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I need to run an Ethernet cable from the BT hub at the front of the house to the office in the garage in the garden.
The run will be under the house in the floor void and then outside attached to garden wall. About 30m.
I’ve tried Wi-Fi relays and power cable extenders but it’s still too flaky.
Could someone let me have a link to the right cable? I don’t trust the Amazon sellers and cable websites have a load of options I don’t understand.
thanks👍🏻
Any generic Cat5e outdoor cable should do - the outdoor designation means that the outer is UV stable and a bit heavier duty than internal cable.
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/store/ethernet-cables/cat5e-outdoor-cables/
Buying one of those options at the right sort of length would probably be your cheapest option (cheaper than having to buy a big reel), if you can pull it through with the plugs still on it it should make it dead easy, or go for a longer one and cut it down and put your own ends on if you cannot.
Whenever I've run ethernet outside, I've tried to protect it as much as possible normally putting it inside an old garden hose to save it getting bashed / strimmed / etc
Perfect, thanks.
Any generic Cat5e outdoor cable should do
^ This.
I've got both Cat5e and Cat6 running around the outside of the house and the Cat5 has been fine and is actually more pliable than the Cat6.
If you're going to add your own RJ45 connectors get the ones that are open-ended (allowing the individual wires right through the connector) so you can see that the wires are in the right place. Cost a little more but make life easier!
I'm sure when I did this it was cheaper to terminate it on a cat5 wall plate on a surface mount box where you go through the walls with a cheap punch down tool than buy the rj45 crimp tool.
That is if you can't get the plugs through the wall.
Where are you? I bought a few 30m and 50m lengths of outdoor rated cables without realising they were outdoor rated. They are too stiff really for using as camera cables which is what I had planned for them. Happy to let you have whatever you need. Better than them just sitting in our warehouse gathering dust. They are fitted with plugs and while I've re ended plenty of normal Cat5 I don't think these would be easy to shorten.
Totally off at a tangent but incase its easier have you considered an outdoor router? TP Link and Ubiqiti make some gooduns. You'd be surprised how good they are.
I’m sure when I did this it was cheaper to terminate it on a cat5 wall plate on a surface mount box where you go through the walls with a cheap punch down tool than buy the rj45 crimp tool.
That's sound advice. Aside from being a neater install, punching a wall socket is a far easier DIY job than crimping plugs. A 'disposable' punchdown tool is like £2 (or can be bodged), whereas I've crimped more cable* than I care to remember and I wouldn't entertain it without a decent cable tester to hand to check the job.
(* quiet at the back)
Depending on your cabke run, I'd advise some armoured cat 5 cable , especially if near flower beds etc. Animals love to chew on cables outside.
I’ve bought a 35m cable and will see how it goes. The run externally is 1m off the ground and will be zip tied to the power cable. I may swop to a wall socket so the feed could be shared if need be.
I’ve bought a 35m cable and will see how it goes. The run externally is 1m off the ground and will be zip tied to the power cable. I may swop to a wall socket so the feed could be shared if need be.
Ideally there should be some separation between power and data rather than zip tied together* (zip ties should also not be pulled too tight if you do go that way).
* Cue people telling you that the design of twisted pair cables negates the issue. I have only had one problem in 20ish years, but it happened and the specifications warn you not to do it.
Ideally there should be some separation between power and data rather than zip tied together* (zip ties should also not be pulled too tight if you do go that way).
It's as much about electrical safety...a "normal" T&E cable might have insulation rated at 600V, an ethernet cable or USB cable might only be 30V. If the T&E is damaged it could cause disaster in the adjacent ethernet cable and anyone using that system, which is why mixed trunking is divided into compartments
I just buried a length of left over flexible water pipe and pulled it through that. It's right next to a wall, so unlikely to be disturbed. Power and ethernet.
I used this for the same thing as you cliped it to the outside of the house and put in a duct going underground to the garden office.
Has been fine for the last 2 years, I was advised to run 2 cables and terminate both and then in the event of a problem can just swap over. I think even the best CAT 6 cable will have a shorter life than armoured power cable etc.
Any generic Cat5e outdoor cable should do – the outdoor designation means that the outer is UV stable and a bit heavier duty than internal cable.
Outdoor grade normally comes with an extra outer sheath for protection and UV stability. Decent stuff is noticeably thicker than internal CAT-5/6 due to the sheath.
We use 100kms of the stuff at work.
I ran a couple of lengths down to the garden workshop:
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/7546/15781642680_6bc879dcdd_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/7546/15781642680_6bc879dcdd_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/q3z3xA ]CAT-5 ingress to house[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
If you’re going to add your own RJ45 connectors get the ones that are open-ended (allowing the individual wires right through the connector) so you can see that the wires are in the right place. Cost a little more but make life easier!
although you need to be careful to trim the cables super tight to the end of the plugs. A set of small side cutters didn’t do mine close enough and the pugs didn’t locate into sockets properly.
But as others have said - create sockets at both ends and buy patch cables pre made.
Quick reminder if making holes through walls, angle them so inside higher than outside. When your waterproofing gunk eventually breaks down, gravity is on your side. A small downwards loop at the bottom of a cable run before entering the wall lets most of the rain following it drip away rather than heading inside.
Quick reminder if making holes through walls, angle them so inside higher than outside. When your waterproofing gunk eventually breaks down, gravity is on your side. A small downwards loop at the bottom of a cable run before entering the wall lets most of the rain following it drip away rather than heading inside.
I normally line the hole with 20mm pvc pipe and extend it into the box on the outside which terminates the drip loop.
The lining makes it easy to poke cables through a cavity wall without them getting hooked by the cavity insulation etc.
Extending the pipe into the box means you don't rely on sealant. Just drill a drain hole in the bottom of the box....
So I bought a cable and have run it from the front of the house all the way to the garage / office. I left the connector on the one end to plug straight into the BT box. The other I cut off as it was much easer for poking the smaller cable through various holes. The office end I have a wall mounted outlet.
EXCEPT now find there is two different standard - T568A and T568B - can anyone tell me which my cable is?
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/26908-esscable-ess-e5-35b/support/#content
Those standards relates to how you wire the ends, not to the cable itself. A at one end and B at the other would create a (now legacy) crossover cable, it exchanges the green and orange pairs.
Follow the colour coding on the back of the outlet, you'll be fine. Use a punchdown tool not a screwdriver, you can get so-called disposable ones for about a quid.
Sorted. Found the cut-off connector and it's a B.
Now getting 138.1Mbps download in the garage. Yip Yip.
It doesn’t matter which standard you follow as long as both ends are the same. That said, most UK installations seem to follow B so I would just do that one if I were you.