Resolved Wanting a second home network

Hello all,
I am pretty new to networking yet extremely motivated in learning all I can (which isn't much so far....lol). I live in a large home that's divided into separate living spaces, meaning a shared house. There is a router/WAP that we all share in the home. I, however, want my own network to support my 4 devices. I have access/permission to configure the house router (Belkin AC1750) any way I view fit. I presently use a CAT5e that runs into my living space (as well as the shared wlan).

What I have in addition is a unmanaged switch w/ a uplink port, a hub w/ a uplink port (that I'm sure I won't need), and my own WAP. What I am unsure of are a few different concerns:

1) From the shared router, do I continue using the existing line and put my switch in after the router (in my space) or switch between modem and router which would require another switch in my living space.
2) The shared router has a default IP of of 192.168.2.1 and a sub of 255.255.255.0. I am able to change only the first and third Octets of the IP. Am I to understand that the sub configured that way only allows for one network and if so do I need to change it and if so, to what? 255.255.0.0?
3) How do I ensure that my network will be a totally separate entity? Do I need another machine as a server to accomplish that security?

Anything else I'm not thinking of?

Thx in advance!!

 

A low end wi fi router would do the job. Just plug the cable coming from the existing router into WAN/Internet port of the new router & configure the new router to use a different IP scheme [say 192.168.10.x]. That's all. Now the network after the new router won't be visible to anyone on the old 192.168.2.x address & would be a separate entity altogether.

 

Thx so much. More simple than I thought............