[UK] Problems with wiring up home network. Advice?

[Technique]

I say UK because some times people link up to products that aren't available in the UK or whatever.

 

Come January we will be set to move in to our house & as far as the networking goes, i want a wired setup. That is not powerline adapters.

 

I think the router will be located in the hall if we can get the master socket moved (else it'd have to be living room). I can run a cable from the hall up the stairs & across the landing no problem. I'd just tuck it under the carpet i guess (unless you can suggest something better?).

 

The problem for me comes in getting it in to another room.

 

Once i run it across the landing i get to the door of the room it needs to go in to. The door is in the way & the door thresh is in the way.

 

In case any non-UK folk are able to help (everyone is welcome to) then i don't know if you call it something different in your country so this is what i'm referring to: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=door+thresh&client=firefox-a&hs=2DZ&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&channel=sb&biw=1920&bih=946&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=ktNrVODtJdPeaOWTgZgM&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ

 

Ideally i would have an RJ45 socket on the skirting (i know Americans call this baseboard) behind where the PC desk will go & it'd wire in to the back of that & i'd then have a mini cable from the PC to this socket.

 

How would you get it in to the room without doing things like lifting floorboards & drilling walls etc?

 

 

Oh & if it matters then in approx. 3 weeks there will be new carpet fitted in the room it's going IN. The stairs & landing carpet etc will be renewed next year some time.

 

Many thanks to anyone who can assist.

[Ironman273]

Might as well get this out of the way.... why wired instead of wireless?

[Dick Montage]

No lifting floorboards, no drilling walls, no wireless, no powerline...

 

You're throwing a fair few obstacles out there...

[simplezz]

Get BT to fit another socket in your upstairs room if there isn't already one. And btw, you don't need to plug your router into the master socket provided you don't have a faceplate installed in it. I had BT remove mine and just plugged my router in directly upstairs. I also get a better wifi signal for devices downstairs (because it's higher up).

[Som]

you could drill a small hole in the corner of the door frame, the size of the cable (maybe 6 or 8mm) and you'd never notice it

[Technique]

Might as well get this out of the way.... why wired instead of wireless?

 

Personal preference.

More reliable, the dropouts etc ... faster.

I know i know - "wireless has improved". Still...i prefer a wired connection.

 

No lifting floorboards, no drilling walls, no wireless, no powerline...

 

You're throwing a fair few obstacles out there...

 

Floorboards - i'd rather not, but if i have to.

Drilling walls - same as above

Wireless - not really an obstacle as the objective is to have a wired connection. I don't mind things like the iPhone & tablets connecting via wireless. The laptop may even (but i'd like a wired option in the living room) connect via wireless, but the PC is to be wired.

Powerline - Don't have the time to be installing extra sockets in the house to compensate for sockets being taken up by these things.

 

Get BT to fit another socket in your upstairs room if there isn't already one. And btw, you don't need to plug your router into the master socket provided you don't have a faceplate installed in it. I had BT remove mine and just plugged my router in directly upstairs. I also get a better wifi signal for devices downstairs (because it's higher up).

 

There is a socket there, but not a n RJ11 socket. It's the phone connector socket type like so: http://www.kenable.co.uk/images/6pin_bt_ens_s_kenable.jpg

 

I know you don't need a router plugged in to the master socket, but then doesn't your speeds suffer? Isn't it ideal to plug into the master socket? Either way, whether the router is in the PC room with another phone socket or not, a cable is going to have to get run through some doorways as i'd like a connection point in the living room too. At least if it's feeding from the hall it's only passing through 1 doorway.

 

you could drill a small hole in the corner of the door frame, the size of the cable (maybe 6 or 8mm) and you'd never notice it

 

I'd rather not but at the moment it's looking like the only option.

[Technique]

Oh also regarding not connecting in to the master socket ...

 

We're thinking ofe getting fibre broadband & i read that to get the speeds you need to connect in to the master socket?

