Running network cable for old house in Wellington

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Running network cable for old house in Wellington

kiwijunglist

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#240037 16-Aug-2018 13:35

Hi.

Have a 1965 house. I want to wire it up for network cable. Will do it myself. Where is best place to get a large spool of cable where the measure it and then you return what is not used. Also what spec cable do i need? It will run through wall and also under the house. Will connect to unifi switch. Runs are for cameras and htpc and office.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

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#2074486 16-Aug-2018 13:45

Just head to a Cory's or JA Russell. Grab a couple of boxed of Cat 6 (whatever is cheapest), and you will be good to go.

Without an account, they will probably just want to charge the full price and then will refund on return.

I personally would go to Cory's if you can - their staff are just generally better and easier to deal with than Russell's staff.

itxtme

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#2074514 16-Aug-2018 14:51

I have found PBtech has the best pricing when you dont have an account at an electrical supplier. Not heard of taking back unused spools before.

DarthKermit

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#2074516 16-Aug-2018 14:55

Just buy a whole roll (which is normally 305 metres or 1000 feet). It's available for about $80 or less these days.

Or you could buy a part roll from TradeMe.

davidcole

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#2074520 16-Aug-2018 15:03

Get a whole roll. Once you start you may find you want more and more runs.

My house is 1930s, with parts extended in the 80s, I've blown through one 300m roll, considering a 2nd. You'll always find more runs.

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maoriboy

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#2074526 16-Aug-2018 15:15

I agree, just buy the whole roll. Whenever I do a run I always measure out 2 cables per run as a backup/redundancy in case I stuff up :-).

gehenna

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#2074528 16-Aug-2018 15:23

I was under the impression ethernet had to be cabled professionally if it was going to be going through walls/under house?

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DjShadow

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#2074530 16-Aug-2018 15:25

I was having a chat to a guy from Soundline at a recent Wellington home show and he suggested when running cable to bedrooms to consider 2 cables per room to future proof for automation at some point in the future.

DarthKermit

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#2074535 16-Aug-2018 15:39

gehenna:

I was under the impression ethernet had to be cabled professionally if it was going to be going through walls/under house?

That is the case in Aussie, not in NZ.

DarthKermit

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#2074537 16-Aug-2018 15:44

Just found a listing on TM, $79.99 with free shipping for 305 metres of Cat5e (assuming you want to go with C5 and no higher).

wellygary

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#2074539 16-Aug-2018 15:44

DjShadow:

I was having a chat to a guy from Soundline at a recent Wellington home show and he suggested when running cable to bedrooms to consider 2 cables per room to future proof for automation at some point in the future.

Sounds like damn good advice,

The cost of the cable is negligible, its the time and effort to install it that is the cost,

if you can run one, you might as well run two....

chevrolux

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#2074556 16-Aug-2018 16:29

When you go to a trade shop you just need to straight up ask for a discount. But also, don't act like a straight up newbie off the street. Spin them some rubbish like, "we used to pay about $150 a box at my old job. You can sort me out right?"

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cyril7

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#2074572 16-Aug-2018 17:18

Just make sure if buying from unkowns that it's not cca cable, rhis should be avoided at all cost, and is often peddled by bottom of the barrel sellers.

Cyril

richms

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#2074621 16-Aug-2018 20:17

Stick with dynamix from PB tech. The trademe stuff is often trash.

If you're running 2 cables, buy 2 boxes otherwise its twice the work.

Richard rich.ms

Zeon

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#2074653 16-Aug-2018 22:40

Just a quick note, I'm running cat6a - there's 9 runs to every room. The actual size of the cables is much bigger than non-shielded so there was hardly sufficient space in the walls.

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shrub

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#2074658 16-Aug-2018 23:17

Zeon:

Just a quick note, I'm running cat6a - there's 9 runs to every room. The actual size of the cables is much bigger than non-shielded so there was hardly sufficient space in the walls.

I hope that is a 2 story house... Those runs are a nightmare to chase in the future.

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