Cat6 through the crawl space and attic to access points in the right rooms.
Detached garages turned into offices and ADUs
The garage at the back of the lot is often now a studio or rental. We connect it to the house with buried cable so it has its own wired access point.
Hill homes spread over several levels
Houses that step down a slope need coverage planned floor by floor. We wire an access point on each level and add outdoor units for decks, and use in-wall models in Eichlers that have no attic.
Around Oakland
- Lake Merritt: The lake sits in a tidal lagoon just east of downtown, with a 3.4 mile shoreline and a popular walking path around it.
- Fox Oakland Theatre: The theater on Telegraph Avenue opened in 1928 and reopened as a concert venue in 2009 after a long restoration.
Questions about Wi-Fi in Oakland
Why is Wi-Fi so weak in my small Oakland bungalow?
The walls are the usual culprit. Plaster inside and stucco over wire mesh outside can make a small house behave like a much bigger one. We run Cat6 through the crawl space and attic, where the house has them, to access points in the right rooms.
Can you get internet to a detached garage or backyard studio?
Yes. The garage at the back of the lot is often now a studio or rental, and it sits too far from the router. We connect it to the house with buried cable so it has its own wired access point.
How do you wire a Sequoyah Hills Eichler with no attic?
By working around the structure. With no attic to hide cable in, we plan short exterior runs in conduit and use in-wall access points. On a house that steps down a slope we plan coverage floor by floor and add outdoor units for decks.