Recommendations for quick wiring job in Kapiti

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samdouglas

203 posts

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#115752 5-Apr-2013 12:58

I am looking to run a CAT5 cable from my living room to my spare room/home office about 10 Metres away and hoping for some advice - is it something I could easily do myself or better to get someone in?

If better to get someone in any recommendations for someone in Kapiti Coast?

Looks relatively straightforward - id need to buy the Cable, RJ45 Jacks and plates and crimping tool but should have everything else - but I am a bit worried about ending up with something that could leak or look a bit shoddy... anyone else done it themselves and recommend it?

Thanks!

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Vocus

#793824 5-Apr-2013 13:05

It's pretty easy, bury it in a conduit. Then you have two choices:

1. Come up through under the floor in both cases, drill from the top as close as you can to the skirting board using a drill bit which is big enough for the cable(s) and not much else, then surface mount the jacks (with boxes) either on the skirting board itself or just above it (which may leave a little cable showing, you could paint it or put a small piece of square conduit over it).

2. For a neater job, cut a hole in the plasterboard, to fit an in-wall junction box, then drill down through the bottom of the inside of the wall (you will need quite a long bit to pull this off). This means you can flush-mount the faceplate and no cable showing.

You could always seal up the hole after putting the cable through if you deem it necessary, but no water etc is going to come up through the floor.

Lias

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#793827 5-Apr-2013 13:12

It's easily doable yourself.

Is the office a seperate structure like a shed? Or part of the same house. If your running the cable outside you should probably think about sheathing it in some conduit (which is fairly cheap).

Are you simply planning on "Socket on the wall in room A to socket on the wall in room B"? If so you shouldn't need a crimping tool or punch down tool, as most sockets don't need them. If your running things to a patch panel you'll need a punch down tool, and if your making your own leads (wall to PC cable) you'll need a crimp tool. I'm in pram beach and have both tools you can borrow if you need, and could give you a hand (I'm no pro installer but I've wired up a few places myself.)

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nickb800

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#793832 5-Apr-2013 13:21

Shouldn't be too hard, though gets slightly more difficult if you are going to a separate building. Shouldn't look shoddy so long as you take your time

I've wired up my own place with cat5e in Raumati Beach, happy to help out for beers

samdouglas

203 posts

Master Geek

#793834 5-Apr-2013 13:28

Thanks for the replies folks!

Yup Andy that's exactly what I want to do - just put in a socket in the living room where the internet connection comes in and my router/NAS is and then run the cable underneath the house and to the spare room which is on the same side, part of the same house about 10m distance.

i just had a look outside and it looks really straightforward actually and our house design should make it really simple to do.

Any suggestions where to buy the cable and jacks in Kapiti? Would mitre 10 do the trick?

Thanks!

samdouglas

203 posts

Master Geek

#793836 5-Apr-2013 13:29

Nick: wouldnt mind a wee look at how you've done yours for some pointers :P if you dont mind.

I am in Raumati myself :)

nickb800

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#793839 5-Apr-2013 13:41

Mitre10 should have the cable, not sure about the jacks though. Coreys or Stewarts electrical will have jacks, they might price gouge you for not being a tradesperson though. Cheaper if you get it all online (I'd recommend CablesDirect or electrical direct) but if you want to give it a bash this weekend then I guess you're stuck with whatever is handy

More than happy to show you what I've done, although do note that I did it while the place was being built, retrofit jobs are a bit different. Flick me a PM to have a look tonight/ over the weekend

samdouglas

203 posts

Master Geek

#793851 5-Apr-2013 13:46

nickb800: Mitre10 should have the cable, not sure about the jacks though. Coreys or Stewarts electrical will have jacks, they might price gouge you for not being a tradesperson though. Cheaper if you get it all online (I'd recommend CablesDirect or electrical direct) but if you want to give it a bash this weekend then I guess you're stuck with whatever is handy

More than happy to show you what I've done, although do note that I did it while the place was being built, retrofit jobs are a bit different. Flick me a PM to have a look tonight/ over the weekend

will do - awesome thanks.

Final Question! Is there any point going CAT6 or is CAT5e future proof enough?

I am in no real rush but might head out to mitre 10 at the weekend for a nosey anyway and see if i get itchy fingers :)

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Zeon

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#793860 5-Apr-2013 13:51

Maybe powerline adapters would be easier?