[Ironman273]

Please don't take this the wrong way but it sounds like your preference may be based on situations that don't really happen anymore and it's going to make your life much more difficult.  You get a good ac router (even n) and your connection will be fast and reliable.  Just personal experience but when something goes on my network it's at the modem to the outside.  Never had a "drop".

 

Last I'll mention it, though, I promise.  Just seems like you're putting yourself through a lot just to avoid a problem that probably doesn't exist.

[simplezz]

There is a socket there, but not a n RJ11 socket. It's the phone connector socket type like so: http://www.kenable.co.uk/images/6pin_bt_ens_s_kenable.jpg

That's why you use the Microfilter that comes with your router. It has two sockets, one for phone, and a RJ11/whatever connector your router is using. You also need to have a microfilter in each occupied (used) phone socket if you don't have a faceplate on the master.

I know you don't need a router plugged in to the master socket, but then doesn't your speeds suffer?

Yes, your speeds would suffer, but no more than manually running a long line directly from the master. The internal wiring for additional sockets works the same way. The longer the distance from the master, the worse your speeds will be. That's a given. But it's a trade-off. It's more convenient for me than going wireless on my desktop. I hate the interferences and unreliable signals on wifi personally.

Isn't it ideal to plug into the master socket? Either way, whether the router is in the PC room with another phone socket or not, a cable is going to have to get run through some doorways as i'd like a connection point in the living room too. At least if it's feeding from the hall it's only passing through 1 doorway.

Yes, it's ideal to run the router directly off the master socket with the shortest possible wire. But unless your PC is sitting downstairs right next to it, you're either going to have to run a long Ethernet wire, use the powerlines, or go wifi. None of those options were good enough for me personally. So I sacrificed a small amount of my potential line speed for the convenience of connecting directly to my router. But everyone's different.

[Max Veteran]

Please don't take this the wrong way but it sounds like your preference may be based on situations that don't really happen anymore and it's going to make your life much more difficult.  You get a good ac router (even n) and your connection will be fast and reliable.  Just personal experience but when something goes on my network it's at the modem to the outside.  Never had a "drop".

 

Last I'll mention it, though, I promise.  Just seems like you're putting yourself through a lot just to avoid a problem that probably doesn't exist.

 

+1. I totally agree that a wire is better, but it seems like you are putting yourself through a lot of hassle and man hours for not much (if any) benefit. Are you constantly transferring files or moving large files between computers?

[+BudMan MVC]

Is there some reason you can not drill or put the wires in the wall? Other than you don't want too? I would suggest hire someone to run the cables where you want.

Most the time you take the wires to the basement, or the attic and then "drop" into the rooms you want access through the walls and into a jack, etc.

If you can make such changes to the house, ie its your house or get permission from the landlord this is the way to go. It will only add value to the house if wired.

As to not using powerline because of plugs? Just plug in a strip to one of the plugs, now you have multiple plugs - and plug the powerline into the other socket on the wall. Is this a problem in the UK, I recall other countries where there was only 1 socket on the wall, while in the use all power outlets on the wall are normally always 2.

[Technique]

Is there some reason you can not drill or put the wires in the wall? Other than you don't want too? I would suggest hire someone to run the cables where you want.

 

 

No it's purely preference. I could be mistaken but i think in America houses are all plasterboarded (do you call that sheet rock?) walls? They're going/they've gone that way here in the UK too but my house is a 1930s house, so no plasterboarded walls.

Having a look, i could drill through the floor of the PC room/ceiling of the hall (hoping i don't severe any cables for say the lighting below) & then channel this down the corner of the downstairs wall & into the router, i'd just prefer not to IF there was another way.

 

Most the time you take the wires to the basement, or the attic and then "drop" into the rooms you want access through the walls and into a jack, etc.

No basement here & we have a loft but it's a funny layout up there & you can't crawl above the PC room which is a shame. It's a really poor layout as i could've done with more storage space.

