Wiring Cat 6 in new build. DIY or get Electrician?

Infiniteey · 14 Jun 2021 at 01:00

Hello friends,

Nearing to the completion of my new house. Only just occurred to me that I should probably wire the house up with Cat 6 for a POE CCTV system and general wired connection.

I have just spent the day figuring out what I would need to make this all work (Network switch, Rack, Patch panel, reels of CAT 6, connectors, crimp tools, etc), but I think the hardest part for me would be routing the cables around the house. I have very little DIY experience but wouldn't mind having a go.

Here is a floor plan.

I have labelled up where and how many cables I think I would want. Red is for network and Blue is for CCTV. Green is where the Open Reach box is located under the stairs. This is where I would want everything wired to. Any obvious issues with the layout?

The build is in its final stages now. The downstairs flooring is being fitted soon, but upstairs is yet to be chosen which means I will be free to cut into the flooring which should make things easier?

Do you think it would be an easy job to DIY, or should I find a local electrician to do the cable routing (terminate the cables myself)? Any idea how much they would charge with my proposed layout?

Thanks

mikehhhhhhh · 14 Jun 2021 at 09:30

Infiniteey said:
Hello friends,

Nearing to the completion of my new house. Only just occurred to me that I should probably wire the house up with Cat 6 for a POE CCTV system and general wired connection.

I have just spent the day figuring out what I would need to make this all work (Network switch, Rack, Patch panel, reels of CAT 6, connectors, crimp tools, etc), but I think the hardest part for me would be routing the cables around the house. I have very little DIY experience but wouldn't mind having a go.

Here is a floor plan.

I have labelled up where and how many cables I think I would want. Red is for network and Blue is for CCTV. Green is where the Open Reach box is located under the stairs. This is where I would want everything wired to. Any obvious issues with the layout?

The build is in its final stages now. The downstairs flooring is being fitted soon, but upstairs is yet to be chosen which means I will be free to cut into the flooring which should make things easier?

Do you think it would be an easy job to DIY, or should I find a local electrician to do the cable routing (terminate the cables myself)? Any idea how much they would charge with my proposed layout?

Thanks

The time to have done this was before the walls were lined to be honest.

I think it's a case of if you have to ask, it's probably best left to the pros. That's going to 2-3 days work minimum, I'd have thought. Budget £200-400 a day depending on where you are in the country and they may want to work as a pair which obviously doubles the day rate. But it's easier to just get a couple of electricians out to quote, I'd get on the case today if your house is nearing completion.

It looks like it's going to be a lovely house, congrats!

Caged · 14 Jun 2021 at 10:42

If your house has been built with web joists then that could be a fairly easy job, otherwise it's going to be a bit of a nightmare.

I would consider putting the cabinet in the garage and running everything to here, as there's more scope for cutting open the ceiling in a garage area. You may be able to use the soil pipes and the vent stacks that go up through the house into the loft as cable routes.

b0rn2sk8 · 14 Jun 2021 at 12:20

As the above said, the times to run the cables was before all the plasterboard went in.

I’d terminate them all back into the loft, that will make the job much easier. All the cables can come straight up the wall in their natural positions and in the loft the route doesn’t really matter.

The cables to the upper floor can be dropped down from the loft easily enough, it’s the downstairs cables that are the problems.

If you have a soil stack from the bathroom that could cover the lounge and family room, otherwise they’ll need to be ran externally in a conduit.

CCTV can easily be ran externally, hide the cables behind gutter pipes where possible. Internal will be a pain now. That’s a lot of cameras for a house though.

Infiniteey · 14 Jun 2021 at 22:55

mikehhhhhhh said:
The time to have done this was before the walls were lined to be honest.

I think it's a case of if you have to ask, it's probably best left to the pros. That's going to 2-3 days work minimum, I'd have thought. Budget £200-400 a day depending on where you are in the country and they may want to work as a pair which obviously doubles the day rate. But it's easier to just get a couple of electricians out to quote, I'd get on the case today if your house is nearing completion.

It looks like it's going to be a lovely house, congrats!

Thank you!

Unfortunately I reserved the house just after 2nd fix so most of the plastering and painting had already been done. I was actually quite surprised it was still for sale at this fairly late stage as it appeared to be a nice house, ok location, and reasonable for the price.

Hmmm I didn't think it was going to be cheap, but I hoped it wouldn't be more than £500.

Do people think it is better to ask an Electrician or a guy that specialises with Telecoms?

