How to Install Telephone Jacks for a New Home

Decide where in the house the jacks will be installed, and sketch out the path on the floors.

Drill holes 3/4-inch wide in any studs where the wire will run through (this prevents the wire from being damaged when the drywall is installed).

Measure the distance from the location of the telephone interface box (the box where the line from the phone company enters your home) to the location of each phone jack, and cut the wires to fit. Consider adding about 1 foot of wire to each measurement to provide you with extra slack. You can always cut away excess wire.

Install the boxes for the jacks inside the house by screwing them to the wall studs. Punch out one of the knockout holes on the box to allow the wire to pass before you attach them to the studs.

Run the phone wires from the telephone interface box through the house and to the boxes.

Cut 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch of the insulation off the wires at the telephone interface box and the jack boxes with a utility knife or wire strippers. This exposes the red, green, yellow and black wires in the line.

Strip about 1/2 inch of insulation off the four colored wires.

Match the colored wires to the colored screws on the back of the jack plate and connect them by wrapping the wires around the screws and tightening the screws.

Slide the jack into the box, but don't put the plate cover on until the drywall is installed and the walls are painted.