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Wi-Fi and network installation in Palo Alto
Professorville Victorians to south-side Eichler tracts. Santa Clara County, California.
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Homes in Palo Alto
North Palo Alto is the old town. Professorville was subdivided in 1889 for Stanford professors who wanted to own rather than lease, and it filled with Queen Anne houses in the 1890s. Old Palo Alto and College Terrace added Craftsman and Colonial-style homes through the 1940s. Houses of those years usually have raised foundations and plaster walls, and many have two floors or more.
South of Oregon Expressway the city is mid-century. Joseph Eichler built tract after tract here, including the 63 homes of Green Gables in 1950 and Greenmeadow in 1954 and 1955. His houses typically sit on concrete slabs, with exposed post-and-beam roofs and glass walls facing the yard. Barron Park is mid-century suburban.
Leland and Jane Stanford backed Palo Alto as a temperance town beside their new university, and it incorporated in 1894. It absorbed the older town of Mayfield in 1925, which is why there are two downtowns.
What that means for your Wi-Fi
Tall older homes with plaster on every floor
In Professorville and Old Palo Alto, signal has to get through plaster and up two flights. We use the crawl space, attic and closet chases to wire an access point on each floor.
Eichler tracts with glass walls and flat roofs
There is usually no attic, no crawl space and very little solid wall. We plan each run before drilling anything, keep cable outside in painted conduit, and use in-wall access points.
Home offices that carry the workday
When the house is also the office, Wi-Fi alone is a risk. We add wired drops at the desk, a small rack for the equipment, and a separate network for guests and smart-home devices.
Around Palo Alto
- University Avenue: The city's main downtown street is its primary retail and restaurant district, with California Avenue as a second downtown.
- HP Garage: The garage at 367 Addison Avenue is where Hewlett-Packard got its start.
- Baylands Nature Preserve: The bayfront preserve protects a large stretch of estuarine marsh habitat and has an interpretive center.
Questions about Wi-Fi in Palo Alto
How do you get Wi-Fi to every floor of an old Professorville house?
By wiring an access point on each floor. Houses of those years usually have plaster walls, and many have two floors or more, so a single router loses out. We use the crawl space, attic and closet chases, where the house has them, to get cable to each level.
Can you install access points in a Palo Alto Eichler with glass walls?
Yes. There is usually no attic, no crawl space and little solid wall, so every run is planned before anything is drilled. We keep the cable outside in painted conduit and mount in-wall access points on the solid walls the house does have.
What should a home office network in Palo Alto include?
A wired connection at the desk, to begin with. When the house is also the office, relying on Wi-Fi alone is a risk. We add Ethernet drops, a small rack for the equipment, and a separate network so guests and smart-home devices stay off the one you work on.