How not to be conned on ethernet throught the home?

[K.C. Leblanc]

Terminating yourself I wouldn't imagine will save you a great deal, the time consuming part is running the cable, especially if you have to chase walls and make good afterwards

It also means if there's a problem you're in a trickier situation. If the contractor does the whole job it's clear cut who's responsible if there's an issue.

 

[Haggisman]

Sounds like Cat5E will be fine for our needs, possibly two runs per socket/room and might be worth learning how to terminate to save costs.

The bulk of cost will be in the installation - for the sake of a few £ extra surely it would make sense to future proof with cat6?

 

[ZG002]

From a trades perspective it completely depends on the runs, materials will all be about the same price but the runs will be what makes the biggest difference.

Do you have a central point they are being run too? (You mention you don't know where the fibre will enter) but you will need to know that if you are wanting the cables run to that point.

You could have cupboards or built in wardrobes on top of each other on each floor so the main trunk of the run could be simple or you could live in a minimalist dream house wtih tiled and hardwood floors where the runs will be near impossible without major damage.

Do you want everything hidden or are you OK with some surface containment?

Too many factors to take into account to even give you an idea of cost really.

My advice,

have a long hard think about where each point needs to be and how many connections at each point are needed and where they are all to be ran too.

Try to identify areas you think the cables could be ran between floors and concealed easily

Try to figure out where that fibre will be run too, do you need all cables run back to that point? I have a single cable going from my router to a central cupboard where my switch and server live.

The more ideas like the above you have the better your quotes will be.

Get 3 quotes if able, but also consider doing as much of the donkey work as possible yourself if you are budget conscious (you must be to make this thread)

Good luck

 

[Deleted member 77746]

Did the OP get this completed?


All you have to do is the following.

A) Find a central place where each point will go back to.
B) Do a rough network diagram with it, with how many points there will be.
C) You need a patch panel and a cabinet, cat5e or cat6 sockets, crimp (if you want it neat). or a small network an Ikea lack rack.
D) Calculate how much cable you will need, just do it rough (depends how many points and how big of a house), buy cable (cat6 or cat5e + cabinet+ikea lack+patch panel (cat6 or cat5e).
E) Pull cable to central point but label each cable at each end. EG A001, A002, A003 e.t.c, (draw on wall where you want points, check for cables + anything behind the wall).
F) Punch down cables into patch panel and sockets in order. (they need to be same at each end).
G) Use a tester to see if each cable has the correct pin outs.
H) Label patch panel.
I) Plug in devices and test.

If you think this is complex then it's best to get someone in to do it and not try yourself but get a few quotes if unsure and ask for a breakdown.

 

[BUDFORCE]

It also means if there's a problem you're in a trickier situation. If the contractor does the whole job it's clear cut who's responsible if there's an issue.

Clear cut whos going to wiggle out of any responsibility and fob you off, to the point you either need to be willing to take them to court or suck it up.

 

[doodah]

Still some way to go but had an offer accepted on a place and started to have a think about network planning. I currently have the following

• UDM (4 port switch/router)
• 1 x Unifi WiFi 5 AP LR
• 1 x Unifi WiFi 5 AP Lite
• 1 x Unifi WiFi 5 AP (forget if it's another Lite or LR)

My wife and I both want CCTV (one for front of house, one for rear) but I'd rather go down the non-subscription route. So I would need to get some quotes from network installation specialists (and possibly a plasterer), for perhaps a double network point in each room (2 in the kitchen)? Assume some savings to be made if I get them to put it all in and then I can terminate (haven't done before but keen to learn). Would also time this with sorting out the plug points in the bedrooms upstairs - limited number and look old.

The issue is where does it all go? The looks to be a small cupboard under the stairs, if there is power in there - wonder if I could sneak in a small network cupboard (I'm going to need a switch). There's a utility room but it feels quite stuffy in there. Oh and if we were to get it all cabled, assume getting a few extras for the loft is worth a shout (for a future conversion)?

 

[sovietspybob]

You could put a small comms cabinet high up on the wall in the utility opposite the boiler?

Mine is in my utility at about head height but could easily be higher as you don't need to interact with it much.

edit: Not very good pictures but mine is on the wall where the cables come out and the power socket is right under the consumer unit.

 

[doodah]

Thank you and that's not a bad idea, whilst I'm expanding - it won't be that much equipment. And whatever Unifi switch I get shouldn't be massive, along with some type of NVR and UDM (now wonder if I switch over to a UDM Pro instead).

