DIY Ethernet Cabling

alphaomega16 · 27 Jul 2023 at 01:10

I was contemplating taking a punt and doing my own ethernet cables as there is one location that the size of an RJ45 cable wont fit through, how difficult is this? If its relatively easy once you get the hang of it id give it a try but any and all advice would be great on compatible products such as connectors to cabling and what is a good reliable brand etc etc.

I have watched some youtube videos and it seems simple enough.

I need a bigger network switch so was contemplating getting a POE one if I could power another POE switch with it, I was thinking about doing a switch down into the cupboard down the stairs for the solar equipment and then running a line through the waffle block into extension where the squares are big enough for cabling but not the connector.

alphaomega16 · 27 Jul 2023 at 12:40

I did get a quote for doing a line downstairs it was ~£250 but I figured even with trial and error it would cost half that to get the stuff and do it myself.

We recently had cladding done and the 2 decade old cat5 cable that had been going out my bedroom window and down into the extension was absolutely fine til the guys finishing up decided to keep treading on it and broke it, obviously it was spotted right away and the guys called up their boss and said to dad to ring the number and talk with boss about getting it sorted, we were told to get a quote and they would send us the money to get it sorted.

We got a quote then they started turning around saying well you pay it first then send us an invoice and pictures of work done THEN we will pay you, they had first hand witnesses the guys they hired that said they done it and confirmed it was broken.

Installation labor £200 was the bulk of it, if they were footing the bill I would have had it done properly, I did get my dad a TPlink wifi thing in the interim but transfer speeds over network are sub 10mb/s for some reason even after installing their drivers.

alphaomega16 · 27 Jul 2023 at 15:18

I had contemplated a few options

1. Network switch upstairs and multiple cables going over and down stairs (Shorter cables connected to solar gear with a middle extension block to plug both ends of rj45 cable into)
2. Network switch upstairs to a switch downstairs in cupboard that connects to the solar gear + through the gap in brick to extension, singular cable same method as #1 (Would need to have a electrical socket fitted in cupboard but was thinking about this anyway so would be a nice push.

3. As mentioned the socket in wall that is run through same cabling for solar/electricity cables although it was a little tight when solar guys tried to feed the dc cables down through but it would have to be singular as I doubt multiples will fit so would be 1 socket with two network switches.

I am hoping these people that said to get a quote so they can give us the money to replace it stop mucking us about, first they wanted copy of quote before they would give us they money then changed to pay for it out of pocket and send us pictures before we send the money, its ridiculous.

alphaomega16 · 30 Oct 2023 at 00:22

Looks like they don't want to pay out for someone to do it and instead have offered us £150 to sort out ourselves, bit of a joke but they moaned at the £250 quote and I forwarded the E-Mail the installer sent the official quote in, took 2-3 weeks to respond and they came back asking for it in PDF format, seriously you want a quote from a company with its logo, contact details and all relevant information resent IN PDF FORMAT.

By that time they couldn't do it anymore as it was such a small job so I sent them a list of what id need and its price and after a week they said that the price of the cable was too high they were cheaper from the go to for everything retailer and I had to explain to them teh cable they were talking about was a ready to go one that wont fit through the breeze block otherwise I woulda done that at the very start and told them to send me twenty quid lol, told them I have never done this before and wouldnt know how much id need extra to make sure it worked if they were not willing to pay someone to come and do it.

Well they asked for dads bank details and that they would send £150 (less than what I tallied up but I thought they broke a 20yr old cable that was running on outside of house bout time I got a future proof one again).

Going to run a solid line from upstairs to inside cupboard from one of those old telephone line looking boxes so if anything happens to it on the runs after that im not replacing an ENTIRE cable and just have it from upstairs box in hallway under carpet and into bedroom to router and then from cupboard through breeze blocks to dads computer with a bit of slack his side incase its needed.

I was thinking about getting the following
4x Leenue Toolless RJ45 Connector Cat6A
2x Ethernet Wall Sockets (unsure which to get)

Can anybody recommend some decent POE cable, I was looking at the Oren Cat6A 500mhz 100M for £94, but if anybody else has any other suggestions I would be all ears.
I had also contemplated the JAVEX 23AWG CAT6 UL in-Wall Rated Bare Copper 600MHz at £129 for 305M

Better late than never on they to sort it out but hopefully this new cable will last at least the same length of time on the inside of the home as the Cat5 cable did on the outside of the home lol.

alphaomega16 · 30 Oct 2023 at 20:42

WJA96 said:
Sorry, but you should just get the work done by a professional and send them the bill. If they don’t pay it, small claims will get them to open their wallets. Just based on what you’re looking at cable-wise (way too much by the way) it’s going to be £150 in parts and tools and then your time on top. You’re being mugged.

Thought id best get a bit so I got some spare for later use incase needed and im going to have to have excess incase I screw up the terminating. To go from upstairs to extension through the home im looking at 15-20m and its going to be trial and error.

I did watch the guys fitting lan cable to my solar battery and it seemed easy enough I just want to go overkill on what I need just incase and may as well use all the money they giving me.

Just wanted to make sure all being well the cable won't need to be changed for quite some time with POE functionality for cameras.

alphaomega16 · 1 Nov 2023 at 22:56

So, any thoughts on the above cables or any recommendations? To be safe bare minimum is going to have to be 30m at least but the more the better as if I get on well I can do custom sizing and cables for rest of my gear at a later date and have some spare.