Running ethernet cables from the attic

ib881

Hi all.

There were a few threads about this before, however, I still have some unanswered questions, that I would like to discuss here.
I am a techie, and construction is something I am very new to, so forgive my silly questions.

As the title suggest, I am trying to run some ethernet cables from the attic, through the wall down to several rooms.

My first question: is it safe to drill the top wall plate to make a hole large enough for 2 ethernet wires? I am thinking 8-12 mm should be enough for it? Are these wall plates load bearing?

Here is a picture of where I want to drill.

drive.google.com/file/d/1fn96JpPAfpzGGn3X8ITJ4fowZM2GsJcG/view?usp=sharing

I am thinking of doing several of these.
1. Two wires to a corner bedroom that use as an office
2. one wire through the same wall, but on the other side of the house to feed an IP camera for the back garden
3. Another wire for the front of the house for another IP camera.

Any suggestions or general recommendations?

Thanks!

DublinDilbert

Yes drilling into the top of the stud wall is fine, this will get you into the cavity. The problem is you might hit a noggin (cross piece) joining two studs.

Best think to do is drill a hole in the top plate, then run a cane or even mini trunking lid to see if you hit a noggin.

LenWoods

ib881 wrote: »

Hi all.

There were a few threads about this before, however, I still have some unanswered questions, that I would like to discuss here.
I am a techie, and construction is something I am very new to, so forgive my silly questions.

As the title suggest, I am trying to run some ethernet cables from the attic, through the wall down to several rooms.

My first question: is it safe to drill the top wall plate to make a hole large enough for 2 ethernet wires? I am thinking 8-12 mm should be enough for it? Are these wall plates load bearing?

Here is a picture of where I want to drill.

drive.google.com/file/d/1fn96JpPAfpzGGn3X8ITJ4fowZM2GsJcG/view?usp=sharing

I am thinking of doing several of these.
1. Two wires to a corner bedroom that use as an office
2. one wire through the same wall, but on the other side of the house to feed an IP camera for the back garden
3. Another wire for the front of the house for another IP camera.

Any suggestions or general recommendations?

Thanks!

I've recently put a central panel in my attic for network and media distribution may be of interest to view
Link: https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/80864-living-room-project/#comments

Calahonda52

DublinDilbert wrote: »

Yes drilling into the top of the stud wall is fine, this will get you into the cavity. The problem is you might hit a noggin (cross piece) joining two studs.

Best think to do is drill a hole in the top plate, then run a cane or even mini trunking lid to see if you hit a noggin.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fn96JpPAfpzGGn3X8ITJ4fowZM2GsJcG/view
is the link.

in passing, is there no insulation?
Looks like there is plenty air getting in beyond the wall plate.
That for a different thread but needs discussion if you want a warm house.

Now to your question:
First is this a timber framed house?
Am trying to interpret the construction.

Are they grey bricks?


If it is, then there will be insulation below that timber.

More info needed

Lex Luthor

I recently ran some ethernet cables from the attic into the bedrooms for similar reason

I found the corner point of the ceiling I wanted the cable to come into the bedroom and drilled up from there into attic. From there I stuck a clothes hanger I opened up into attic and located the hanger in the attic to find the hole, from there it was easy enough to run the cables along the roof joists

In the bedroom I just ran the cables inside 16x16mm trunking down the wall to the skirting board, filled the sides off with some caulk and painted over
Barely notice it

I could have tried going down behind the walls but with studs etc in the unknown, I didnt need the hassle

ib881

Calahonda52 wrote: »

is the link.

in passing, is there no insulation?
Looks like there is plenty air getting in beyond the wall plate.
That for a different thread but needs discussion if you want a warm house.

Now to your question:
First is this a timber framed house?
Am trying to interpret the construction.

Are they grey bricks?


If it is, then there will be insulation below that timber.

