Forum Topic

Electrician/Builder cable threading

Has anyone had experience threading a cat 6 or similar cable from one part of the house to another in order to have wired internet connection in multiple rooms? Any recommendation of electricians or builders who have done similar work would be much appreciated. I am not looking for wifi solutions or using electrical sockets. Thanks.

Paul Magnus ● 2251d4 Comments

Fairly complex if you want to put the cables in walls and floors/ceilings, as it may involve doing several openings, replastering or filing, and painting.Much easier to lay along walls in corners, and only drill when necessary.On the material and equipment front, you need cat5 or cat6 cable which is at 3p per feet wholesale. RJ45 sockets are £3 each. RJ45 connectors come for £2 per pack of 10. Crimping tool is £5. Then you'll need appropriate patch cords, and of course a switch if your router has less LAN ports than your required number of sockets.

Adam Pycz ● 2251d

Thanks. I wanted to avoid having the unsightly cables going along the walls especially as the path is not straightforward and there are mutliple doorways to contend with. Point A is by the back wall and point B by the front. Maybe laying a cable over the roof is an option. I was also thinking it could be thread underneath the carpet along the raised carpet gripper. I am probably going to get a professional for this either way.

Paul Magnus ● 2251d

Sure. It's good to have a plan though, before he will have demolished a half of your house.Consider getting a cable/metal/stud detector, they are £10 combo, to research your walls. Good to know which areas to exclude from drilling.Explore your skirting boards. It's sometimes very easy to open them and hide cables in the cavity. You may also check whethere architraves could be used as conduits.

Adam Pycz ● 2251d

Rather than taking a cable over the roof, always unsightly, see if the cable can be inserted from the outside into the loft space across and out the other side.  If you have any ‘stud’ walls, the cable can be dropped down from there.  The suggestion to use the skirting board is an excellent one.  Mostly, when you lift a carpet off the gripper tack, there is a space between the floor boards and the base of the skirting.  We used this for running alarm cabling.  It might be more difficult if you have a modern house with concrete floors.With wooden floors you can use the space between the joists.  Lift a carpet to see which way the floor boards run and the joists will be across them.In some places, there is a requirement for conduit piping to be installed which makes future work much easier but do remember to put in a ‘pulling’ line and ensure one is left in place for future use.

Elizabeth Ross ● 2250d