1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Other New home cabling

Discussion in 'General' started by Awoken, 25 Jul 2017.

  1. Awoken

    Awoken Gazing at the stars

    Joined:
    3 Mar 2004
    Posts:
    1,486
    Likes Received:
    18
    We're putting in an offer on a new place and I want to get cables run out of sight from the office, on one side of the house to a couple of other rooms. We're replacing the carpets downstairs with laminate and I need the cables to run from the utility room to the kitchen, the office and into the lounge on the other side of the house (we run plex throughout the house. I might even run one to the upstairs hallway just in case our Asus A68U wifi doesn't reach - its a bigger house than we're currently in).

    As a student I just ran cable along skirting boards and used a little white trunking to cover it up but now that we're getting our own place (finally moving out of rental accommodation) I want to get it tucked away and with proper faceplates rather than loose RJ45s.

    What's the best way to run cable in a relatively new build and where do I start my search if I want to get someone to do it for me (including making right afterwards)?

    Is Cat 6 worth it when most TVs/set top boxes are 10/100?
     
  2. Zoon

    Zoon Hunting Wabbits since the 80s

    Joined:
    12 Mar 2001
    Posts:
    5,869
    Likes Received:
    809
    CAT6 shielded is worth it if you ever plan to use HDMI over CAT as you'll only only get full quality over longer distances with shielded.

    You might be best to pay a sparky to poke the wires through the walls because it'll be a load of effort otherwise to make it neat.

    If you keep your cables to the outside walls you might be able to weave them through the dots and dabs plus the ceilings downstairs are largely hollow with a reasonable gap you should be able to run through. For upstairs you can poke cables down from the loft too.
     
  3. yuusou

    yuusou Multimodder

    Joined:
    5 Nov 2006
    Posts:
    2,852
    Likes Received:
    916
    Go all out, go CAT 6A blinded and reinforced (plastic bit in the middle). Its your house, I doubt you plan on leaving any time soon, make your house future proof.
     
  4. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

    Joined:
    4 Dec 2007
    Posts:
    17,085
    Likes Received:
    6,635
    If you're paying someone else to do it, CAT6A; if you're doing it yourself, CAT5e 'cos CAT6A is an absolute bugger to work with.

    Also, bear in mind the installation rules for CAT6 and above: they require surprisingly wide bend radii, which every amateur installer always gets wrong and makes the entire installation sub-CAT6 (meaning you might as well have saved time and effort and bought CAT5e in the first place.)
     
  5. Awoken

    Awoken Gazing at the stars

    Joined:
    3 Mar 2004
    Posts:
    1,486
    Likes Received:
    18
    Thanks for the advice. Does anyone know a good cable thrower near Rugeley, West Midlands?
     
  6. Kronos

    Kronos Multimodder

    Joined:
    6 Nov 2009
    Posts:
    13,495
    Likes Received:
    618
    Running cables under floorboards is a pretty simple task even adding sockets to walls is not difficult if you are a reasonable DIY'er though getting one upstairs will be more problematic.
     
  7. edzieba

    edzieba Virtual Realist

    Joined:
    14 Jan 2009
    Posts:
    3,909
    Likes Received:
    591
    If you're running everything fresh, RUN FLEXIBLE CONDUIT. That way you can pull whatever cable you need yourself, and replace it when necessary. Pull Cat5E for basic drops, Cat6A if you want to run HDbase-T extensions, pull fiber if needed, etc. Conduit + a pull cord (pull a new cord through with the cable whenever you run a cable) and you never need to worry about chiselling out the walls when you need an extra drop.
     
    silk186 likes this.
  8. Zoon

    Zoon Hunting Wabbits since the 80s

    Joined:
    12 Mar 2001
    Posts:
    5,869
    Likes Received:
    809
    Modern builds are concrete screed in ground floor and flame/rot retardant-treated MDF boards on first floor.
     
  9. Awoken

    Awoken Gazing at the stars

    Joined:
    3 Mar 2004
    Posts:
    1,486
    Likes Received:
    18
    Sadly I am not an experienced DIYer (computers, networking, mobile phone repair, rockets, high altitude balloons and custom electronics are no problem - I dont have the first clue about plasterboard, house layout, etc) and due to limited time I really need someone who knows what they are doing. Any help (even search terms) would be greatly appreciated.
     
