What to expect from getting house wired with cat6

[Siclark]

As part of a major refurbishment we had the whole house rewired for electrics and cat6/coax in every room.
It was based on architects plans 4xcat6 in each room all wired back to utility room as central hub.
I got a patch panel for all this to go into the expectation that wiring cables would involve the electrician wiring both ends. Apparently not and he has left them all lose and asking for £500 to wire the patch panel. I have now put some plus on 6 of them to test and found 3 sockets didn't work. On investigation some of the punched cores on the wall face plates had come out and others seemed to have no connection.
Am I being unreasonable to expect him to have wired a patch panel to test every core or every wire?
The only way I can think he does it otherwise would be to put plugs on all cables which if he had then done so seems a bit mean to cut them all off before signing off the work.

 

[deadshort]

Ye, sounds about right, a sparky who thinks it's easy money and has not a clue. Don't pay him and get a pro in to terminate and test (with proper test kit, same with TV get a man that knows what he's doing !

It may even be less money !

N.B. if he's charging these prices ask for the test paper work for the network installation.

DS

 

[drgl]

£500 to wire a panel? He' staking the ****! Get a pro in now before you ruin what you have. CAT6 should have minimal strip back & untwisting of the cores (so should CAT5e for that matter!), if you haven't terminated these cables before you will struggle to do it correctly. I doubt anyone will certify what you have for a system warranty but they should be able to terminate & test what you have. Just pray they have pulled the wires in correctly....

 

[Siclark]

Clearly as he hasn't successfully wired in the wall panels he isn't an expert. I have put 3 part cat6 sockets on several and tested all cores are connected and the design of the socket ensures minimal untwisting but how I would I test further ie that I get a gigabit connection?

How would I find a pro and any idea what the cost would be to check the wiring on 40 cat6 cables, that go to 10 wall plates and wire to a patch panel. (actually only half to patch panel as rest will be used direct for hdmi distribution)

 

[Risteard]

Clearly as he hasn't successfully wired in the wall panels he isn't an expert.

In fairness anyone can make a mistake, and it often isn't possible to tell that it is improperly punched down with the IDC connections until testing it with a network tester. It can look OK but not be in fully.

 

[deadshort]

He seems to know how to make money, his only mistake is he's been rumbled

 

[Siclark]

In fairness anyone can make a mistake, and it often isn't possible to tell that it is improperly punched down with the IDC connections until testing it with a network tester. It can look OK but not be in fully.

True but then shouldn't be have tested? I wasn't expecting a fully certified wiring but at least that all connections made tested and working .

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Be aware when discussing things with Risteard that you are dealing with someone who doesn't even know which country he lives in.

 

[Siclark]

Ye, sounds about right, a sparky who thinks it's easy money and has not a clue. Don't pay him and get a pro in to terminate and test (with proper test kit, same with TV get a man that knows what he's doing !

It may even be less money !

N.B. if he's charging these prices ask for the test paper work for the network installation.

DS

So whilst hiring a pro would be a better solution its money I could be spending on more toys. Clearly he needs to check all the faceplates to ensure no loose connections, but should I be insisting that the 40 cables are all left terminated with plugs so that they can be used / tested (even if I do intend to put them into a patch panel at some point) ie what I believe I have already paid for, rather than paying him extra to do a patch panel?

 

[deadshort]

Your toys will not work as expected if connected to a damp string network …………

Regards,

DS

 

[Siclark]

Ok, point taken, so how do I find someone who can come and ensure all connections are done so that it would meet certification and is this likely to be a costly exercise?

 

[Risteard]

In fairness anyone can make a mistake, and it often isn't possible to tell that it is improperly punched down with the IDC connections until testing it with a network tester. It can look OK but not be in fully.

True but then shouldn't be have tested? I wasn't expecting a fully certified wiring but at least that all connections made tested and working .

Well he couldn't really test it if the other end of the cable hadn't yet been patched in, could he?

 

[phatboy]

Ok, point taken, so how do I find someone who can come and ensure all connections are done so that it would meet certification and is this likely to be a costly exercise?

Contact any local company who offer structured cabling installation and testing, there are plenty of them about. They will have the test equipment, so you can be sure you are getting the 1GB you're expecting.

 

[bernardgreen]

but should I be insisting that the 40 cables are all left terminated with plugs so that they can be used / tested (even if I do intend to put them into a patch panel at some point) ie what I believe I have already paid for, rather than paying him extra to do a patch panel?

If you want to be able to use the cable t( and one assumes you do otherwise you wouldn't have installed them ) then putting a plug on the end of each cable just to test them is a waste of many good plugs. Either bite the cost bullet and terminate then all on a patch panel of sockets or leave them un-terminated so the can be tested using a croc clip type tester.

If you connect a few up now and then a few more from time to time you will end up with a rats nest of cables. Then when you realise a patche panel is needed aftere all you will have a lot more work to disconnect everything so the cables can be terminated on the patch panel. No doubt during that process a few cables will get mixed up.

If you can spend money of "toys" then spend some on a patch panel. it really is worth the expense if you have 10 or more cables.

 

[333rocky333]

The electrical firm i worked for used to run the data cables in but rarely connected them.
occasionally wall sockets were fitted and the wiring tested using part of a plug in tester at the socket and the other end connected using crocodile clips.
Any further connections were subbed out to as specialist, if the client wanted that, but most had there own engineers, who done anything except lay in cables.