Relocating sockets and routing cable in new(ish) house.

[Psyclist]

Morning all,

I'll start by putting your minds at ease and tell you this is not electrical sockets I'm looking to move, but I know it's an electricians bread and butter so you guys will be able to advise best.

Basically, I want to move my master telephone socket from our living room to our hallway along with our broadband router and network drive just to try and ease up on the mass of cables and sockets in our TV corner which is where the master socket was put during construction, but we're now up to 11 plugs behind the TV and although most of them are low enough in current to not cause any problems, I'm just not comfortable with it all so want to change the layout a bit.

My only concern about moving the router into the hall as well is taking the wired Ethernet connections for my TV and Games Console away too which I would prefer to keep as the broadband is used mostly for streaming films to the TV and online gaming on the console, so what I would like to do is take the phone socket out, extend the cable (it's only 3.5m in a line to where I want it to be) and put the socket in the hall, but then I'd also like to run a double Cat5 cable through the wall to bring wired connections back to behind the TV and Games console.

What I need advice on is the best practice for routing up walls and through ceilings as the house is only 8 years old so it's not as simple as just lifting a couple of floorboards to pull through as the upstairs floor is made of those massive floor sheets. How does everyone else do it?

 

[sparkwright]

As you've gathered, it's often harder to do alterations in a newer house.

Firstly you need to think, do I really need to do this work?

It's one of those jobs where once you've started to make a load of damage, you think 'Why the hell did I start this?'.

Warning over with.

You may need to cut 'traps' in the floor, and mind any pipes and cables that may be underneath.

You may also need to put noggins in afterwards to strengthen the floor as it all goes back together.

Newer houses often have a lot more joists than one would expect, so be prepared for the unexpected.

 

[skotl]

Have a look at these;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-PA4...id=1418487065&sr=8-1&keywords=powerline+av500

Tremendous value and very easy to use - I've used a variety of the tplink powerline adapters for years and have never had a problem. That way you can have your broadband connection wherever suits and don't need to worry about where the TV, etc, stuff lives.

Obviously, the "500Mb/sec" claim is pure fantasy but for broadband access they are more than fast enough.

 

[bernardgreen]

Power line technology works

But it has its downside.

Are you suffering from a strange-sounding interference to your AM radio, FM radio, DAB radio, Taxi radio, Business radio (inc. shopping-centre radio), Airband radio, Marine radio, Military radio, Amateur radio, Citizens' Band radio, or Shortwave radio?

You may be suffering deliberate interference (Spectrum Abuse) from a neighbour (or neighbours) who are using Power Line Technology (also known as Power Line Networking, Power Line Adaptors and Broadband over Power Line).

http://www.ban-plt.org.uk/

The deliberate act of abuse is the manufacturers selling equipment which they know radiates RF energy from the mains cabling.

]

 

[ultomoat]

As others have said be very careful of pipes etc below the floor, though one of these cutters is fantastic for running cables under chipboard floors:

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Pow...+Bits/sd1120/Solid+Board+Access+Cutter/p36742

And the covers to fill the holes:

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p98989

I think Amazon was cheaper when I bought mine, you might want to shop around.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Power line technology works

But it has its downside.
.
.
http://www.ban-plt.org.uk/[/QUOTE]
It's also a security risk - (a) it leaks RF like mad, and (b) every 3rd house in your street will be able to do a bit of packet sniffing.

 

[winston1]

The BT master socket is BT property and you are not allowed to move it. You are only allowed to touch wiring after the master socket.

Totally agree about power line adapters. Avoid them at all costs.

 

[Psyclist]

Ok, so I spoke to a mate of mine who used to be an Openreach engineer/technician and he said the rule is, you can't move the master socket, but you can remove the faceplate and add an extension in to the back of the socket which for what I want should be fine, so that gets around that bit.

As for the floor construction, can anyone tell me what they usually consist of in more modern houses? Is it just likely to be timber joists beneath the boards (along with wiring and piping...)?

 

[DIYTom]

Is the socket relocation on the same floor? Have you considered using trunking? There are many types now available that are designed to look like a bead around the edge of a wood floor, or fit on top of skirting boards and so on. Might save you a hell of a lot of hassle.