Persistent internet dropouts.

[#1]

Old ex council house, so these things are never that straightforward. I could probably do it y having floor boards up however. Why would I need wall plates? It would be router to laptop, with no junction in between. 

Thanks

[#2]

You don't need wall plates, you can just string an Ethernet cable between the two. I use them for three reasons:

1. I have found that if you buy a ready terminated cable then it's never the right length and the connectors will not go through walls etc unless you drill an enormous (in comparison with Cat 5e cable) hole.

2. I find that it is much easier to terminate Cat 5e cable reliably in a socket then a plug.

3. In my opinion it looks a lot tidier if a router or computer is connected to a wall socket with a short patch cable to the device rather than, for example, a length of cable dangling from a skirting board.

[#3]

Not a possibility in this old house, it would be a nightmare to install; however, under the floorboards may be the way to go!