Cable Chasing

thebop

Hi Folks,

To have Sky +, I need two cables to the Sky unit. I only have one at present so i need another.

It it madness to get someone to chase the new cable or best to install cable down walls etc. and hide it best as possible.

TB

bushy...

If there is a drainpipe nearby outside you could go out through the wall and hide it neatly behind the pipe.

muffler

Moved to DIY

thebop

Unfortunately, the drain is running down the side of the house.

Would coming down the attic be my best bet?

byte

Are you planning on getting Sky themselves to do the job? As their installers won't go through attics, due to insurance.

If you want a tidy job, you might need to consider an independant installer, though you'll have to pay extra if a lot of time is involved.

Of course, unless you're planning on chasing the cable yourself.

Stoner

this is difficuly to comment on without seeing your place.

for example in some houses all the tv cables go back to the attic, and in some cases depending on how the installation is finished it is possible to tie a draw wire onto the end of your existing cable, then pull the cable back up to the attic, tie on the new cable, and go back down to the draw wire and pull both in.

another option is to clip the cable on the outside wall, get a cable that suits the colour of your house, and clip it down the outside of the wall. If you have red brick etc, go to woodies and get a sample tester of brick wall paint, these have a built in brush, and paint the cable red where it is against the red brick.

I would not recomment chasing the wall, it will create a lot of dirt, and or if you only half do it it will look really bad, for example can you match the plastrer work in with the existing wall finish? or will you be back on again looking for advice on plastering?

"Fishing" the cable around your house etc is usually the best way to go, try fishing it around (in partition walls, under the floor etc) to the hotpress etc where a route to the attic can usually be found without chasing walls. Using the lid of a lenght of 25x16mm PVC cable trunking is a handy tool, it can be pushed around the inside of walls and under floors and you'd tape your cables to one end and pull it through the other, also being plastic it is not going to give you a shock if you poke a live wire somewhere..

Best of luck with it.

bofo

Slightly off the original thread, but in the same ball-park... Does the dish HAVE to be attached to the house itself? It's just that I had hoped I could ask the installer to put it onto the shed wall or perhaps a pre-built wall to the read of the garden out of the way... Paying for a few extra meters of cable would be better than taking away the overall look of the house which I guess thebop is alluding to.

Thanks

Brendan

eoghan.geraghty

Any sturdy wall will do. But, dish must point SE. Consider if due south is 6 o'clock, dish faces 5 o'clock.
Also consider if a tree is blocking the line of sight.
Is the dish at risk of being hit by a football etc by being lower in height.
The first 20m of cable from dish to box is free, after that you're charged.
If you think its a long/awkward run, say to the engineer " I know its awkward but I'll throw you 20". In most cases this will guarantee a better job.