Cost to chase Ethernet - New Build

Fawkon

Hi there,

Currently in the process of purchasing a new build which is only at foundation stage.

The build contract does not include Ethernet as standard but I will be able to request at first fix with the electrician when we meet.

It will be block home throughout.

Could anyone advise what a fair price might be to get 2 drops in each room (8 rooms) running back to under the stairs might be considering they will doing this alongside the other electrical work in the home?

Thanks for any guidances on this.

Wearb

Latest new build I was looking at and talking to architect, she said that people connect everything wirelessly now so she just recommends running a few ethernet cables to provide connections to wireless boosters in strategic areas.

Worth thinking about. 🤔

Fawkon

Thanks Wearb,

I’ll be aiming for a Power Over Ethernet security camera system in the home which would require a number of Ethernet drops around the home.

JL spark

150/200 per room , patch panel extra on top then

2011

If the Ethernet points are on outside walls and warm board slabs are being applied no chasing will be required in these cases.

if internal walls are partition type these will not need to be chased either.

Many outdoor cameras are fitted to the facia which can mean reduced chasing.

10-10-20

Top tip: Run ethernet cables to large consumers of bandwidth, such as TV's, high-end/gaming PC's or continuously streaming cameras and keep these devices off the WiFi. This frees up bandwidth and reduces the amount of connection issues and contention.

sprucemoose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118939235#Comment_118939235

i kinda want you to name and shame that architect (obviously dont though) since that is kinda terrible advice, if WFH does become a more normal thing from now on especially. usually the cost of a decent booster will be more than the cost of installing the cabling too

Wearb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118956979#Comment_118956979

You could be correct but just as easily be totally wrong. Who'd have thought of zigbee some years ago.

ec_pc

Apart from the POE cameras, is there really a need for wired ethernet any more in a house? I didn't put ethernet in (apart from a few POE cameras and 1 cable to the garage), instead I bought a wifi mesh system with 3 nodes which uses powerline technology as part of the mesh to connect the 3 nodes. No wifi blackspots, good connectivity and throughput. Have seen over 40 devices connected with no issues.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118957673#Comment_118957673

Zigbee is ancient. The tech behind it is even older.

I'd still run CAT5. You don't have to use it for switched data - the cabling can also be used for HDMI extenders for instance (with adapters).

I paid 150 per pair (I think - without checking the invoice but it wasn't more I'm sure) to 4 rooms on a full rewire; no patch panel as I'm just going to put the eight cables straight in to a switch - so I'd expect it'd be a bit more with that. There was coax going in along side on basically every single run also so channeling cost was probably split.

Wearb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118958054#Comment_118958054

It's use in situations as described in this thread is far from ancient. It has only started to be used to its potential in such situations.

2011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118957977#Comment_118957977

It is always best to use wired connections wherever possible. This ensures faster and more robust connection. Additionally wireless connections can be troublesome when a home has tick walls and / or floors. Having Ethernet points also allows for the installation of multiple WiFi routers ensuring superior coverage when wireless connections make sense. In my opinion it is best to have a solid wired infrastructure as well as comprehensive wireless coverage.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118958071#Comment_118958071

My five year old install of bargain basement, sold in consumer shops zigbee kit would differ on that.

Back to data - in a modern density estate, no matter how good a mesh network you put in, you're going to be fighting your neighbours for the bandwidth for wifi. You'll want each node to be connected by ethernet at least, and probably still want any 4K streaming kit or gaming machines or anything else heavy to be ethernet too. Not as much of an issue in a one-off house with fields around it!

Wearb

You must be MUCH younger than me to consider 5 years old as being ancient 😅.

Anyway no point in turning this into a pissing contest. The op can now see that there are other options and the merits or otherwise of them.

sprucemoose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118958103#Comment_118958103

This +1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118957977#Comment_118957977

Ive found powerline quite hit and miss unfortunately.

L1011

Powerline is also extremely electrically noisy which can cause all sorts of issues with other stuff. Lots of that stuff isn't particularly relevant anymore (shortwave radio) but still.

Skerries

not sure how much it would cost but I am hearing that the cost of cabling has gone up by 40% lately especially for cat 6

munsterfan2

Can you patch the cabling yourself, a lot of the cost is to do with the patching. I agreed with electrician I would patch our tv and ethernet points and supply the cat-6 so he put in for free. As per above post, no chasing on exterior walls, hung ceiling so no issue there.

Run a few to ceiling points for your mesh wifi. With a decent mesh setup I get approx 500Mb on a speedtest over wifi while I get 950Mb if on ethernet.

Also, on TV points, our architect had one point in TV areas, I ran 3 x coax and 2 x ethernet to each TV area. Also was able to use PoE for the NTU for fibre and for my Zappi controller (Hub) as well as cameras

.

kirk.

Interesting to hear that wired is still relevant

There was posters a while back saying that wired was obsolete for domestic

Never made sense to me .With wireless you're depending on gadgets and signal strength.

2011

This is my own “coms room” set up. It works well. I managed to get the fibre cable pulled all the way to the Ethernet switch.

Irish Steve

Several years ago, a friend asked for help with his home network, he was having massive problems with connection his phone to the WiFI. At the time I had a reasonable package running on the laptop that was able to scan for WiFI signals, so I went up and ran it, the problem area was the third floor of a reasonably high density estate. His WiFi was coming in at No 12 on a list of 19 WiFi networks that my laptop could see, and there were channel conflicts across the board, there were NO spare channels that were not in use, and the "default" channels were only brutal with the numbers of users on them.

We were able to improve things a bit by moving his router from the ground floor to the first floor, and changing the channel it was using. That pushed his signal up to about No 3 on the list, and the phone was able to get a better response, but it still wasn't as good as it should have been, but with the contention that was there, we weren't going to get any better unless he upgraded his phone to a newer model that was capable of using the 5Ghz band.

I've had similar issues here at my home, and we're not high density, but there are still half a dozen routers coming up on a search, across both bands, and with the position of a large concrete block chimney, the simplest solution was to put a second WiFI device in at the other end of the house, with a wired connection between them.

Depending on what's being done on the network, there is very much a case for having wired ethernet in the house, even more so if there is a requirement for something like TV capable intercoms to a gate or similar, due to the distance, and even more so for things like CCTV cameras, as getting power to external cameras can be messy, but totally simple if there's a Network cable going to the device location, power over ethernet makes it very easy, and can also have advantages if a UPS is used to keep the system alive in the event of a power cut.

Another use for ethernet is things like Solar PV devices, having wire to potential device locations is another help.

2011

I have my work laptop (Windows) and my iMac hardwired to Ethernet. In both cases the connection speed when compared to WiFi is around 3 times quicker. This is particularly important when I am transferring large files which happens quite a bit for work.

Michael Collins

I'd agree with comments on the superiority of wired connections. I found my wireless connection was stuttering while on video calls from home. As soon as I connected the Ethernet cable all these issues went away.

Probably some improved wireless kit might have helped, but unless you're in a once off rurual housing (and perhaps even then) you're at the mercy of RF interference from many sources when going the wireless route.