******* love a utility room .

 

[sovietspybob]

Yeah mine is a shallow (30cm i think) 6u cab, i've only got a retro gigabit switch as my internet is about 26meg so no point in anything posher!

But it's good to have the space for other stuff like NAS and whatever

 

[G_Wizz]

This is a crazy thread. You are basically telling us that you want to prevent something that is impossible to predict. Just get a few quotes from different companies. If the price is too rich do it yourself.

99 percent of contractors are honest people that are just doing a job to feed their families and it just costs what it costs. Cough up or gain some skills.

I would say 10% are honest and thats being generous, the going rate for most trades is 200 to 300 a day, having recently overseen a full house renovation for my mother some will charge more than double that if they think you are a bit clueless.

 

[azazl187]

I would say 10% are honest and thats being generous, the going rate for most trades is 200 to 300 a day, having recently overseen a full house renovation for my mother some will charge more than double that if they think you are a bit clueless.

I think that you have had some bad experiences. 200 a day for a qualified carpenter for example is very cheap.

 

[doodah]

Have sent off for 3 quotes; double points in all rooms, two in the kitchen, spare wires and two for CCTV.

 

[Quartz]

Have sent off for 3 quotes; double points in all rooms, two in the kitchen, spare wires and two for CCTV.

Have 4 points - at least - where you're going to put the main TV.

 

[doodah]

Have 4 points - at least - where you're going to put the main TV.

4 points per socket? Surely overkill? I only have 4 things plugged into ethernet at the moment across our whole house (this will grow). As we're sacrificing the main living room, TV will likely go in the living area in the kitchen.

 

[sovietspybob]

4 points by TV seems sensible, i've got my TV, PS3 and steam link and a raspberry pi connected there so you can easily use 4 imo

 

[WJA96]

I would tend to agree with @Quartz for the simple reason that the cost is 90% in the labour. Just looking behind my own TV, I have the TV cabled, the Sonos Soundbar, the Sonos Sub and I’ve one free for if I ever get a PlayBoy GameStation or whatever they’re called. and I have 4 other RJ45s for the Sonos satellite speakers. We then have another UniFi U6 Enterprise IW access point in the wall which gives 4 more sockets and a Wifi 6E access point. Everything is cabled that possibly can be cabled.

Likewise, I really don’t see how 2 cameras are going to fully cover the front and rear elevations of your house in decent detail. Cameras are cheap, getting someone on site to run cables is expensive. If it’s a terrace then I‘d have two 180-degree cameras or 4 cameras to fully cover all sides. If it’s detatched then you need at least one camera on each exposed elevation to cover people coming down the sides. And decent Surveillance Camera installer will explain this to you and roughly scope out the fields of view.

I quote people for a living and the temptation to quote for what they ask for is always there whereas in reality you have to quote for what they need, which is usually slightly more expensive initially but saves time and mess later. If you’re opening channels in the walls you only want to do it once. I’ve been back to people who’ve had what they asked for installed and they usually just grumble that if they’d known then what they know now they’d have done it first time round.

 

[doodah]

Wowsers, thanks for the advice . It's an end of terrace, there is a side access but it's quite narrow. Initially thinking a wide angle at the front covering the 2 parking bays, now one potentially down the side and another covering the garden. You say cameras are cheap - was looking at Unifi Protect cameras. G4 Pro is out of the question, the G4 Bullets look like a good mix of features and not too expensive.

Edit - oh and a doorbell.

 

[WJA96]

Nice house!

We don’t fit UniFi cameras because they’re crazy expensive for what they offer.

Whether you actually fit the cameras now or not, I would put a network cable in at roughly 3m on either side of the house, plus the front door which can be covered by the doorbell camera if it records constantly.

 

[doodah]

Nice house!

We don’t fit UniFi cameras because they’re crazy expensive for what they offer.

Whether you actually fit the cameras now or not, I would put a network cable in at roughly 3m on either side of the house, plus the front door which can be covered by the doorbell camera if it records constantly.

Thanks, it's not in the bag yet but fingers crossed. Any recommendations for non-Unifi PoE cameras that work well with their ecosystem?

 

[Quartz]

4 points per socket? Surely overkill?

By the TV. One for your TV, one for your console / HTPC, one for your Apple / Amazon / Netflix / whatever device, one for your DVR, etc.