I think the current set-up is a way better ground but the tech insisted that they can no longer use that and they must use the flimsy clip on the meter box, which is located on the opposite corner of the house. (cable + phone enter the house on the southeast corner, meter base is on the northwest corner). This would involve digging up a 35 foot long interlocking pavers walkway and a concrete porch, and the basement is all finished with wood paneling that cost 35K$ to have custom made in 1978. Can we pass the grounding conductor through the soffit, into the attic, and down in the utility room (where the splitter is)? Could you please tell me what would be the logic in doing that the way the cable Co. wants to do it? Thanks.

It seems like they need to develop a standard.

In your case, it seems like their policy is to ground to the meter pan which is a good spot, but with the specifics of your house, it will be hard. Isn't there any way to run it along the outside of the house?

First off, check with the power company to see if they will allow this type of connection to their meter enclosure, the power company one in my area will not allow this type of intersystem bonding termination.

The 2009 NEC has a provision for buildings that do not have an intersystem bonding termination and you can connect to the water line if in fact it is a grounding electrode and the connection is within 5 feet of where the water pipe enters the house.

Also, there is an exception that allows the grounding conductor to exceed 20 feet when it is not practical to achieve the 20 foot maximum length and I'd say that doing all that work to get to the meter socket is not practical.

There are good reasons for making the connection at the service, but with existing structures it is not always practical.

It seems that our only "feasible" solutions, are to convince the cable company to keep it as it is, or run the wire through the attic.

The splitter is already bonded to the same place as the electrical panel, to the copper water mains, 23 inches from where the pipe enters the house. It has its own grounding clamp, 6 inches from the electrical bonding clamp. If that matters, we are in Canada. Thanks.

cable company comes out, installs it their way (wire visible).

Cable guy drives off.

Homeowner puts it back the way it was to begin with.

Just saying...

Ask about a "self-install kit".

Unplugging your existing cable modem, and plugging in a new one with a built-in ATA... isn't exactly rocket science.

We also had means to refuse a service order if there were customer mandated conditions that cost too much money or time. In that case, we would offer to do the install in "the company way", or to let the subscriber hire the work done to his specifications except for actual connection to our facilities. The installer would return later to connect the customer wiring and verify signal at that point. Reading between the lines a little, your situation sounds like a good candidate for refusal- nothing the installer can do within company guidelines is likely to satisfy.

Keep in mind I have (gladly) been out of the biz for years, things may be very different now.

Go buy a modem with an ATA, instead of renting one from the cable co, then call them and give them the MAC.

If they tell you that you can't do that, argue. A lot. You can.

I say you let them install it their way, then put it back after.

What province are you in? I'm in BC and don't have cable phone, but have worked in cable tech support. The U.S. rules are different from ours and we're pretty close to having a national electrical code now. My extract from the BC code doesn't talk much about phone grounding, which is where the big issue is - it's not your cable, it's the phone side. Funnily enough the alarm installer guys I work with are supposed to ground the panel to the electrical ground (because there is a phone connection inside) but none of them do it.

I think the issue is that you were currently grounded to the water pipe, rather than the electrical ground. In theory that electrical 'bond' (I'm never sure if I'm using that term correctly) should have been made directly to the electrical ground cable that ran to the ground rod.

Doing tech support for US cable companies, they usually dispensed with any outdoor connection per se, the cable entered the house through the cable tv demarcation box to the cable/phone modem then an ordinary phone cord 'back fed' the phone signal into the house phone wiring through the actual phone jack, if you understand what I mean. Assuming the phone lines were disconnected out in the demac box for the phone, there ought to still be a ground wire that connects to the electrical ground - when I had telus replace my demarc box, they added a ground connection to the electrical ground, using a clamp.

Is there no demarcation box for phone outside? If there is, it ought to be by the electrical box. If so, there should be ground available in there. For that matter, there probably should be ground in the cable demarc box.

You could study up on what's required by local telephony companies, telus has a pdf online that describes what's needed and what the rules are - basically homeowner is responsible for wiring from the consumer side of the demarcation box inwards. I would study up online on what the rules are for your province.