  10. Kronos

    Kronos Multimodder

    Joined:
    6 Nov 2009
    Posts:
    13,495
    Likes Received:
    618
    Fair enough, I am fortunate to stay in an older property (1925) so wooden floorboards are reasonably easily uplifted. I suspect the age of your house will determine how the job will be done.
    Try Googling Home Network Cat5/Cat6 cable installers and adding your area.
     
  11. MLyons

    MLyons 70% Dev, 30% Doge. DevDoge. Software Dev @ Corsair Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

    Joined:
    3 Mar 2017
    Posts:
    4,176
    Likes Received:
    2,744
    Any recommendations for cable to run from my house to my "summerhouse"? Currently using home plugs over the power wires.
     
  12. edzieba

    edzieba Virtual Realist

    Joined:
    14 Jan 2009
    Posts:
    3,909
    Likes Received:
    591
    - Armoured outdoor-install Ethernet (up to 100m). Easy, 'cheap' (get the proper cable designed for buried installs, by the time you've mucked about weatherproofing indoor-use cable you'd have spent the same amount anyway), plugs right into existing infrastructure like any other cable.
    - Outdoor fibre run + media converters at each end. No issues with interference or grounding, fibre itself costs around the same as buried armoured ethernet, but the media converters are an added cost. Can allow for massive ranges if needed, and can in the future expand to much greater bandwidth by swapping the media converters. Get a pre-terminated run or find someone with the equipment to terminate fibre properly: proper termination determines the quality of your link.
    - Wireless point-to-point link. Line-of-sight only, but no wires to run and can achieve a very clean install for rather long distances (up to many hundreds of metres, potentially multiple kilometres). Can be relatively cheap (e.g. a pair of Ubiquiti LiteBeam units can be had for ~£150 for a half-gigabit link).
     
    silk186 likes this.
  13. Sp!

    Sp! Minimodder

    Joined:
    6 Dec 2002
    Posts:
    1,543
    Likes Received:
    30
    I use external grade CAT5 from cpc for my garden office (about 35m run of which about 20m is outside) I've run normal internal grade out to the shed (cheap stuff from screwfix) and that's been in for years without any problem.

    Armoured is overkill unless your going to bury it, all of mine is just tucked at the back of flower beds and I know it's there so won't be putting a spade through it any time soon.
     
  14. Dr. Coin

    Dr. Coin Multimodder

    Joined:
    13 Sep 2013
    Posts:
    1,102
    Likes Received:
    296
    Depending on your resources to pay for this you may wish to consider installing low voltage conduit. Then you can install ethernet, video, audio, etc. Plus one can then add, upgrade and or replace the cables as required. Down side is it does require ripping open your walls to install. I'd go with 1" to conduit then you'll have enough room to pull cables with manufactured connectors.

    Despite what other have recommenced I would caution the use of shielded cables as improper grounding of the shields can create current loops and generate its own issues. To use shielded cables properly you'll need equipment with RJ-45 jacks that are designed to engage the shield. The last I had heard only some enterprise and industrial grade switches are equipped with jacks for shielded cables. In short you'd be wasting your money on a product that potential could give you a lower performance.

    Similarly I'd consider installing an underground conduit between buildings. You'll need to look into local building/electrical code as to the design but it will allow you to install a much cheaper cable and provide flexibly for future. For your application I'd consider a larger conduit 2" maybe even a 3".
     
  15. IanW

    IanW Grumpy Old Git

    Joined:
    2 Aug 2003
    Posts:
    9,151
    Likes Received:
    2,655
    A friend of mine ran ethernet to his garage workshop (for 3D printer & laset cutter) inside a garden hose clipped to the fence along its length. Way cheaper than conduit.
     
  16. MadGinga

    MadGinga oooh whats this do?

    Joined:
    19 Mar 2009
    Posts:
    2,697
    Likes Received:
    520
    clever.
     
  17. silk186

    silk186 Derp

    Joined:
    1 Dec 2014
    Posts:
    1,935
    Likes Received:
    150
    This is what I was going to recommend. It isn't as big of an issue in North America due to crawl spaces but i still ran a conduit from my receiver to the TV as standards change every couple of years.
     

Share This Page