What's the going rate for terminating Cat 6 cable?

Mike1983

Mike1983

Mike1983

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16 Nov 2007
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Hi all

I'm was hoping to seek your views as to how much you think it would cost for someone to undertake the following

1 - Terminate 32 ends of cat 6 onto a patch panel.
2 - Terminate the other ends on RJ45 sockets in various rooms of a house

All cables already run and left hanging, all hardware provided, the job is cable termination only.

Thank you

Mike
 
I've considered that, I'm not very neat though. When I practiced last time I always had issues with some pairs not showing up as connected when using a cable tester. This may have been down to cheap cable / terminals and punch down tool though. Bought off eBay to practice.

So you think this is a couple hours worth of work for a pro?

Thanks
 
Mike1983 said:
I've considered that, I'm not very neat though. When I practiced last time I always had issues with some pairs not showing up as connected when using a cable tester. This may have been down to cheap cable / terminals and punch down tool though. Bought off eBay to practice.

So you think this is a couple hours worth of work for a pro?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Probably half a day's work for someone with the right tools and experience. Maybe double that for someone that doesn't know what they're doing :)
 
32 ends is not half a day's work if the person knows what they are doing. I can do a 24 way Cat6 panel in about 30 minutes and I wouldn't consider myself experienced, I've only done 50-60 panels in total.

Allow about 5 minutes per double faceplate and that should give you a decent idea of how much time you'll need.

Where you might struggle though is getting someone who's willing to punch down into patch panels and modules they aren't familiar with - there's a massive variation in terms of quality and if the things just fall apart in your hands then the job wouldn't be worth the frustration.
 
Thank you for your replies.

Can you recommend a good brand of rj45 modules and a 48 way patch panel by any chance?

I'll prob just ask the installer to provide ones they are familiar with.

Thank you

Mike
 
I use Excel stuff pretty much exclusively. Very high quality but you pay a small premium for it. Brand Rex, ADC and Panduit are also good.
 
So I've run all my cables, 42 in total, and labelled them up.

Got a quote back from one company, they're claiming it will take 2 people 5 hours at a cost of £400!!! I naturally politely declined after resisting the urge to wind the guy up.

So assuming this takes 1 competent guy approx a half day, what should that cost? Approx £100?

Thanks
 
I would be guessing between 150 - 200, they would have expenses getting to you and profit to make it worth while.

Going to be giving it a go myself when I soon get to do mine, will be nice knowing I'm saving a fair few quid doing so.
 
Mike1983 said:
So assuming this takes 1 competent guy approx a half day, what should that cost? Approx £100?
Click to expand...

Half a day would be very optimistic. It could easily take 10 minutes per cable once testing is taken into account, so you'd be up around 6-7 hours for an individual. I can't see anyone wanting to do this sort of work for under £30 an hour.

If you want to do the job on the cheap get hold of the tools and punch it down yourself. It isn't difficult once you get the hang of it.
 
Think I'll do it myself if I don't get a sensible quote back. £200 is a full day rate for a skilled electrician / heating engineer in my books. I could do it myself, just need to practice neatness first, the patch panel is a bit daunting.
 
Mike1983 said:
Think I'll do it myself if I don't get a sensible quote back. £200 is a full day rate for a skilled electrician / heating engineer in my books. I could do it myself, just need to practice neatness first, the patch panel is a bit daunting.
Click to expand...

It's the job cost for a less demanded type of service, probably not your usually tradesperson with a day filled with jobs.

It's also just punching down some wires, they're even marked for you. Make sure you have a proper punchdown tool, use with forcefully, and buy hardware that isn't made from chalk; It's a cinch.
 
Had a load of quotes back ranging from £95 through to £580! The latter hadn't even made a mistake in understanding the workscope, they considered it to be a fair price.

Aside from an overpriced quote, one company also gave the following feedback

1) I should have used cat 5E instead of 6
2) I should have used 2x 24 port patch panels instead of a 48
3) 42 cables is excessive for a domestic property
4) I shouldn't use a 48 way switch, buy a cheaper smaller switch and only patch in what's needed.

Came across as a complete tool.

I'm going to go with someone charging £120, seems like a clued up and approachable guy.

Yes I could have done this myself but I'm more than happy to get a more reliable and neater installation from a professional.

Very surprised to see such a variation in quotes with this.

Mike
 
bremen1874 said:
That's normal practice. There's no point paying for ports that aren't in use.
Click to expand...

The point is there'll be 42 ports wired up. Admittedly not all 42 will have traffic at any specific point in time but would you really want to have to keep adjusting patch cables to liven up your desired ports? I considered it to be far more efficient to just get a big enough switch and one that powers down ports that aren't in use.
 
The correct solution is whatever suits you best.

You were suggesting that the respondent from that company 'came across as a complete tool' for their suggestions. In reality all they seem to be perfectly reasonable general comments to make with regard to a domestic install.
 
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