If you can fish a wire through the walls, or via the attic as you describe, then that might work. I don't know if you're proposing to connect the clamp to the meter box yourself, or letting them do it, but it would seem petty if they don't let you. They may have rules that would mean they're responsible for it now so that might make them gunshy, on the other hand, many cable installers I've dealt with are not the most professional or intelligent, so it might be a bit of a lottery. Don't count on a cable installer to do the nicest job you could want, they're pretty limited by time, rules and sometimes ability. My neighbour ended up with wires running - I kid you not- along the siding on the outside of the FRONT of the house.

If I'd known they were going to do that, I'd have offered to help neighbour wire it himself since I have a little knowledge from my alarm work and my experience in the broadcasting industry - with a little skill imagination and experience, you can run a wire almost anywhere.

I will be in a similar dilemma when I sign up for satellite tv, shaw cable here's too expensive for too little. Former homeowners had satellite but they ran the wire in such a way my dog pulled it out from under the siding, and wrecked it. I'd like to run the wires myself, up into the soffits probably then back down to where the cable demarc is, or I could let them install then rewire it myself.

Another possibility would be to get someone who's licensed to do telephony and low-voltage stuff, or probably simpler an electrician who is licensed to do so, to hook it up for you, they would also know the rules and would have ways and workarounds you wouldn't even imagine.

Let us know what happens.

When someone subscribes for cable phone, they will hook the modem to a cable jack, and also to a phone jack. (in this case it would be in the computer room since the same modem is used for Internet access) They disconnect the phone wire going from the pole to the house. Do you mean that they would have to also ground the old phone company's demarcation box? thanks.

Things like just sinking another ground rod, but failing to connect it into the existing electrode system.

Using any hand water pipe for ground (like the outside hose faucet) or running antenna grounds inside attics.

Nothing bad will happen until lightning comes around, and at that point the shoddy work will be destroyed, possibly along with the house.

Sooo, does it pose a lightning hazard if I run the bonding cable (#8 solid copper) across the attic? Of course I would let the cable company do the connections at both ends. Thanks.

It could also be that nobody has a solid enough opinion to give an answer.

Remember, if I tell you it's okay (which I think it is), then your house gets blown up, then I feel bad.

I also don't think there's an electrician in the world who doesn't see ridiculous inefficiency and unprofessionalism in the idea of running a ground wire all the way up, and then all the way down.

The whole point of a grounding system is to provide a LOW-RESISTANCE path to ground. Do you honestly think all that extra wire isn't going to add significant resistance? Actually, I'll bet the ground resistance through all of your equipment will be lower than that through your new ground wire, meaning any current that would normally use the grounding system will fry your electronics instead.

I think you've invented the scenario just to get a certain answer. If not, I think what you need to be doing is arguing with your cable company, not the people online who are trying to help you.

I agree with pharkus, you are ignoring good answers from people who have done this before in hopes that someone agrees with your bad idea.

Good luck.

Not just a low resistance path, but a low impedance path.
Lightning (especially) seeks the lowest impedance path to earth, and has a very fast rise time waveform.

Even bends in the ground line can present a significant impedance, causing the strike to leave the wire.
Turns cause crowding of the magnetic field created by the current on the wire, and thus represent an increase in the impedance.

Running a grounding wire across an attic is foolish.

Do not invite lightning into a building.

The old lightening blocks for TV antennas actually did a pretty good job if the ground wire continued straight down to earth while the feed into the house made a 90 degree turn through the wall.

That said, the small gauge wire served more to guide the strike and was vaporized by a direct hit.

It left a nice burn mark down the side of the building.

It isn't uncommon to see a grounding conductor completely or partially melted after a strike and charred siding, arc marks to nearby metal etc. I have seen telco demarks "gone" (thrown 100ft out in a yard) with the clearly burned ends of ground, drop and house wire left.

Now where you would choose to run the ground wire, considering the potential liability? Outside, where a smoldering piece of siding might be easily seen? Inside a hidden attic crawl space filled with dry, easily combustible materials?

Now the question I should have asked in the first place: How would you guys do it if it were your house and it had to be invisible from the outside? Am I already at risk with the current installation should lightning hit the house? Thanks for your kindness and patience.

Do you have any pictures of this area of the house?

"...Am I already at risk with the current installation..."- there is an inherent risk of lightning related damage in any CATV, phone, power install, perhaps slighly more so in your case with the electric service on the opposite side of the house. The degree of risk is difficult to quantify and impossible to prove unless one accepts anecdotal evidence.

Also, they tend to run from the inside of the house to the cable and phone demarc boxes on most of the new construction I see here in BC.