In-house network cabling

[AngryTechnician]

It's worth it just for NOT having to go up in the roof of our Victorian building... there's 150 years of yuk up there...

 

Hmmm, yes, I have not very fond memories of the last time I was in our loft, dressed in coveralls, hi-vis, hardhat, headlamp, and a combat vest full of tools. I still felt dirty when I left, and I was blowing black snot out of my nose for 2 days afterwards. So a bit like travelling on the tube, really.

 

It was the piles of feathers with no obvious owner that were the most disturbing.

[SYNACK]

I vowed never to do under building cabling again after the same black snot experience and the inconvenient fact that builders use the space under the buildings as a dumping ground for sharp stuff like shattered concrete and broken glass .

 

This made the task fun enough but getting eyed by an angry rodent the size of my head and then witnessing a rather heated exchange of violence between said rodent and a stray cat the next day I decided that the whole experience was really not as fun as I had expected.

 

We now use a contractor to do all but the smallest jobs.

[forcryingoutloud]

We're lucky here in that I'm an ex-Siemens engineer and my Senior Tech is very good so we do our own cabling runs. My predecessor got contractors in and spent a fortune at the school and got very little in return

[AzteQ_Grant]

How many of you do your own network cabling?

 

At the moment we use a 3rd party contractor, but given some recent problems with them we're thinking about doing it ourselves.

 

Hi, AzteQ Solutions is a company situated in Hertfordshire but operating nationally. We are an ISO 9001:2000 organisation and all of our staff are vetted and cleared to work in school environments. We carry out electrical and data cabling. We can provide certification for both and to NICEIC. We also provide desktop engineering resource for moves and changes works if required. I have attached our standard PDF for more information. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you require a free survey or more information.

AzteQ Solutions Managed Field Services.pdf

[PEO]

All cabling is done in house here by me, I actually enjoy it!

[stratisphere]

Does anyone know if there are any good resources or tips for doing your own. Prehaps someone with some decent knowledge could do a wiki page?

 

 

... Please

[SYNACK]

Does anyone know if there are any good resources or tips for doing your own. Prehaps someone with some decent knowledge could do a wiki page?

 

 

... Please

 

Could look into writing a wiki page but this site appears to pretty much cover it:

The Compass DeRose Guide to Ethernet computer network wiring

[Jay]

Its worth being aware that CAT5e etc and others are not only used for ethernet. Some of the remote VoIP and Video kit I've seen can pump 240v down them. (Hopefully low amperage)

 

Here is one audio thingy as an example: Cambridge Audio (only cause I want it in my house)

 

Edit: Upon rereading, I'm not 100% sure if the PSU is at the other end, so it might not be as high as 240v, I can't recall from memory.

Edited January 7, 2009 by Jay

[SimpleSi]

Post removed as post above edited

 

Simon

[Jay]

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_over_Ethernet]Power over Ethernet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

 

This seems to state 50V DC is wire max at fairly small current values. That's sounds a bit more like it, although I'm willing to bet there are a few products willing to ignore the wattage limits and cook your cables.

 

I think some of the insurance worries are more for the fact you're drilling through walls with water/gas pipes and electrical power cables than any concerns over the cabling itself.

 

@SimpleSi: I'm guessing you saw the 240v, I've no idea where I got that from. It looked like rubbish the minute I'd written it.

[HarryMonkey]

For those that do your own cabling, what do you do about earth bonding on your comms cabinets?

[IanT]

We had a contractor do ours but me and my right hand man have done the odd cabling lately.