I've had a look on Checkatrade narrowed it down to maybe these four?

https://www.checkatrade.com/trades/AntrobusElectrical
https://www.checkatrade.com/trades/TotalProtectionElectricalFireandSecurity
https://www.checkatrade.com/trades/BaileyElectricalServicesLimited

https://www.checkatrade.com/trades/ArgTelecommunications

The first 3 I think are generic electricians but the last one seems to specialise with telecommunication installations. Any obvious choices or should I give them all a call and ask them for a quote if they do such work?

Funny but this is the first time in my life where I actually have to find tradesmen myself lol

b0rn2sk8 · 14 Jun 2021 at 22:58

If your paying for someone to put it all in there is no chance it will come in at under £500.

Infiniteey · 14 Jun 2021 at 23:11

Caged said:
If your house has been built with web joists then that could be a fairly easy job, otherwise it's going to be a bit of a nightmare.

I would consider putting the cabinet in the garage and running everything to here, as there's more scope for cutting open the ceiling in a garage area. You may be able to use the soil pipes and the vent stacks that go up through the house into the loft as cable routes.

Thank you for the tips. Are web joist the type of construction of the first floor? I am unsure but I can ask the sales executive. I don't think I will have access to the loft but I will bare the vent stacks in mind.

b0rn2sk8 said:
As the above said, the times to run the cables was before all the plasterboard went in.

I’d terminate them all back into the loft, that will make the job much easier. All the cables can come straight up the wall in their natural positions and in the loft the route doesn’t really matter.

The cables to the upper floor can be dropped down from the loft easily enough, it’s the downstairs cables that are the problems.

If you have a soil stack from the bathroom that could cover the lounge and family room, otherwise they’ll need to be ran externally in a conduit.

CCTV can easily be ran externally, hide the cables behind gutter pipes where possible. Internal will be a pain now. That’s a lot of cameras for a house though.

Again thanks for the tips.

It is a lot of cameras! However due to the layout and position of the house we literally are blind to anyone coming up the road towards us until they are past the front of the garage.

Nutty_Death · 14 Jun 2021 at 23:14

An electrician will be fine if you're happy to terminate and setup yourself.

For them it's just running cables... On a new build you might be lucky and not require too much destruction. On my house we had to chase every run into the wall, which we did during an electrical rewire.

Infiniteey · 14 Jun 2021 at 23:14

b0rn2sk8 said:
If your paying for someone to put it all in there is no chance it will come in at under £500.

Me being naïve. I think if quotes come to over £1000 I will probably end up taking a few days of annual leave and trying it myself. At least I can keep the power tools afterwards

Infiniteey · 14 Jun 2021 at 23:19

Nutty_Death said:
An electrician will be fine if you're happy to terminate and setup yourself.

For them it's just running cables... On a new build you might be lucky and not require too much destruction. On my house we had to chase every run into the wall, which we did during an electrical rewire.

From watching youtube videos its going to be a lot of chopping into plasterboard and filling afterwards. I will trying to ask the lads on site to see if they can "find" me a tub of paint that matches the walls :rolleyes:

Don't envy you there, chasing runs into the wall seems too intimidating for me.

Nutty_Death · 14 Jun 2021 at 23:30

Infiniteey said:
From watching youtube videos its going to be a lot of chopping into plasterboard and filling afterwards. I will trying to ask the lads on site to see if they can "find" me a tub of paint that matches the walls
Don't envy you there, chasing runs into the wall seems too intimidating for me.

Chopping plasterboard would be a delight compared with chasing into masonry. Took a couple of days to do a 5 bed house with 2 of us (one was an electrician), then there's all the repair work afterwards.

On a new build though you might be lucky and be able to run through studwork with minor holes.

It's not complicated to do, just fiddly and requires confidence to attack your house.

Infiniteey · 14 Jun 2021 at 23:34

Nutty_Death said:
Chopping plasterboard would be a delight compared with chasing into masonry. Took a couple of days to do a 5 bed house with 2 of us (one was an electrician), then there's all the repair work afterwards.

On a new build though you might be lucky and be able to run through studwork with minor holes.

It's not complicated to do, just fiddly and requires confidence to attack your house.

Attacking the house sounds about right. Already sounds wrong that the first thing I do to my shiny new house is take a saw and a multi tool to the walls and floors :cry:

b0rn2sk8 · 14 Jun 2021 at 23:44

There will be fire breaks in the stud walls, as a minimum you’ll need to cut a decent sized hole on every run to put a hole in it.

