Pulling/Pushing/Fishing Cable

[GazzaS]

Hi,

I'm about to move into a new build house and will be installing CAT6A thoughout for both HD and network. For my previous properties I've just gone in from the outside, used loft space and/or used ducting. However for this new one I would like to spend time trying to install the cables throughout the walls to make it as neat as possible.

The problem I have is that the developer will not allow me onsite before the house is complete due to regulations (not even to take photos of he walls before plaster to see where other cables are).

Therefore can anyone point me to help and advice to installing cables through both stud walls and downstairs load supporting walls? How easy is it to put new cables into a dot and dab wall or cavity wall?

Thanks for any advice you can provide.

Cheers,

Gary

 

[GazzaS]

Just got off the phone with the developer and have found out that the downstairs walls will be block work with dot and dab and the upstairs walls will be metal stud walls.

Therefore is it still possible to fish cable through dot and dab? Any advice? Do metal studs have holes for cables?

Thanks for any advice.

Gary

 

[slup]

Can't you tell your developer to stop being an arse?

It's going to be a nightmare to retrospectively install cabling into dot+dab walls without making a mess.

It would be far more sensible to get this done before the property is skimmed / decorated.

What stage is the build at? Have the electrics already been first fixed?

 

[GazzaS]

Hi,

I know Been to developers management and constantly being told comeback to us in a couple of weeks when the site is safe. Been through my solicitor and everything, but been told there is nothing that can be done and because we have already exchanged we have no negotiating power

Just called the developer and been told that they have now plastered all the walls So I am left to do it the hard way.

So any tips of fishing though metal stud walls and dot and dab walls will be much appreciated. A few people have suggested chipping out a cavity in the plaster and then placing the wires in conduit and covering back up. However I have a feeling the wife will shoot me if I do this without exploring other options

Cheers,
Gary

 

[ColJack]

if you've exchanged contracts then isn't it legally your house now?
tell them to do it your way or get off site and you'll let them know when they can finish..

 

[opps]

One glimmer of hope is that the dot and dab might not go all the way down to the floor- so you might be able to run the cable behind the skirting.

 

[GazzaS]

Thanks for the response. Yes, I may end up taking the skirting off anyway for a neat Laminate/Wooden floor install.

Thanks,

Gary

 

[opps]

Hi,

I have only ever used cat5 for networks. How will your cat6a work for HD, will it involve baluns?

OMG- Just been looking at the CAT6a spec and have only just noticed that what I refer to as RJ45 isn't really RJ45 but infact 8P8C

When installing 6a are then any extra issues, eg, from what I read there can be issues with the extra thick cable sheath and the plugs.

 

[GazzaS]

Hi,

Well Cat6A is 10gbps certified and offers 550mhz down the copper compared to Cat5's 100mhz and Cat6's 250mhz. This allows much more bandwidth of data to be sent down the wire. Cat6a is also shielded as part of it's specification. Therefore termination at either ends needs to be done with Cat6a terminals and management of the drain wire.

To be honest I'm cheating a little... I didn't want to restrict myself to use expensive Cat6a terminations or have to mess around with the drain wire (can be quite tricky). Therefore I've actually bought a hybrid wire which is Cat6 UTP rated at 550mhz and advertises 10gbps speed. Now this should offer me the additional bandwidth without the shielding. I may get issues with cross talk and interference so I plan to run the cable as far away from power sources and in short lengths.

You can use Cat5e to send HDMI over a balun. However Cat6 provides better distances. I'm distributing 1080i over the house (not p) which allows 100m distances with the baluns I am using and the max distance I have measured is approx 30m.

Thanks,

Gary

 

[opps]

Thanks for the cat6 101

Can you post the link to your supplier so I can look at the cable. I am a bit behind the times re cable spec.

Cheers

EDIT----------------------

Are there issues with rgb travelling at different speeds when using a balun- or this that covered by the distances that you quoted?

 

[GazzaS]

Sure.

The cat6a spec can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_6_cable

The cable I am using is:
http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=302&sku=43092
(paid £170 for 305m on Ebay)

Finally the balun I will be using is:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Max-Value-1...3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1262695032&sr=8-3
(paid £30 on ebay)
It handles all the HDMI signal and is 1.3b compliant. It also handles HD lossless audio. It can pass 1080p over 50m of Cat6 or 1080i over 100m (also handles lower resolutions over 100m).

Cheers,

Gary

 

[opps]

Thanks Garry

 

[Donkmeister]

Mmmmm, bandwidth.

I can guarantee that at least one of your friends/colleagues will say "Why don't you just use wireless?".

You actually going to be using any 10Gbps equipment on this? I'm wiring my house with Cat-6 but most of the equipment will be connected at 100Mbps because gigabit switches draw too much power for my tastes. I'll be using gigabit to connect two nodes that need to talk to each other at higher speeds though.