Want to rewire my house network

[Ian Edwards]

Hi.
Happy New Year.
My first post, so be gentle with me.
I`ve redone my flooring, with skirting removed, so perfect time to look into wiring a network and hiding the wiring..

My problem is, I dont know which wires I`m allowed to do myself.
Existing wiring is a bit of a mess.
BT line comes into the house via a BT66 box on the wall.
Routed into the hallway to a really old looking junction box on the wall that isnt needed, down the hall to another junction box, then to the far corner of living room into an Openreach master socket.
Thats 3 extension cables.

I`ve read that I cannot touch wiring from before the master socket, so does this mean all the extensions in the line I cannot touch? One of them got broken when I did the flooring, and I managed to join the ends back myself.
I want to add cat6 cabling around the house.
What am I allowed to change?
Is the existing cabling "up to" cat6 standard before the mastersocket?

Thankyou for any help or suggestions.

 

[Avalon]

Technically speaking you are not allowed to do any work to any openreach wiring prior to the master socket. If you have even the most basic level of common sense and use OR parts, it’s very unlikely you’ll have a problem. Unfortunately a previous thread with a similar warning got painful when it turned out the person concerned was less capable than they seemed to think they were.

Firstly OR don’t use Cat6, if you do use Cat6 or anything else non standard and have a fault, you risk a hefty bill/call out charge.

So the first thing to do is decide where you want the actual phone point to be? If it’s where the first junction box is, then buy a current generation OR master socket from the bay of thieves and swap it over, you can then run cat6 or whatever else you want to wherever you need. If it’s not going to be at the first junction box, then you will need cable. From memory BT use white CW1308 2pair (so 4 strands in 2 pairs), you will need as many meters of that as it will take to get to your chosen location allowing for a little play at each end and termination, start at the junction box end, use a punch down tool to terminate the active pair and move to the socket end. Once you have your socket terminated then check for dial tone.

Next up is where you have a choice, the category of cable is less important than its composition. Do not buy CCA or Copper Coated Aluminium, 5e will do 10Gbit just as well as 6 will over the kind of distances that most domestic installs use, it’s cheaper and easier to work with, but at this stage, 6 may be a better choice for you, whatever you choose, you then need the corresponding spec for faceplates etc. if you are going for a conventional install and not just having loose cables terminated. You make no mention of the planned network layout, devices etc. but common practice is to either take feeds from the router to end points, or if you have more devices then take a feed (or two for redundancy, but only connect one) to a central point and install a switch, then take feeds from the central point to each room.

 

[Ian Edwards]

Thankyou, so much for your reply.
I will keep the master socket where it is.
I want to run the existing wiring behind the skirting boards. (before I did the flooring it was tacked to the top).
Am I still allowed to do this?
Does openreach have to come out to repair the extension I accidentally severed before the Master Socket, or can I repace it myself?
(My internet connection works again, but my "fix" is a bit of a bodge.

 

[bremen1874]

As you've already damaged the cable I'd replace it.

As above, use CW1308 cable and replace as much as you can with a single run. I'd probably go back to the first junction box inside the house.

There's no reason not to hide the cable behind the skirting.

If you're in doubt about any of it post pictures and ask.

 

[Avalon]

Thankyou, so much for your reply.
I will keep the master socket where it is.
I want to run the existing wiring behind the skirting boards. (before I did the flooring it was tacked to the top).
Am I still allowed to do this?
Does openreach have to come out to repair the extension I accidentally severed before the Master Socket, or can I repace it myself?
(My internet connection works again, but my "fix" is a bit of a bodge.

The answers to those questions are in the first reply, legally you’ve agreed to not touch the cable before the master socket, however it’s not criminal (unlike the call out charge for OR to do it), the job is simple, you know the correct spec of cable, it’s only two strands that would need connecting, a genuine socket and a cheap punch down tool is only a few quid... It’s up to you what you choose to do with that information. You can run cat5e or 6 wherever you want behind the skirting.