If there is existing wiring running in that area you might get lucky and can fish through an existing hole.

Why wouldn’t you have access to the loft? That is 100% the easiest place to drop cables to cables down the stud or outer walls to the upper floors. Doing any of this at ceiling level will mean making a lot of holes when you need to bridge joists every 60cm (assuming they are not web joists). Plus at the left level the stops of the studs will be exposed and you can easily drill through them to drop cables down.

For a new build I’d expect the joists are either I beams (they are shaped like a capital I) or web joists, they are more likely the former. Google them both if you want more into.

Infiniteey · 15 Jun 2021 at 00:00

b0rn2sk8 said:
There will be fire breaks in the stud walls, as a minimum you’ll need to cut a decent sized hole on every run to put a hole in it.

If there is existing wiring running in that area you might get lucky and can fish through an existing hole.

Why wouldn’t you have access to the loft? That is 100% the easiest place to drop cables to cables down the stud or outer walls to the upper floors. Doing any of this at ceiling level will mean making a lot of holes when you need to bridge joists every 60cm (assuming they are not web joists).

For a new build I’d expect the joists are either I beams (they are shaped like a capital I) or web joists, they are more likely the former. Google them both if you want more into.

Another good tip. Sorry, I meant I don't have access to the loft right now, not until I get the keys. Just had a google, which one would I hope I have and would make my life easier?

b0rn2sk8 · 15 Jun 2021 at 00:09

Web joists are easier because there is nothing blocking you from passing wires through the ceiling in any direction. I-beams are hard blocks every 60cm or so and holes need to be cut in each one which means a large hole in the ceiling to get a drill in. That obviously doesn’t apply in the loft.

Infiniteey · 15 Jun 2021 at 00:15

b0rn2sk8 said:
Web joists are easier because there is nothing blocking you from passing wires through the ceiling in any direction. I-beams are hard blocks every 60cm or so and holes need to be cut in each one which means a large hole in the ceiling to get a drill in. That obviously doesn’t apply in the loft.

I see. Well the flooring on the first floor won't be going in until mid August so its bare particle board until then. Would it be easier to cut into the upstairs floor than the ground floor ceiling?

b0rn2sk8 · 15 Jun 2021 at 00:23

No, I’d avoid cutting into chipboard flooring if you don’t know what you are doing. It’s a structural part of the floor and once cut it never goes back the same. You also have to strengthen the places where you cut to repair the integrity of the floor.

The ceiling is purely cosmetic and isn’t structural, you can sort pretty much anything with a bit of filler.

There isn’t actually any need if you terminate into the loft as everything can run directly up and down and no horizontal runs would be needed. Terminating into the garage would be a completely different animal and lots of horizontal runs would be needed from every corner of the house.

I’d suggest getting someone in to quote.

Infiniteey · 15 Jun 2021 at 01:01

b0rn2sk8 said:
No, I’d avoid cutting into chipboard flooring if you don’t know what you are doing. It’s a structural part of the floor and once cut it never goes back the same. You also have to strengthen the places where you cut to repair the integrity of the floor.

The ceiling is purely cosmetic and isn’t structural, you can sort pretty much anything with a bit of filler.

There isn’t actually any need if you terminate into the loft as everything can run directly up and down and no horizontal runs would be needed. Terminating into the garage would be a completely different animal and lots of horizontal runs would be needed from every corner of the house.

I’d suggest getting someone in to quote.

That makes sense. I definitely don't want squeaky floors at this point.

In my mind I still would want a neat and tidy data cabinet underneath the stairs. Would I run the cables up the wall between the stairs and Bedroom 3 into the loft?

Either way I will get the quotes in first. Cheers

bledd · 15 Jun 2021 at 07:21

Don't do this yourself. An electrician will have the know how of best routes etc.

I'd say you should expect north of £100 per cable run.

visibleman · 15 Jun 2021 at 13:54

It's easier to rip the house apart once rather than again in a few years time so i would be doubling each location personally or at least adding extra plus a few spare on top (a make sure you leave plenty of length either end in case you need to re-terminate); purely because cable is cheap, damaged runs can be moved to spares and you ethernet cabling can be used for a variety of things.

Similarly, think about any AV, smart appliances/speakers requirements as well as WiFi AP's, even if it might be something that will happen years down the line as you don't want to be ripping into the house again.

And second running everything to the loft and terminating there, it will save you a lot of headaches.