When I've finally got my garden office sorted (see other posts) I'll want to have access to my home network. Obviously wireless is an option, but the wireless signal in the garden is poor. My electrician will be laying armoured cable to the shed, so I'm wondering if there's some sort of equivalent for network cable? I could just piggy-back on the armoured elec cable...
Routing network cable outside
- Thread starter jdpjamesp
- Start date
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What about network mains adapters such as Homeplug Powerline?
Otherwise your cat5 cable would probably need to go inside a plastic conduit alongside the mains cable
Or a wireless repeater or access point wired to the existing network
Otherwise your cat5 cable would probably need to go inside a plastic conduit alongside the mains cable
Or a wireless repeater or access point wired to the existing network
Ah yeah the Mains system is a good one - forgot about those. That's probably the best bet.
Cat5E will survive for about a year in the elements.
In my last house I got some MDPE water pipe (it's the blue stuff) and put 4 cable through that. It took a while but I read of a trick online where you tie some fishing line to some tissue paper (or glue to a small marble) and suck through - using a vacuum - from the other end. Then pull the line through and tie to the cables. I squirted loads of talc into the pipe as well. It was fine. I then buried the pipe with the cables inside. Where the pipe came out of the ground I just put some clear sealant to close up the gap and stop insects and water going through the pipe.
It worked fine for 3 years and the new tenant is still using the cabling now.
I plan to do exactly the same with my new place.
In my last house I got some MDPE water pipe (it's the blue stuff) and put 4 cable through that. It took a while but I read of a trick online where you tie some fishing line to some tissue paper (or glue to a small marble) and suck through - using a vacuum - from the other end. Then pull the line through and tie to the cables. I squirted loads of talc into the pipe as well. It was fine. I then buried the pipe with the cables inside. Where the pipe came out of the ground I just put some clear sealant to close up the gap and stop insects and water going through the pipe.
It worked fine for 3 years and the new tenant is still using the cabling now.
I plan to do exactly the same with my new place.
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Thanks for that as an alternative. I think I'll probably go for woody's solution but this is useful if I do need to go down that route.
I dont know the lenght envolved, or the scope of the 'garden office' but i would certainly be looking to get some network cable in there if it where me. The powerline adapters are good at what they do but i think using them as a design solution is poor.
You can get external grade Cat5e although ive never heard of armoured network cable, so I would go for putting it in a pipe in the same trench as the mains cable, but a distance apart. If it was a large office and the cost wasnt super prohibative I might put a 2inch pipe down with a drawline in it for future proofing.
Daniel
You can get external grade Cat5e although ive never heard of armoured network cable, so I would go for putting it in a pipe in the same trench as the mains cable, but a distance apart. If it was a large office and the cost wasnt super prohibative I might put a 2inch pipe down with a drawline in it for future proofing.
Daniel
Having spoken to my sparky again, the one big problem I might have is that the power for the office will be being taken from the garage as that is already powered properly. I may find I have to do network cable separately which would be a bind as the house is surrounded by paving of various types. So the homeplug style solution will almost certainly be the most practical.
Edit: Just done some research and Armoured Cat5E does exist... http://www.eland.co.uk/ss/electricalcable/datacable/cable160/cat-5e-pe-ftp-gswb-lszh-cable.html hate to imagine how much it is though!!
Edit: Just done some research and Armoured Cat5E does exist... http://www.eland.co.uk/ss/electricalcable/datacable/cable160/cat-5e-pe-ftp-gswb-lszh-cable.html hate to imagine how much it is though!!
Ok so there's no dimensions here, but here's a rough mock of the layout...
You don't need armoured cat5. It's used for industrial installations.
Powerline adapters are useless and I am pretty sure they can't transmit the signal across separate circuits which I would presume your garage is. So you would have to run a network cable to the garage anyway to use a powerline in the office.
I am a network engineer by training although I haven't done anything other that friends or family installations in a long time but I have seen a lot of "redneck" installations which work perfectly well
- Network cable inside a hosepipe and buried in the ground, network inside a hosepipe in the guttering etc. 1 guy had no other option but to run his network cable alongside the powercables in his house so he wrapped the network cable in tinfoil. He had no interference problems. I wouldn't recommend this approach but it worked for him.
Network cable is so cheap - you could pick up a 305m drum for about £40 so you could afford to run loads.
If it was me I would look to run network cable from the house through the garage then into the shed.
Powerline adapters are useless and I am pretty sure they can't transmit the signal across separate circuits which I would presume your garage is. So you would have to run a network cable to the garage anyway to use a powerline in the office.
I am a network engineer by training although I haven't done anything other that friends or family installations in a long time but I have seen a lot of "redneck" installations which work perfectly well
- Network cable inside a hosepipe and buried in the ground, network inside a hosepipe in the guttering etc. 1 guy had no other option but to run his network cable alongside the powercables in his house so he wrapped the network cable in tinfoil. He had no interference problems. I wouldn't recommend this approach but it worked for him.
Network cable is so cheap - you could pick up a 305m drum for about £40 so you could afford to run loads.
If it was me I would look to run network cable from the house through the garage then into the shed.
So assuming this project goes ahead, what's the best way do you think of getting the Cat5E cable to the garage (see sketch above)? The area in front of the garage is block paving and the area behind the house, to right of garage, is flag stones. I really don't want to have to lift them.
Depends. Having put in a armoured mains cable to the garage at my parents and nothing else there is then a bit of an umbilical strung between the gap (circa 8ft) which has water and a network cable in it suspended on a cable.
Its not ideal, but its an option, even if you have to swap the suspened lenght of cable every 2-4years (terminate that cable in the house and garage in preparation for this). Otherwise, as you know, your looking at lifting some of the paving.
Daniel
Its not ideal, but its an option, even if you have to swap the suspened lenght of cable every 2-4years (terminate that cable in the house and garage in preparation for this). Otherwise, as you know, your looking at lifting some of the paving.
Daniel
Distance from corner of kitchen to corner of garage is a couple of feet so I guess an "umbilical" arrangement might work. And a good call to terminate the overhanging wire in the house and garage for easy replacement I'll have a ponder. Thanks all for the tips.
I'll have a ponder. Thanks all for the tips.look for the path of least resistance.
My house is a dormer bungalow and I needed to run an electric feed to the garage which is approx 3 foot from the house. The electric feed is at the front of the house so we ran the cable up through the attic and then fitted a junction box. I ran armour cable up the side of the house and then under the decking to the garage.
speak to your electrician mate. As someone who has done this many times he should be able to advise on the easiest/best cable runs. They do this for a living and you will be surprised how easy it will be to a trained eye. you have worked out option a and b and he will probably come along and say why don't you just do option c which will be something you didn't even consider.
Sometimes all the googling in the world can't make up for an expert pair of eyes. If you have access to an expert pair use them if only to confirm your findings.
My house is a dormer bungalow and I needed to run an electric feed to the garage which is approx 3 foot from the house. The electric feed is at the front of the house so we ran the cable up through the attic and then fitted a junction box. I ran armour cable up the side of the house and then under the decking to the garage.
speak to your electrician mate. As someone who has done this many times he should be able to advise on the easiest/best cable runs. They do this for a living and you will be surprised how easy it will be to a trained eye. you have worked out option a and b and he will probably come along and say why don't you just do option c which will be something you didn't even consider.
Sometimes all the googling in the world can't make up for an expert pair of eyes. If you have access to an expert pair use them if only to confirm your findings.
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