 

 

 ie its your house

 It is, so no problems there :)

 

 

As to not using powerline because of plugs? Just plug in a strip to one of the plugs, now you have multiple plugs - and plug the powerline into the other socket on the wall. Is this a problem in the UK, I recall other countries where there was only 1 socket on the wall, while in the use all power outlets on the wall are normally always 2.

I know i can use extensions but these will be occupied by other things. Like i say, it's a 1930s house & so there aren't the number of sockets you'd find in a house of today. The walls have been decorated so i'm not about to get anyone to start hacking in to the walls running cable for more sockets. Should've done it when we got the house really i guess, but i'm not doing it now.

 

But back on topic, it's my preference to not use powerline adapters. There's nothing physically stopping me, but i would go for WiFi over powerline. I'm not close minded to WiFi but i am to powerline adapters.

 

On the topic of WiFi, that brings me to my next post....

[Technique]

Last I'll mention it, though, I promise.  Just seems like you're putting yourself through a lot just to avoid a problem that probably doesn't exist.

 

I don't want to be too close minded, so i will actually entertain the idea of WiFi as i was thinking about this today.

 

Here's the layout of the house. The red X is where the master phone socket currently is & the green X is where i'd like it to be (with the router plugged in to this directly)

 

 

Now let's imagine the router is in the hall where the green X is. I'm confident that the lounge will get a nice WiFi signal. I would like the PC room to get a strong a signal as possible, and for the master bedroom to also get good WiFi signal.

 

So i was thinking i'd perhaps need some sort of booster/range extender. How do you locate these?

 

Can i have some sort of booster in the PC room on my PC desk & just run a cat 5 from this to my PC directly? Or does a booster HAVE to be connected to the router? (which puts us back at square 1 i guess).

 

 

 

 

 

As for my PC usage - generally internet browsing, streaming (netflix etc), some downloading & some gaming. I don't know if i have the right view of WiFi but i imagined it to be slower than wired, so that if i was receiving 50Mbps on wired, i'd perhaps get 30-40Mbps on WiFi? Or have i understood it wrong?

 

 

But say the WiFi signal strength is on a rating of 5, i would want a 5 bar in the PC room, not a 3 bar. My sisters laptop is connected to our network via wireless & when the signal drops her speed isn't great. So i would want full reception if going WiFi.

 

 

 

Final question - if going for fibre broadband, do i need a special fibre router, or would my standard wireless router be fine?

[Arachno 1D]

Have you considered running cabling externally on the outer wall and just drilling through to up stairs?

[+Majesticmerc MVC]

You can get pass-through powerline adapters:

 

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-TL-PA451KIT-Powerline-Adapter-Through/dp/B00D8BGLMY/

 

With the limitations you have in place, your best bet IMO is to do as Som said, and just drill holes in the corner of the door frames. Slightly unsightly, but as long as you do a decent job of it, nobody will even notice.

[Ironman273]

WiFi Speeds:

• 802.11a and 802.11g offer up to 54 Mbps
• 802.11n offers up to 300 Mbps
• 802.11ac offers up to 1 Gbps (1000 Mbps)

That's why if possible it'd be nice to go with ac.

[+BudMan MVC]

Yeah the problem with houses that have brick, think walls, etc. Is yup makes it harder to run wires and makes wifi a pain too ;) Houses in the us, walls are pretty much hollow with drywall on both sides, with insulation on the outer walls. Makes it easy to run cables. And wifi is normally not a problem covering larger area's

What I would do without being able to see the place is when you get your connection in the new green x location is run a wire up into your pc room up the corner so you can cover it. Here in the us they sell covers for the corners, etc.

something like

http://www.cableorganizer.com/surface-raceways/cornerduct.html

so drill a hole through the floor/ceiling into your pc room. From there you could put a AP that would hopefully cover the 2nd floor, and one on the 1st floor to cover that floor for wireless.

