DIY Running Cat 6 Cables on a new house

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isis

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#147290 14-Jun-2014 23:51

Hi,
Ive had a couple of quotes to run approximately ~32 runs of Cat 6 with prices ranging from 3k to 5k!!
I cant fathom these prices considering a box of 300m cat 6 runs are about 200 bucks. i realise the labour would probably be crimping each end but....

I thought of giving it ago by myself as the gib is still not up yet..

House is double story and thought of locating the patch panel in the garage.

Is there any dos & don't especially drilling around timber to run cables through?
is it a good idea to pull cables up a chimney or a bad idea? seems to be the easiest way to route cables to the 2nd floor

Has anyone attempted this and any gotchas that you would like to share?

alternatively if someone has done this before or wants some side $$ to give me a hand over a weekend, give me a yell....

Cheers

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#1065828 15-Jun-2014 00:08

Gidday,

I'm by no means an expert but I have attempted this recently (albeit with a an existing house and less runs). Buy all your faceplates/keystone jacks, patch panels etc online at places like PB Tech, PlayTech or Cables Direct. Don't go to an electrical store like Cory's (in Chch) as they it'll cost you about 3 times as much (keystone jacks were quoted at $20 each, faceplate at $10 - $5.60 and $1.68 at PB Tech). Use Dynamix products if you can (PB tech has a large range of their stuff with free shipping). Go for T568A wiring standard rather than B (most common in NZ - learnt this one hard way). Can you run conduit in case you want to add or upgrade cables in the future? I ran cables beside the chimney in our house but its no longer in use. What part of the country are you in?

Good luck

Dynamic

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#1065829 15-Jun-2014 00:10

My opinion:

Yes run the cables yourself pronto before the gib goes up. Ask your sparky to give you some tips.

Drill holes through the middle of the timber using a 20/25mm spade bit. Ideally separate the cables from the mains by 30cm wherever possible to keep potential interference to a minimum.

Leave generous tails on the cables and poke a bit back into the wall so if you have to re-terminate the cables at any point you have some length to play with.

Keep away from the chimney. Heat would likely make the cable sheath deteriorate and it might be an excuse from the building inspector to give you a hard time. I would run a bundle of cables up through the wall of a cupboard.

Source: I was an electrical apprentice for 6 months before abandoning ship (20 years ago now). We do small cable jobs for commercial clients in Auckland, and I did the phone/data cabling in the in-laws new single story build. Larger cabling jobs we farm out to specialists.

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isis

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#1065830 15-Jun-2014 00:23

Hi,
Located in auckland and building down south

Dynamix seems to be the key supplier of cables.

thanks for the tips. All the bits sure does add up!

are flush boxes recommended?

cheers

isis

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#1065831 15-Jun-2014 00:32

Dynamic: My opinion:

Yes run the cables yourself pronto before the gib goes up. Ask your sparky to give you some tips.

Drill holes through the middle of the timber using a 20/25mm spade bit. Ideally separate the cables from the mains by 30cm wherever possible to keep potential interference to a minimum.

Leave generous tails on the cables and poke a bit back into the wall so if you have to re-terminate the cables at any point you have some length to play with.

Keep away from the chimney. Heat would likely make the cable sheath deteriorate and it might be an excuse from the building inspector to give you a hard time. I would run a bundle of cables up through the wall of a cupboard.

Source: I was an electrical apprentice for 6 months before abandoning ship (20 years ago now). We do small cable jobs for commercial clients in Auckland, and I did the phone/data cabling in the in-laws new single story build. Larger cabling jobs we farm out to specialists.

Will ask him but whether he'll provide might be a different story! :)
drilling through laminated beam is a yay or a nay or should i find a different route?

DarthKermit

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#1065834 15-Jun-2014 01:42

isis: Hi,
Located in auckland and building down south

Dynamix seems to be the key supplier of cables.

thanks for the tips. All the bits sure does add up!

are flush boxes recommended?

cheers

Yeah, you should always use flush boxes. I'd offer to help you with your job if I lived anywhere near you.

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richms

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#1065835 15-Jun-2014 01:52

I find that the spade bits often take a huge chunk out when they go thru, the larger spiral drills dont do that and seem faster.

Talk to the builder as its their place you are making holes in. I keep hearing of sparkys drilling things they shouldnt during the electrical installs and then stuff having to be undone, new wood put in and them told to go elsewhere.

Richard rich.ms

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PoHq

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#1065838 15-Jun-2014 05:15

Who gave you the 3k to 5k quotes? I'd like to know so I can avoid them as that is ridiculous! As you say a box of cat is cheap as chips now. Where exactly "down south" are you building? If you were anywhere near me I'd offer you some advice/tips and a loan of some of my gear, krone punch down tool RJ45 crimping tool etc.

coffeebaron

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#1065846 15-Jun-2014 07:28

PoHq: Who gave you the 3k to 5k quotes? I'd like to know so I can avoid them as that is ridiculous! As you say a box of cat is cheap as chips now. Where exactly "down south" are you building? If you were anywhere near me I'd offer you some advice/tips and a loan of some of my gear, krone punch down tool RJ45 crimping tool etc.

Have you run & terminated 30+ runs of network cabling? $3000-$5000 is definitely realistic pricing.

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PoHq

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#1065848 15-Jun-2014 07:35

It's a days work in my opinion and 3 to 5k is way to much. As I say just my opinion.

timmmay

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#1065850 15-Jun-2014 07:52

Future proof it, consider putting in some conduit in case you want other runs later.

PoHq

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#1065851 15-Jun-2014 07:55

timmmay: Future proof it, consider putting in some conduit in case you want other runs later.

Amen to that! Some conduit, flexiduct or even just some drawstring left in the walls could save you a lot of hassle in the future.

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RunningMan

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#1065853 15-Jun-2014 08:03

PoHq: It's a days work in my opinion and 3 to 5k is way to much. As I say just my opinion.

Without seeing the site, it could be far more than a days work. The OP hasn't said exactly what those quotes cover, and what materials are included.

At one end of the scale, if that is just the cable and cable pulling on an easy site, then it seems over priced. At the other end of the scale, if the site is difficult, with long cable runs, and the quotes include all faceplates, inserts, a rack enclosure and associated hardware, it's probably very reasonable.

Need more details to determine if the quotes are good or not.

Having said that, there can be a lot of labour in just pulling the cables, so if the OP can do even that side of things, it should reduce the overall cost a lot.

mcraenz

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#1065875 15-Jun-2014 09:11

Use PDL. Check out electrical direct that's where I got all my gear and there prices were ok at the time.

Definitely more than a 1 day job to retrofit with 16 ports:
http://blog.rhysgoodwin.com/home-diy/structured-cable-at-home/

But I guess a new build should be much easier.

Also check out Steve's guide:
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/sbiddle/4511

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DarthKermit

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#1065918 15-Jun-2014 11:30

^^^

I got a number of PDL 600 series grid plates from building recycling businesses for really cheap prices.

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nigelj

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#1065969 15-Jun-2014 13:15

Yeah, if your Sparkie is going for PDL electrical gear (sockets, switches, etcs), pay the extra for the matching PDL faceplates and keystones etc, it'll look nicer when you are living with the finished job, and look nicer (matching things always do) if you ever want to sell your house.

+1 to Electrical Direct as a source for the PDL gear.

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