WiFi set up at new house

[Nick1881]

Hi guys,

I'm moving into a new house at the end of the month and I'm hoping to add ethernet cabling and WiFi access points. I'm currently unsure where to put my network cabinet and AP's.

I have a Unifi U6 Pro but I will need another one at least, then maybe later look at covering the garage. The house is 3 story.

I was thinking of an AP on the landings, but which floors would be best? Ground and second or first and second? It may depend on the difficulty of runs, but I'm trying to find out what's ideal.

Also while I have you, is CAT6 ok or should I go CAT7? I already have a full reel of CAT6.

Here's the floorplan. Thanks

 

[ChrisD.]

I was thinking of an AP on the landings, but which floors would be best? Ground and second or first and second? It may depend on the difficulty of runs, but I'm trying to find out what's ideal.

Also while I have you, is CAT6 ok or should I go CAT7? I already have a full reel of CAT6.

One AP on the second floor, one on the first floor should be fine.

Cat5e+ is fine, no requirement to buy cat7 if you already have 6. Generally the higher you go the more difficult it is to work with.

 

[Semple]

For the cab you'll want somewhere as central as possible. The obvious place to me looks to be that cupboard on the first floor landing assuming it's not housing a hot water tank. It should also provide access to the soil stack for your upstairs and downstairs bathrooms which makes routing cables between floors a lot easier.

WiFi should only be for things like phones, tablets and laptops. While you have the chance I would run ethernet points to places where you might have a TV etc.

For APs I'd probably put one on the 2nd floor landing and one towards the dining area as that's the other end of the house.

Also you'll want to have multiple cable runs, so for a house that big I don't think a single 300m reel will be enough .

 

[Nick1881]

One AP on the second floor, one on the first floor should be fine.

Cat5e+ is fine, no requirement to buy cat7 if you already have 6. Generally the higher you go the more difficult it is to work with.

Thanks

For the cab you'll want somewhere as central as possible. The obvious place to me looks to be that cupboard on the first floor landing assuming it's not housing a hot water tank. It should also provide access to the soil stack for your upstairs and downstairs bathrooms which makes routing cables between floors a lot easier.

WiFi should only be for things like phones, tablets and laptops. While you have the chance I would run ethernet points to places where you might have a TV etc.

For APs I'd probably put one on the 2nd floor landing and one towards the dining area as that's the other end of the house.

Also you'll want to have multiple cable runs, so for a house that big I don't think a single 300m reel will be enough .

That cupboard does have a water tank, I can't remember how much space was in there. The loft might be an option.

The dining area could be tricky as it has a higher ceiling.

 

[Sparx]

Personally I'd run 3-4x APs to:

1. 2nd floor landing
2. Ground floor hallway
3. Dining room (to cover the rear of house & garden area)
4. Garage (optional/future-proofing)

Plus several runs to key rooms i.e. sitting room, dining area, any bedrooms used as offices or for gaming consoles, and if run to garage I'd do 2 legs at least (AP and Switch).

 

[Firegod]

What is the house constructed from? Is it quite modern (so thin stud walls) or is it more like a Victorian 3 story with thick brick / stone walls. That might have implications for number of APs and placement. As @chrisd says, I wouldn't use CAT7. I tried it once and it wasn't practical. I ended up with CAT6a which I personally find usable.

Dont forget APs don't just have to go on the ceiling, you can get them wall mounted as well (some come with an option to say "which way have you mounted it"). So that could open up other options if the Dining Area ceiling is quite high.

I was thinking perhaps something like this might work and potentially help cover the garage with WiFi (similar to what @Sparx suggests). x2 APs downstairs, then x1 AP on landing for first and second floors.

 

[Nick1881]

The house is 2006 contruction, so modern stud walls. The diagram doesn't show the actual location of the garage.

In my last house, which was admittedly smaller, I had 1 access point on the ground floor and it covered upstairs pretty well. I'm thinking of trying the second and first floor and then maybe one in the corner of the garage closest to the house.

Here is the actual layout.