Another option is use of crown molding to cover the wires. We did this in my sons place for his surround sound in his living room for the speakers. We ran the wire - and then had professional put in the crown molding to cover the wires, looks sharp!!

Is crown molding common in the UK, that is another way to move cables around. Don't have to worry about doors this way since your above them. And can drill through upper part of the walls in the corner to move the cables into the next room. Come down in the corners and then run cable around the baseboards to where you need it.

How large is the place in square feet or meters? Wifi can easy do 50mbps these days with the proper setup, My ipad sees over 50, even out on my patio I get 30+.

But looking at your floor plan, running wire along the ceiling or baseboards should be easy enough to do.

Try and run wire to the center of the floors to place you AP(s) But you should be able to run baseboards or ceiling runs (covered with crown molding) and get to pretty much anywhere you would want.

As to your fiber, they should hand it off to you with a normal ethernet cable - so you should be able to use whatever router you want.

[TheReaperMan]

cat5 cable from adsl/ virgin router to upstars near a plug socket. get a small switch, run cable from switch to each room to access each room do one of the following.

 

drill the corner of the door on the hinge side and run cable that way into via bottom corner of door

 

run under floor boards

 

long top of skirting boards in each room drill door edge to eter room. then paint to match board colour so you do not notice it.

 

take of skirting boards and run behind. 

 

use the following to hide cable etc along skirtingboard if do not want to see them, and run any other cables under carpet.(you can put a rj45 socket just above the below

 

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/white-skirting-board-cable-management-solution-n76fk

[+InsaneNutter MVC]

The easiest thing to do is run the cable externally around the outside of your house, that's what i did around 7 years ago and have never had any problems. Save yourself some time and don't mess about with home plugs or wireless, it's honestly cheaper and much more future proof to simply spend an afternoon wiring your house with cat5e or cat6.
 
Ideally plan where the router / modem is going to live, then drill a hole somewhere discreet for the cable to run out the house.
 
Cat5e cable on my downstairs outer wall:
 

 
You can then run the wire neatly along the outer side of our house wall. The grey cat5e cable blends in pretty well as you can see below:
 
 

 
Drill another hole and feed the cable through in to the room you desire network access, I have wired up a network wall point where this hole comes in to the room. I have one of these in each room of the house, all are linked to the router in the computer room downstairs.
 
One of my network wall points:
 
 

 
Connected to each wall point is a gigabit switch, allowing multiple devices in the same room to connect.
 

 
If you really want wireless you can easily add an access point in any room you desire at a later date.
 
Personally I concluded this was easier than ripping up carpets and floorboards all over the house.

[Aergan]

Power tools and big boy pants, network issues solved.

[Technique]

I'll be honest, i'm not the most competent DIYer & as such i'd be much more comfortable running cables through ceilings & floors than drilling in from outside. We're also running out of time so with the big wait i had on the handyman for some other jobs, we wont have time to wait for this due to other jobs being booked in.

 

On that note...

 

 

WiFi Speeds:

• 802.11a and 802.11g offer up to 54 Mbps
• 802.11n offers up to 300 Mbps
• 802.11ac offers up to 1 Gbps (1000 Mbps)

That's why if possible it'd be nice to go with ac.

 

I should ask... Are these internet download speeds, or transfer between 2 computer speeds? If the former it's important, if the latter then it doesn't matter a great deal as any transferring between the PC & laptop would likely be done by USB hard drive.

 

What I would do without being able to see the place is when you get your connection in the new green x location is run a wire up into your pc room up the corner so you can cover it. Here in the us they sell covers for the corners, etc.

something like
http://www.cableorganizer.com/surface-raceways/cornerduct.html

Superb, i like.

 

Out of interest, i was thinking of fitting a cat5e faceplate/socket box on the skirting (baseboard) in the PC room. I was thinking of a double though...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plate-Sockets-Cat5E-Double-Keystones/dp/B003OSUTH4

Like the above.