More info needed

There is insulation, it's on the other side of the grey brick: drive.google.com/file/d/1oOFJ0nMJlIDS6gEZFNWAiceyjoecCUja/view?usp=sharing
The inside of the wall looks like this: drive.google.com/file/d/1uhCAOZTNm4P-6ubrYEEzL68bNboNsEcW/view?usp=sharing (sorry, boards doesn't let me post links because I am new)

Lex Luthor wrote: »

I recently ran some ethernet cables from the attic into the bedrooms for similar reason

I found the corner point of the ceiling I wanted the cable to come into the bedroom and drilled up from there into attic. From there I stuck a clothes hanger I opened up into attic and located the hanger in the attic to find the hole, from there it was easy enough to run the cables along the roof joists

In the bedroom I just ran the cables inside 16x16mm trunking down the wall to the skirting board, filled the sides off with some caulk and painted over
Barely notice it

I could have tried going down behind the walls but with studs etc in the unknown, I didnt need the hassle

Thanks, I thought about this but I would really prefer the cables to be inside the walls. I like a challenge.

LenWoods wrote: »

I've recently put a central panel in my attic for network and media distribution may be of interest to view
Link:

Looks nice! Any plans to get a networking rack? Any issues with heat/cold/ventilation in attic? I am doing something similar but still concerned about putting switches up there, due to swinging temperatues.

DublinDilbert wrote: »

Yes drilling into the top of the stud wall is fine, this will get you into the cavity. The problem is you might hit a noggin (cross piece) joining two studs.

Best think to do is drill a hole in the top plate, then run a cane or even mini trunking lid to see if you hit a noggin.

Great, thanks

Yellow_Fern

ib881 wrote: »

There is insulation, it's on the other side of the grey brick: drive.google.com/file/d/1oOFJ0nMJlIDS6gEZFNWAiceyjoecCUja/view?usp=sharing
The inside of the wall looks like this: drive.google.com/file/d/1uhCAOZTNm4P-6ubrYEEzL68bNboNsEcW/view?usp=sharing (sorry, boards doesn't let me post links because I am new)

On very cold windy days do you ever feel air coming through power outlets situated on external walls?

JaCrispy

Use TP powerline adapters where possible, I cannot stand the sight of trunking down a wall.

Edit : Alternatively, see if you can locate your socket wires and trunking, There may be some capacity to run a CAT5 down the trunk. I've done that a few times before.

Lex Luthor

JaCrispy wrote: »

Use TP powerline adapters where possible, I cannot stand the sight of trunking down a wall.

I'm the same, but down the wall in the corner is hardly noticeable

you can get some nice profiles these days and with a bit of caulking and paint you wouldnt see it

Yellow_Fern

Another trick I learn recently is flat ethernet cables, they can run under carpet. Great idea.

Calahonda52

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uhCAOZTNm4P-6ubrYEEzL68bNboNsEcW/view

am confused even more now

ib881

Calahonda52 wrote: »

am confused even more now

Why? What's confusing? It's a new house, built in 2019, A rated.

Yellow_Fern wrote: »

Another trick I learn recently is flat ethernet cables, they can run under carpet. Great idea.

I don't have carpets and I already got a large amount of bulk cat6, solid copper, good quality cable.

JaCrispy wrote: »

Use TP powerline adapters where possible, I cannot stand the sight of trunking down a wall.

Edit : Alternatively, see if you can locate your socket wires and trunking, There may be some capacity to run a CAT5 down the trunk. I've done that a few times before.

I am not interested in powerline adapters, they are garbage and don't fit what I am trying to achieve.

JaCrispy

ib881 wrote: »

I am not interested in powerline adapters, they are garbage and don't fit what I am trying to achieve.

They work absolutely perfect if you don't plug them into sockets instead of extension leads. I get in excess of 100MB lan speeds using them.


So what exactly are you trying to achieve? From your original post it seems like they would do the trick for the bedrooms at least. The IP cameras probably would need a direct line alright.

Yellow_Fern

JaCrispy wrote: »

They work absolutely perfect if you don't plug them into sockets instead of extension leads. I get in excess of 100MB lan speeds using them.


So what exactly are you trying to achieve? From your original post it seems like they would do the trick for the bedrooms at least. The IP cameras probably would need a direct line alright.

