Ethernet cable for internet: over roof?

[Millstone]

Hi,
I'm upgrading to full fibre and unfortunately this means moving where it comes into the house, due to fibre routing limitations.
For my work I have to have a hardwired connection, not wifi.
The old copper wire goes right over the pitched stone roof to front of house.
Openreach advised me to install an ethernet cable to get from their entry point to my office. They said to use a local electrician, but my local electrician has limited experience of this.
I've contacted several telecoms installers and received differing advice.
Some say, external ethernet cable can go over the top of the roof. Others say - definitely not, it wouldn't last more than a week or two.
I also get differing advice around CAT5, CAT6 etc. My main aim with the cable is just to ensure no drops - standard fibre speeds will be fine.
Anything else I should know?
I'm a complete novice.
Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[davelx]

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/CACAT6EXTslash1.html
You need to make sure it is appropriately secured so that is doesn't move about and chafe in the wind etc.
You can get armoured versions both in CAT5E and CAT6:
https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/CACAT5EslashSWAslash1.html
For the sort of length you will need, CAT5E is adequate, and easier to handle and terminate properly than CAT6

 

[foxhole]

What wrong with going thru loft?
With those requirements Wi-Fi or PoE would be adequate .

 

[Rodders53]

Over the roof is bodgers way of doing something... cable would need clipping to tiles to stop moving... https://www.aerialsandtv.com/knowledge/cable-connectors-and-leads#cable-over-roofs is an aerial installers take on the issue of cables over roofs and shows what damage the wind and rain does in real life.

Better electricians may be able to find a route through a home with minimal access holes under floors etc.,. and cable threading rods. Through the loft is a favourite with entry at soffits.

Powerline extenders and mesh wifi networks have ethernet ports that would look like a wired connection to an employer I'd have thought, and with some luck and a fair wind might well be fast enough if not full speed.

My FTTC modem comes into one room and I've run external grade Cat 5E cable out of that room and round three walls, into the attached garage and then into the Lounge and upstairs airing cupboard via a switch. Is something like that possible?
Victorian terraces might have a void under the ground floor that the cable might run?

 

[Millstone]

Thanks for all the helpful comments.
It's a contractual condition to have a wired connection - could lose contracts in case of any failure on my part (slightest drop in connection is a problem).
Reason for not going through house is simply a difficult route, would involve many corners, getting over doorways etc. Going through the loft was (part of) my preferred route but engineer sounded less convinced.
What alarmed me was this contradictory advice with another engineer - someone who said he only installs external ethernet cables - saying over a roof was not an option.
I'm in a mid-terrace trying to connect from front to back, so it's either through the house or over the top - no going round external walls.

 

[foxhole]

PoE is wired .

 

[Rodders53]

Exact wording of that contract might make a difference.
What happens if you have a fall-over to mobile data when there is a fibre outage? Would clients object?

NB Powerlines are "wired" they use the house mains to transmit the signals between the units. But they don't like being on different circuits in the Consumer Units (in my experience). So it is suck it and see if they would work for you.

Over the roof is possible but will need a roofer / aerial installer to do it properly and safely with clipping in place at frequent intervals. May even need expensive scaffolding for safety? That's probably why one said a flat NO. Using ONLY external grade cable may also make sense for such an installer as well - bulk purchase quantities and no possible errors - and maybe almost always some is externally routed?

Electricians could run cables in voids: under the ground floor if a timber suspended one, between 1st and ground floor, or via the loft space... {Same as mains electrical cables would normally be run, or water / heating pipes}.

Although a CAT5 (or two) would fit in the smallest 16x8 mm D-line decorative trunking if you wanted and can blend into the decorations (I've used it for my surround speaker wiring).

Do you own the house or rent? Landlord may need to approve such works?

PoE is wired .

Power over Etherenet as I understand the term is a means of supplying power to remote equipment over an ethernet cable (e.g. surveillance cameras, wifi access points) using suitable PoE switches.
Do you mean something else?

Whatever it still needs a route for the cable to be run from point to point(s).

