Splice the Line

• 1). Remove the cover from an existing phone jack. Write down the colors of the wires coming in from the wall and their respective locations on the jack. The majority of one-line installations will use a blue wire with white stripes and a white wire with blue stripes. Second lines, or call waiting, typically are orange with white stripes and white with orange stripes. The jack locations will be labelled T1, R1, T2, and R2.
  
  
• 2). Cut the existing phone wire outside of the house, after it comes out of the the phone box. The wire will go from the exterior box to the first location in the house. Trace the wire to the point closest to the room where you want to install the new phone jack, and cut the wire at that point.
  
  
• 3). Drill a hole into the room where you want the phone jack installed, using a drill with a 1/4-inch drill bit.
  
  
• 4). Cut a strip of phone wire long enough to give you room to mount the wire inside the house and feed the wire back through to the outside. Leave enough wire outside the house to splice the wire with the existing phone line.
  
  
• 5). Trim off 1 to 2 inches of the plastic coating surrounding the wires, using a knife or razor blade. Trim the coating off the two halves of the original wire and off the end of the new wire. Removing the coating exposes the inner wires.
  
  
• 6). Trim 1/4 inch off each individual wire, using a wire stripper. Most wire strippers require placing the wire into the teeth, then gripping and pulling the handle to remove the rubber coating, leaving the internal wire exposed.
  
  
• 7). Match the individual wires from the new cable to the corresponding colored wires from the existing phone cable. Twist the ends of the matching wires together and cap them with a plastic wire connector. Wrap the ends and connectors with electrical tape to protect the wires from exposure to the elements.
  
  

Install the Phone Jack

• 1). Remove the cover of the new phone jack. Use a phone jack that screws onto the wall, instead of one that is mounted inside the wall. Feed the new wire through the back of phone jack.
  
  
• 2). Mount the phone jack to the wall with the included screws. Screw the jack directly over the hole in the wall. Some phone jacks mount with double-sided tape. Follow the specific directions for the model you purchased.
  
  
• 3). Cut the new wire so that you have about 3 to 4 inches of wire sticking out of the wall. Trim off the plastic sheath on the wire with a knife or razor blade, exposing approximately 2 inches of wire.
  
  
• 4). Trim each individual wire using a wire trimmer.
  
  
• 5). Loosen the phone jack screws that will hold the wires, using a screwdriver. Twist the end of each wire onto the proper screw, then tighten down the screw. Each screw will be labeled. Use the locations you noted in the first section to route each wire to the proper screw. Reattach the jack cover and plug in your phone.