Trying to run ethernet cable from ground floor to loft....

[rm55]

... and I seem to have hit a snag.

My house was built 7 years ago and as you can see has the waste pipe boxed off and running from the loft to beside the cupboard under the stairs on the ground floor...



Plan is to install a patch panel & switch in the cupboard. I'd assumed the boxing would be open from the loft all the way to the ground but when trying to lower the cable down from the loft it's getting stuck after about 2.5 metres (around ceiling height). I tried to take some pictures but I can't really see what's going on down there....

-

So my question is should I continue trying to poke around to find a way through or have I overlooked something and basically it won't be possible to fit anything between the ground floor ceiling/first floor "floor"?

[ch427]

You would need to try something more rigid like an electricians cable rod set, it all depends on the gap between pipe and boarding.

[rm55]

Would something like this do?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/13PC-330MM-CABLE-ACCESS-...

[eliot]

Yes - Ive got two of them for longer runs.
Also search ebay for small plastic access panels - you can cut a hole closer to the problem and have a poke about. I've also used deck plates (from a boat) that are plastic and have a cover that screws on. Or cut a hole the size of a dual 13a wall socket and cover with a dry lining box.

[MajorProblem]

Take that piece of coving off and cut a hole in the boxing behind , sort the problem with a rod the replace the coving.

[boxst]

You can use something like this: http://www.screwfix.com/p/spring-steel-fish-tape/6...

Although I just gave up with mine. Something that should have been straight forward (following an existing cable) was just a pain. The house builders seem to have gone out of their way to put bits of metal in the way!

[ch427]

Probably easier to cut out an inspection panel as suggested, can be easily repaired afterwards if you use a plasterboard saw.

[gtidriver]

Another idea is to drill a hole through the breeze block in the loft, if theres no filling in the cavity drop a piece of string with a piece of metal on it down the cavity. Open a single hole through the wall where you want the cable to run to and fish with a magnet on a rod.Once contact is made pull whatever cables need pulling. Obviously this will only work if both holes are drilled on the outside walls.

[starmonkey]

I had the exact same problem - running down the waste pipe boxing-in from loft to sitting room.

I found that the waste pipe when running through the ceilings has a cut out only just bigger than the pipe.

I ran the cable with some electricians poles from ebay and just kept very close to the pipe, I ran several runs of string to facilitate future runs.

[Big Pants]

Or save yourself the trouble and buy a pair of these. They work very well.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-PA411KIT-AV500-Pow...

[LooneyTunes]

I've recently done something similar using a combination of electrician's rods, string, and a borescope (bought one on a 10m cable from Amazon that has paid for itself time and time again for this sort of thing).

Tape the scope to a rod (along with a string to draw your cables through) and gradually try to find a route through. Also useful for checking that you're not about to drill into an area containing a mass of plastic pipework.

If you're using rods, remember to keep rotating them clockwise!

[zed4]

I'm doing the same thing in my 10 year old house. Ran cables up the soil stack from the kitchen up to the loft, I used a boat control cable (rigid morse cable) to run a mouse rope through first.

[eliot]

Big Pants said:

Or save yourself the trouble and buy a pair of these. They work very well.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-PA411KIT-AV500-Pow...

You cant beat proper cat5/6 cable i'm afraid. Would only use the above if desparate or looking for a tempoary solution.

[rm55]

Thanks all. I went down to screwfix this morning and with the aid of this http://www.screwfix.com/p/cable-access-kit-10m/824... I was able to quite easily pull the cables up from the stair cupboard to the loft.

[crmcatee]

In days of old (and even now) I still use a reliable piece of string with a weight on the end such as a piece of flattened lead round it will drop and bounce around obstacles like plasterboard which has been cut too close to the pipes.

Works like a charm and only requires the smallest of holes to be cut as a coat hanger cut and bent to form a small hook will fish it out from a cavity when you hear it bounding on the floor boards inside the cavity.

[bakerstreet]

Try Plumbers Rods. They are roughly 10mm thick and much more robust that traditional electrician's rods.

I am debating putting Cat5E cables through into several room in my house and my house was built in 1896, so no stud walls for me to use

[eliot]

bakerstreet said:

I am debating putting Cat5E cables through into several room in my house and my house was built in 1896, so no stud walls for me to use

One trick i used is to run it around the top of the wall and use coving to cover it.

[rm55]

crmcatee said:

In days of old (and even now) I still use a reliable piece of string with a weight on the end such as a piece of flattened lead round it will drop and bounce around obstacles like plasterboard which has been cut too close to the pipes.

My first attempt before posting here was to dangle two dessert spoons tied to an old network cable down the hole! Obviously it turned out dessert spoons didn't fit but the screwfix flexible rods fortunately did.

[crmcatee]

I would have said that a desert spoon is too wide... Before settling on a lead piece I've used nuts before - anything that's small and can be attached to a string. Never had to raid the cutlery drawer.

[ecotec]

I managed to route cable down the waste pipe route and it was relatively easy with a cable rod set - like the one you posted but about 90cm each rather than 30cm pieces.

Ensure that you support the cable and try not to kink it. I would also put 2 runs of cable down just in case.