Running cable in modern house...

[Austin3000]

I want to run some Cat5e cable into most of the rooms in my new house with as little disruption as possible.

The house was made in approx 1991 and is standard brick built.

Where is the best place to run this cable? As I understand it the house has a brick outer skin, a cavity and then breeze blocks which the plaster board is then attached too. Is it possible to run this cable through the cavity between the brick and breeze blocks? Might there be obstructions or should it be a straight run down from loft?

I have some nylon draw string and a glass fibre cable access rod to help.

Any advice would be apreciated.

Cheers

[Plotloss]

You shouldn't run anything in the cavity.

Minimal disruption and British housing for retrofits arent the happiest of bedfellows.

I'm guessing that most if not all of your upstairs walls will be stud and board so thats easy enough.

If its plaster downstairs you're going to need to get the angle grinder out and be warned, it will cover the entire house in a layer of dust for a week or more, this is even if you use a chaser with a vacuum take off.

If its dot and dab throughout, this makes it easier but you'll still have to resort to the odd hole in the board.

Edited by Plotloss on Wednesday 13th May 10:44

[PH5121]

If the walls are plasterboard on blockwork (dot and dabbed) you should be able to fish down the small gap between the back of the board and the masonry wall.

I would give this a go before I started hacking out chases in the plasterboard.

[Austin3000]

Hey, that was quick thanks!

Forgive my ingornance but what is dot and dab?

I took the arial socket and backbox off in the living room and the space between the plaster board and breeze blocks looked to be around 10-15mm. Is this an internal cavity and are there any horizontal beams that might block progress?

Talking about the arial, that wire seems to go from attic and through walls. Not sure where but I was going to attach a cord to one and and pull though, maybe thats a way to get the wires to the living room?

[Plotloss]

The gap you're seeing between the face of the plastboard and the block is due to the board being held off the wall by dollops of muck, randomly spaced with no pattern, usually exactly where you dont want them to be.

This is 'dot and dab' dry lining.

[Dave_ST220]

Plotloss said:

The gap you're seeing between the face of the plastboard and the block is due to the board being held off the wall by dollops of muck, randomly spaced with no pattern, usually exactly where you dont want them to be.

This is 'dot and dab' dry lining.

How true!!