By
eHow Home & Garden Editor
Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You’ll Need:
- Screwdriver, phillips
- Wall plate, telephone jack
- Wire strippers and cutters
- 4, 6 or 10 conductor phone cable, length to reach between two wall plates
Step1
Locate the closest live phone connection to the point where you want to install a new phone jack. You will be making an extension off another phone jack. Extending from the closest live jack will require the least amount of materials and will let you work from a location of a working phone jack. If any problems result, you will know that it has to be in the section you just installed.
Step2
Measure the distance between the closest jack and the location you are putting the new jack in. Be sure to include enough cable to go around door framing and window frames if applicable. Do not stretch the cable across the floor where it could cause a tripping hazard.
Step3
Remove the closest jack from the wall and identify the two color wires that used for the phone service at this location. Typically, this will be red and green wires. If there are more than two lines in the home however, it may be the black and yellow wires.
Step4
Lay the new phone wire between the two locations and leave enough extra cable at both ends so that you can make the connections and not run short. Strip the last three inches of outer cable insulation from both ends of the new phone line. Strip the last inch of insulation from the red and green wires.
Step5
Connect the red and green wires to the phone line connections on the new jack plate. The screw heads have tinting to indicate which color wire goes where. Repeat this process at the currently working wall plate by adding the red and green wires to the existing wall plate. Each of the connections will have two wires on it. Screw both wall plates back on the wall and you have a new phone jack.
