Cabling nightmare

Jpaul - first quote I got was £180 to go from the EE router to the bedroom, just trying to fix the WiFi as well is where it got terrible (wouldn't guess there would be too many holes in the wall either). I haven’t tried a Powerline, but believe it wouldn’t run much better than WiFi) and also the quality of Powerline is dependent on a lot of factors (eg, the age of your house for one)

I would appreciate some kind of mesh system perhaps (agree 100% that top-notch WiFi isn't needed, but need the Eth to the room for my PC and trying to get better coverage for WiFi too), but not really sure how to go about this
 
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You don't need shielded cabling in a domestic environment. This thing about running alongside power is massively overstated and it's talking about 30 metre runs along cable tray in industrial environments with a load of motors chucking out EMF, and that can be solved with a metal divider in the tray. In a house you don't need to worry, you could zip tie a Cat6 cable to a mains power cable along its entire length and it wouldn't cause any problems.
 
RT123 said:
Jpaul - first quote I got was £180 to go from the EE router to the bedroom, just trying to fix the WiFi as well is where it got terrible (wouldn't guess there would be too many holes in the wall either). I haven’t tried a Powerline, but believe it wouldn’t run much better than WiFi) and also the quality of Powerline is dependent on a lot of factors (eg, the age of your house for one)

I would appreciate some kind of mesh system perhaps (agree 100% that top-notch WiFi isn't needed, but need the Eth to the room for my PC and trying to get better coverage for WiFi too), but not really sure how to go about this
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Get a TP Link Deco system. You would plug one in where your router is (you can totally replace your router if you want to at this stage), and plug the second Deco into your new eth. It includes a switch so you can then plug your PC into the Deco.
 
RT123 said:
Jpaul - first quote I got was £180 to go from the EE router to the bedroom, just trying to fix the WiFi as well is where it got terrible (wouldn't guess there would be too many holes in the wall either). I haven’t tried a Powerline, but believe it wouldn’t run much better than WiFi) and also the quality of Powerline is dependent on a lot of factors (eg, the age of your house for one)

I would appreciate some kind of mesh system perhaps (agree 100% that top-notch WiFi isn't needed, but need the Eth to the room for my PC and trying to get better coverage for WiFi too), but not really sure how to go about this
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The EE booster I linked in my previous comment is EE's mesh system that works with their router, that's another option.
 
jpaul said:
did they breakout cost for just a cat6 to bedroom - does it need many holes in walls. ? is powerline another option

[


thanks that hadn't crossed my mind .

(sorry didn't say) I have a run to do around skirting board that maybe in the vicinity of mains cables so wondered if that edicted shielded
]
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No, it still doesn’t need shielding. F/UTP allows for grounding which is good for protecting the network if it gets struck by lightning but most CAT6 has the same plastic ‘shielding’ that CAT6A has to prevent interference. If I’m mounting an access point on a chimney or the high point on a building then I’ll ground it otherwise CAT6 all the way. And bad shielding can actually be more problematic than helpful.
 
WJA96 said:
otherwise CAT6 all the way.
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what is your recommended brand ?
I have had some cheap no-mark supermarket 6 cables I had 'run' under some rugs which have some human traffic (the shortest distance across the lounge)
the many insulated cables inside the outer plastic sheath don't have anything that holds them in place in the outer sheath like on a speaker-cable/mains-cable/ribbon-cable, and are effectively loose inside,
so don't stand up well to traffic - I guess I should get some cable protectors, but a more robust cable might resolve that issue.
 
jpaul said:
what is your recommended brand ?
I have had some cheap no-mark supermarket 6 cables I had 'run' under some rugs which have some human traffic (the shortest distance across the lounge)
the many insulated cables inside the outer plastic sheath don't have anything that holds them in place in the outer sheath like on a speaker-cable/mains-cable/ribbon-cable, and are effectively loose inside,
so don't stand up well to traffic - I guess I should get some cable protectors, but a more robust cable might resolve that issue.
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Cablemonkey

Edit: but definitely don't run cables under rugs.
 