A lot of people have great experiences with powerlines but others have many issues that are hard to solve. If you have an extension, or old wiring you can have issues.

JaCrispy

Yellow_Fern wrote: »

A lot of people have great experiences with powerlines but others have many issues that are hard to solve. If you have an extension, or old wiring you can have issues.

It's a new build so I doubt the OP would encounter any issues with these adapters. IMO, it would be worth a shot.

GolfNut33

Avoid the adaptors like the plague. They should only ever be used as a last resort. You just simply can't beat hard wired connections. If I was you I'd fish down the stud from the attic and chase out around the bridging. It would be a nice proper job and no trucking or cables showing anywhere.

JaCrispy

GolfNut33 wrote: »

If I was you I'd fish down the stud from the attic and chase out around the bridging. It would be a nice proper job and no trucking or cables showing anywhere.

What happens when you hit a noggin?

GolfNut33

JaCrispy wrote: »

What happens when you hit a noggin?

They'll all be roughly be the same height. Get a small nail and tap it into the plasterboard. When you hit the noggin the nail won't go in all the way. You can actually hear where they are by knocking in the board too.

Cut a small hole both sides of the noggin and slice a small narrow channel across the noggin, just wide enough for the cat5.

Fish out the cable and continue it into the bottom section and fish it out at the bottom. Fill holes with polyfilla

LenWoods

GolfNut33 wrote: »

They'll all be roughly be the same height. Get a small nail and tap it into the plasterboard. When you hit the noggin the nail won't go in all the way. You can actually hear where they are by knocking in the board too.

Cut a small hole both sides of the noggin and slice a small narrow channel across the noggin, just wide enough for the cat5.

Fish out the cable and continue it into the bottom section and fish it out at the bottom. Fill holes with polyfilla

+1
I drilled in to the noggin then filled with expanding foam followed by Ronseal ready mixed filler as its like butter to spread and sands away very easily as saw further down the post in thread here sorry if people have a problem with me linking it, but I find in linking it saves me time repeating myself and it is very much relevant to the conversation yet I'm not trying to distract people from boards, I wish to continue the discussion here but dip in to my link for visual reference:
https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/80864-living-room-project/?do=findComment&comment=715111
also in images attached,
as said a nail works fine but if doing a few rooms then you may wish to invest in a stud finder which will alert you to the centre of a stud or noggin aswell as pipes or electrical cables.

LenWoods

ib881 wrote: »

Looks nice! Any plans to get a networking rack? Any issues with heat/cold/ventilation in attic? I am doing something similar but still concerned about putting switches up there, due to swinging temperatures.

Thanks,
sorry for my delayed response mate, I haven't been on here for a few days,
I've no plans to fit a network rack, I've installed everything on a panel mounted to the wall in the attic with the ability to convert the attic to a full usable room in the future, with everything fitted on the panel as it currently is; then converting the attic wouldn't be any impact to what has already been done, I can fit a set of cabinet doors over the panel.

the chosen Netgear GS305 and GS308 are made of metal casing which helps deal with heat and there also fitted vertically with there rubber feet providing space from the MDF panel, the panel itself is also fitted horizontally with a one inch cavity spacing it away from the neighbouring concrete wall, its been fitted there since January 2018 and permanently active there's never been any issues with it atall,

if I was doing it again, I would put hinges on the top of the panel which would allow the panel to be lifted upwards making it easer to route cables through the rear but again; its not every day you would be routing cables, I haven't touched it now in almost two years and it serves the entire home.

Static M.e.

@LenWoods, I really enjoyed reading your thread and following the adventure. I'm going to do something very similar, but smaller, as your Attic Panel. I have that picture saved as a reference, good work!

LenWoods

Static M.e. wrote: »

@LenWoods, I really enjoyed reading your thread and following the adventure. I'm going to do something very similar, but smaller, as your Attic Panel. I have that picture saved as a reference, good work!

Thanks very much; I appreciate your feedback and glad it helped
Most DIY shops have pre-cut sheets of MDF board,. I purchased that in my local Woodie's and used it as the size it was.