Question is, does that require two cables running in to it, or would one do the job?

My idea is that the cable would run from the router, through the ceiling/floor & into the box. My PC would then connect to the box for a wired connection. Then an wireless AP (hope i just selected the right term) would connect in to the other socket of the box & act as a wifi extension for the upstairs floor (such as for the master bedroom). Would this work?

 

 

Another option is use of crown molding to cover the wires. We did this in my sons place for his surround sound in his living room for the speakers. We ran the wire - and then had professional put in the crown molding to cover the wires, looks sharp!!

Is crown molding common in the UK, that is another way to move cables around. Don't have to worry about doors this way since your above them. And can drill through upper part of the walls in the corner to move the cables into the next room. Come down in the corners and then run cable around the baseboards to where you need it.

I had to google crown molding. Over here we call it coving or cornice (usually coving - cornice is fancy shaped stuff). It's an idea although we don't have coving in every room & the hall/stairs are a funny layout/shape & would look strange with it i think. I think i'd rather wrap above the skirting, or below it if possible.

 

Carpets are up in most rooms but like i say in about 3 weeks time we'll be having new carpet in the master bedroom & PC room so i want this put in place before then.

 

 

How large is the place in square feet or meters?

I've just had a look at the estate agents paperwork & it states 80m2.

 

 

I measured up & i think it'll be a straight forward drill down through the ceiling (see, i am open to change of mind :)) This would give the PC room a wired connection. The living room wont be ready until at the very least late next year, so enough time to think of wiring it in to there with another cat5e socket on the skirting again.

 

80m2

[Technique]

I've just been YouTubing videos before bed & a follow on from my question above...

 

 

Out of interest, i was thinking of fitting a cat5e faceplate/socket box on the skirting (baseboard) in the PC room. I was thinking of a double though...

http://www.amazon.co...s/dp/B003OSUTH4

Like the above.

Question is, does that require two cables running in to it, or would one do the job?

My idea is that the cable would run from the router, through the ceiling/floor & into the box. My PC would then connect to the box for a wired connection. Then an wireless AP (hope i just selected the right term) would connect in to the other socket of the box & act as a wifi extension for the upstairs floor (such as for the master bedroom). Would this work?

 

 

Could i run a cable from the router in the hall, through the ceiling/floor, to a SINGLE cat5e socket mounted to the skirting (baseboard). Then i get a wireless access point which is also a router, connect this to the socket on the skirting & then connect the PC to the access point, which would then (if i've got this right) give us a wired connection to the PC & a wireless extension upstairs?

 

 

I should probably just ask you which the best setup is to achieve that goal :)

[Shiranui]

UK internet speeds are still too slow to max out a modern wireless connection.

Just go wireless and save yourself needless bother.

[Technique]

Thing is:

- if I go wired, there's the questions I asked in my previous 2 posts.

- if I go wireless there's the question I asked about it in the post before that.

Also with wireless, what's the chances of interference? Slim to none or quite possible? There's many wireless networks on the street that my iPhone can identify. We are also probably going to get a wireless burglar alarm system put in place instead of a wired one.

[Defiant]

The easiest thing to do is run the cable externally around the outside of your house, that's what i did around 7 years ago and have never had any problems. Save yourself some time and don't mess about with home plugs or wireless, it's honestly cheaper and much more future proof to simply spend an afternoon wiring your house with cat5e or cat6.

 

Ideally plan where the router / modem is going to live, then drill a hole somewhere discreet for the cable to run out the house.

 

Cat5e cable on my downstairs outer wall:

 

 

You can then run the wire neatly along the outer side of our house wall. The grey cat5e cable blends in pretty well as you can see below:

 

 

If you go down the cabling route don't install them like this. First add a drip or run off loop so the wall does not fill with water - and this is 2014 there are cheap outside boxes that either hide that hole and allow clean dry entry or of course brick red silicone gel...

 

Work Well - Work Once

 

Steve