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jpaul said:
what is your recommended brand ?
I have had some cheap no-mark supermarket 6 cables I had 'run' under some rugs which have some human traffic (the shortest distance across the lounge)
the many insulated cables inside the outer plastic sheath don't have anything that holds them in place in the outer sheath like on a speaker-cable/mains-cable/ribbon-cable, and are effectively loose inside,
so don't stand up well to traffic - I guess I should get some cable protectors, but a more robust cable might resolve that issue.
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It depends. Excel/CCS from Cable Monkey or Kenable have various colours in external grade CAT6 if that’s important. Some folks must have white cable outside so Kenable are one of the very few who have such a thing.
 
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WJA96 said:
It depends. Excel/CCS from Cable Monkey or Kenable have various colours in external grade CAT6 if that’s important. Some folks must have white cable outside so Kenable are one of the very few who have such a thing.
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Yeah just ordered 100m of Kenable external grade CAT 6 and they had both black and white, will test it out when I get it tomorrow.
 
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jpaul said:
Thanks (seems like a popular question )
yes the kenable external/white stuff looks interesting I see they also have a couple of low profile 2.2/1.4mm 500/250mhz ones that would go under carpet and maybe door
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I'll be running my Kenable external one outside on the weekend, not lifting up floorboards so gonna run from the back bedroom upstairs where the router is to the front living room on the outside of the house. Just waiting for my Dad to come round as he's got the bigger drill bit to make the holes.

I've got a Cat 6 Kenable low profile running from the room already to the loft extension along the skirting, under the hallway carpet and then up the inside of the stairs up into the room and it's been perfect.
 
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Unfortunately outside back-front isn't an option terrace of 3 - could use loft I guess.
but went for V seemed rude not to buy a cat7 cable on sale that maybe more robust mechanically/electrically than cat6

Durability​

CAT6 has an estimated life cycle of around 10 years before errors and degradation begin to occur. CAT7, however, has an estimated lifespan of around 15 years. This is due in part to the heavier copper used, as well as the greater amounts of insulation shielding it. This is why many people looking to future upgrades for their homes may want to consider CAT7, as they will be less likely to need rewiring before the bandwidth is maxed.
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FLAT CAT7 FTP Shielded 600MHz 10Gbps Ethernet LAN Cable RJ45 15m Black £4.73
FLAT CAT6 Ethernet LAN Patch Cable Low Profile GIGABIT RJ45 20m BEIGE £5.15
 
Final question

Is paying a tradesperson in cash "dodgy" - tax evasion, I presume?

(Sorry, I don't usually hire tradespeople - I have home emergency insurance)
 
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It’s not necessarily dodgy - I’m sure everyone fully declares all their income to HMRC. Make sure you get an invoice BEFORE you give the them the cash. That way you OWN them because if you don’t look after you you can just ring up HMRC and tip them the wink.
 
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WJA96 said:
It’s not necessarily dodgy - I’m sure everyone fully declares all their income to HMRC. Make sure you get an invoice BEFORE you give the them the cash. That way you OWN them because if you don’t look after you you can just ring up HMRC and tip them the
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Thanks - there was a roughly 20% discount (which made me quite suspicious)
 
Are they VAT registered? I actually want to charge VAT because I can recover it and it makes my margins bigger so it does sound a touch unorthodox shall we say?
 
WJA96 said:
Are they VAT registered? I actually want to charge VAT because I can recover it and it makes my margins bigger so it does sound a touch unorthodox shall we say?
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I just checked and they are VAT registered (so it certainly does seem "odd")
 
RT123 said:
I just checked and they are VAT registered (so it certainly does seem "odd")
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Yeah, so basically you get the VAT off for cash, which he probably thinks gets him off the “defrauding the revenue” charge but it still lands him in jail because as a VAT registered business he MUST charge VAT on services and goods. It just means he’s actually giving you an even bigger discount because he’ll now have to pony up the VAT you should have paid from the cash you pay him.
 
Also a 20% discount is more than the VAT, to take a 20% VAT element off an inc. VAT price you'd need to discount by around 17%.
 
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