Routing some network cable - not sure which way to go?

PapaLazaru

PapaLazaru

PapaLazaru

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Hi chaps,

My fibre router is in the front bedroom and my man-cave in the rear. I have been using powerline networking for a while now but it is too unstable. I have no interest in wifi either. I basically want to route some cabling through the upstairs of the house.

Now my options are:

1. Go along the wall and under doors.
2. Route the cable underneath the carpet.
3. Go up into the attic and along then down again.
4. Go round the outside.

Along the wall may be the easiest but I am not sure the missus will take kindly to seeing a cable running all along the house. Going up is easiest but I will need to drill holes in two ceilings and she will not like that either. Outside is just too complicated.

Question is, has anyone routed cable underneath the floorboards and had to take up carpet then put it back and how complicated it is likely to be? I have never attempted to take carpet up before and I have a fear of ruining it.
 
Depends on your carpet and how it is fitted. If it is grip rods you might be alright. If it is glued, that's more tricky, and if it is hook-and-eye like all the downstairs carpets in my house when we bought, don't even think about it!

What do you mean when you say powerline is unstable? Is it the kit you are using rather than the setup you have? Mine is solid as a rock and my electricals are about as old as the house (100+ years).
 
Options 1, 2 risk of damaging cable.

Option 4 cable would need some form of protection, like conduit, even if exterior cat5e cable, my last place neighbour cut through my cat 6 cable while strimming the grass.

Option 3 easiest, can drop cables down through cupboards, boxed in pipe spaces,etc.
 
Gilly said:
Depends on your carpet and how it is fitted. If it is grip rods you might be alright. If it is glued, that's more tricky, and if it is hook-and-eye like all the downstairs carpets in my house when we bought, don't even think about it!

What do you mean when you say powerline is unstable? Is it the kit you are using rather than the setup you have? Mine is solid as a rock and my electricals are about as old as the house (100+ years).
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I'll test a corner of the carpet but think I'll go up and over.

Basially my issues are that I lose connection quite regularly. Sometimes not for a few hours, sometimes four times an hour. Something electrical somewhere is causing it but I have tried and failed to locate what it is.

Nightglow said:
Option 3 easiest, can drop cables down through cupboards, boxed in pipe spaces,etc.
Click to expand...

I think you are right. If I get some decent white cable it should not be too obvious.
 
Nightglow said:
You can get small size square self adhesive trunking.
Click to expand...

Awesome! Did not know about this, have just been having a look around. I'll have a look when I get back to see if I can find the size I need to fit the cable ends as I do not fancy taking them off and re-wiring them back up again.

*edit*

I'll just go down Wickes with a connector and check myself.
 
If you can do it under the carpet, you can get Flat cat5e cable etc which you won't feel or see under carpet. I have a couple of runs from my router to my sky box and it works great and can't be seen/felt under the carpet.

Usually around £6 quid for 10m of the stuff that is already pre-done.
 
My preference would be under carpet, purely for aesthetic value, but until i check how it is secure am not sure I will be able to.

Up and over is looking like the choice most likely.
 
PapaLazaru said:
My preference would be under carpet, purely for aesthetic value, but until i check how it is secure am not sure I will be able to.

Up and over is looking like the choice most likely.
Click to expand...

Flat Cat5e, used it,don't like it, laid a length under hall carpet close to wall, was ok, until either the hoover or more likely the g/f's high heels killed it.
 
I have external Cat6 running from my office room upstairs at the side of the house, down to the lounge at the front of the house. Straight out out through the wall and pinned neatly along the brickwork. Used proper external cable and never had a problem, its been there 5 years now.

Unless your house is really odd, I'd say outside is the easiest and best way.
 
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I ran ethernet cable under the floorboards in my house using electrician's fishing rods as posted by newbiejim. Carpets went back down fine, I was scared of that too. Just take up the bare minimum you need to to lessen the risk.

I took up a floorboard at each end of the run and pushed the rods through, taped the cable to the rod, and dragged it back to the start point. I've since used those rods for numerous other jobs as they're amazing :D.
 
Well I have broached the subject with the other half and she says no to along the wall inside, outside and I am not 'mucking about with the carpet'.

She did however say ok to me routing up into the attic and back down again using some trunking.
 
Plan B

Bury the cable outside the house and run it around the perimeter.
(sorry, sat here for ages thinking there must be a plan B)

If doing trunking, caulk the gap between trunk and wall, the gap stands out too much otherwise.
 
Sorry for the thread bump but I'm currently contemplating a similar issue and was wondering how things went in the end?

I'm about to move into a new build where I couldn't convince the builders to lay me some cable/ducting in the walls (annoying, don't ask), and my current plan I think is to try and route the cables on the outside of the house as mentioned by Burned_Alive above

Luckily the design of the house means that every room shares the same external wall (end terrace) so hopefully I can wire the whole house this way. I was thinking of trying to have the main bits of vertical wiring directly behind the drainpipes near the corners with little off-shoots towards each room as required. The server/hub room is on the ground floor so for the main bits of horizontal wiring to there I figured I could hide it under the lip at the bottom of the render (where there are a few rows of exposed bricks at the bottom)

Any thoughts/advice greatly appreciated
 
I have (4) ethernet cable running to each of my three bedrooms, living room and dining room. However, I haven't run any to the loft. When my house was rewired they laid a (electric) cable (but not connected) to the loft in case I convert it in the future. It's with this in mind, I am thinking about laying some network cable too.

Unfortunately, it would require chasing a channel the full height of the house, hall to landing. It's not something I really want to do and we're not 100% sure, if the time came, we'd not rather move house than convert the loft. But it somehow feels like not finishing the job properly by not doing it.

It'd be a relatively simple job, as it's a nice straight run and would be easy to plaster over. Add to the mix the house is still undecorated and if I am to do it, now is the time.

So with respect to the OP - I'd say do the best job you can, even if it means making some mess and annoying the wife for a few days. Once you've made good, it'll all be a memory and you'll be happier than looking at half-a-job for the rest of your time there.

In fact, I'm going to take my own advice and start it tomorrow - whilst the wife is out. :D

Now to decide whether to run 4 or 8 lengths and how much cable to leave loose in the loft...
 
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uncle_rufus said:
Sorry for the thread bump but I'm currently contemplating a similar issue and was wondering how things went in the end?
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Well I have the cable and the trunking but that is as far as I have got so far. I went up into the attic for for the life of me cannot work out where the hole I want to drill will come out. The two problems I have is if I drill up and into a support, therefore rendering the hole useless, or I drill up into the part that a floor has been put down in the loft as I would have to pull it all up.
I've got one chance with the drilling as I risk making a pigs ear of the ceiling and the missus would not be too happy.

Not really sure what to do.
 
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