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ubergeeknz

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Vocus

#793862 5-Apr-2013 13:52

samdouglas:
nickb800: Mitre10 should have the cable, not sure about the jacks though. Coreys or Stewarts electrical will have jacks, they might price gouge you for not being a tradesperson though. Cheaper if you get it all online (I'd recommend CablesDirect or electrical direct) but if you want to give it a bash this weekend then I guess you're stuck with whatever is handy

More than happy to show you what I've done, although do note that I did it while the place was being built, retrofit jobs are a bit different. Flick me a PM to have a look tonight/ over the weekend

will do - awesome thanks.

Final Question! Is there any point going CAT6 or is CAT5e future proof enough?

I am in no real rush but might head out to mitre 10 at the weekend for a nosey anyway and see if i get itchy fingers :)

For DIY, Cat6 is probably pointless. Unless it's installed to pretty high standards it won't deliver Cat6 performance anyway. Cat5e is just fine for most applications and not as sensitive.

samdouglas

203 posts

Master Geek

#793863 5-Apr-2013 13:58

Zeon: Maybe powerline adapters would be easier?

They havent really taken off though have they - I looked at them a few years back and the throughput wasnt fantastic IIRC.

ubergeeknz

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#793870 5-Apr-2013 14:06

samdouglas:
Zeon: Maybe powerline adapters would be easier?

They havent really taken off though have they - I looked at them a few years back and the throughput wasnt fantastic IIRC.

Also wouldn't the shed be on it's own distribution board etc? So powerline adapters probably won't work that well.

I wonder if wireless would do the trick though?

zaptor

745 posts

Ultimate Geek

#793872 5-Apr-2013 14:08

I thought about doing something like that myself as well a while ago. Then I thought if I was going to do that, I might as well do it properly (i.e. patch panel + CAT6).
I read CAT6 is somewhat more "sensitive" to install - depending on location difficulty, and is possibly best left to someone who's had experience installing it previously. Apparently CAT6 can do 10GigE (bring it on - of course you'd need the switches and NICs that actually talk that fast), depending on distance and type (6 or 6a).

At the time, I figured CAT5 would suffice (nowadays, with cheap 1080p tech - and 4K coming soon - the 100Mbps bandwidth just seems small). But, it's the same old same old - you can never have enough bandwidth/memory/processing-power.

There's a guy I know of who does data cabling in the Kapiti area. PM me if you're interested.

Edit: Sorry, he doesn't work for Chorus - my bad.

samdouglas

203 posts

Master Geek

#793875 5-Apr-2013 14:09

ubergeeknz:
samdouglas:
Zeon: Maybe powerline adapters would be easier?

They havent really taken off though have they - I looked at them a few years back and the throughput wasnt fantastic IIRC.

Also wouldn't the shed be on it's own distribution board etc? So powerline adapters probably won't work that well.

I wonder if wireless would do the trick though?

Its the same building - not in a shed - just a room in my house.

I already have wireless but have found even with my airport extreme using 5Ghz and 802.11n I get significantly slower data transfer than wired. Particularly noticeable on a Telstra/Voda 100Mbit Cable plan.

ubergeeknz

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Vocus

#793879 5-Apr-2013 14:12

samdouglas:Its the same building - not in a shed - just a room in my house.

I already have wireless but have found even with my airport extreme using 5Ghz and 802.11n I get significantly slower data transfer than wired. Particularly noticeable on a Telstra/Voda 100Mbit Cable plan.

Jeebus, not sure where I got that idea from :) So you have no need whatsoever for conduit etc. Just get some cable stays and pin the cable along the underfloor beams. This makes it all a lot easier! One thing I forgot which is obvious but worth stating: check for any power cables before you start drilling holes ;)

samdouglas

203 posts

Master Geek

#793884 5-Apr-2013 14:18

ubergeeknz:
samdouglas:Its the same building - not in a shed - just a room in my house.

I already have wireless but have found even with my airport extreme using 5Ghz and 802.11n I get significantly slower data transfer than wired. Particularly noticeable on a Telstra/Voda 100Mbit Cable plan.

Jeebus, not sure where I got that idea from :) So you have no need whatsoever for conduit etc. Just get some cable stays and pin the cable along the underfloor beams. This makes it all a lot easier! One thing I forgot which is obvious but worth stating: check for any power cables before you start drilling holes ;)

haha good advice, i do have a stud finder that checks for wires so will make sure i do that - i think the place i am looking at is pretty clear though :)

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