For a Terrace the only other route I can think of might be underground via a shared access 'right of way' type scenario (and great expense) from the back.

 

[Millstone]

The point is I can't have even half a second of drop in the connection, otherwise it harms the work I do. The result for me would be no more contracts. So I'm not trying to evade their terms, I just want it set up to work with an ethernet cable.
And the question then is the route. But I'm beginning to think that through the house, somehow, would be better than over the roof. How flexible are ethernet cables? Are they harder to fit than eg an electric circuit?

 

[Mottie]

Going through the loft was (part of) my preferred route but engineer sounded less convinced.

Years ago when we had cable installed (and probably before WiFi), my pc was in the rear of the house and when I told them I wanted it through the loft, they refused on safety grounds. To get over this, I had to go in the loft, they passed the cable to me, I pulled it through and across to the rear of the house and they pulled it down the back of the house and through the back wall. Stopped using that years ago. Recently had full fibre installed and it just went to where our current router was - in the hall at the front of the house. However, when I was laying laminate through the hall and kitchen, I fitted an Ethernet switch under the stairs with two cables going to my Tv and fire Tv box, one cable going to the router and one to the back room where we used to have the router plus one more going to the cctv in the loft. I just plugged in a cable from the router to the ethernet socket in the hall and I now have hardwire all round my house.

 

[securespark]

The point is I can't have even half a second of drop in the connection, otherwise it harms the work I do. The result for me would be no more contracts. So I'm not trying to evade their terms, I just want it set up to work with an ethernet cable.
And the question then is the route. But I'm beginning to think that through the house, somehow, would be better than over the roof. How flexible are ethernet cables? Are they harder to fit than eg an electric circuit?

What happens if you get a power cut completely out of your control?

Or your ISP has an outage?

That contract stinks.
You can't possibly guarantee a 24/7 internet connection.

Even if you have a back up mobile connection and UPS (would your firm pay for that?), it still won't guarantee a uninterrupted service.

 

[StephenStephen]

I regularly run a 50m ethernet cable through a couple of different buildings - it's pretty flexible.
If I were you I'd be looking in more detail about what the problem running it through the loft seems to be.

 

[secureiam]

I know a family member got told they couldn’t use a WiFi connection when they worked for a bank during Covid.

So we used a Ethernet plug.
Drop out of WiFi signal interference and easier to hack in is what they have as reasons as to why hardwired.

However they don’t stop WiFi from being used completely so that route was still available to hackers.

As for internet connection many routers support dual wan, not always a possibility with isps. But you could set up a router easily enough that did support usb connection to the router.

Had to use this a few times over the years, 5g means we can get 150mb service without too much hassle, literally lug in the phone to the router. The issue then is your limits for data, but most audio and data don’t use much video calls use more but not as much as say viewing cctv at full resolution as video chats aren’t high res.

 

[secureiam]

We also can arrange back up power but it’s unusual for us to have a power outage let alone a long one. But iso service down does happen

 

[JohnD]

Thanks for all the helpful comments.
It's a contractual condition to have a wired connection - could lose contracts in case of any failure on my part (slightest drop in connection is a problem).
Reason for not going through house is simply a difficult route, would involve many corners, getting over doorways etc. Going through the loft was (part of) my preferred route but engineer sounded less convinced.
What alarmed me was this contradictory advice with another engineer - someone who said he only installs external ethernet cables - saying over a roof was not an option.
I'm in a mid-terrace trying to connect from front to back, so it's either through the house or over the top - no going round external walls.

Does your house have wooden floors with a space beneath?

 

[-=sT3V3=-]

I did similar - ran up the wall outside the house and into the softit box, through the loft and down into the cupboard in the middle of the house. Used a 25m pre-made UV stabilized cable from amazon which I just re-spliced connectors on to suit.

Going over the roof will look tatty and birds or debris could snag your cable loose making it look worse.

Another option is colour coded thin cable pressed into the carpet edge at the base of the skirting around the room.
If the house is not too old you could re-purpose your telephone outlets as some used ethernet cable.