Network cable installer recommendations

[ah123]

I am looking for a company that can drop a cable from my bonus room to the basement and tie it in to the network connections there. I am not handy enough to attempt that myself.

Anyone have recommendations for local companies/contractors that do this?

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by ah123

I am looking for a company that can drop a cable from my bonus room to the basement and tie it in to the network connections there. I am not handy enough to attempt that myself.

Anyone have recommendations for local companies/contractors that do this?

Most electricians can do this, but perhaps don't want to do this. Basically anyone who needs to run things through gaps in your house can do it (ie: HVAC can too, some general contractors etc.). The main question is whether they'll agree to do it for a rate you're OK with and if they're cheap, if you trust the quality of their work.

I guess you could ask if you could come to an agreement of a specific hourly rate for them to do this for you (ie: Cash + case of Coors compensation under the table which is what I did in the past before trades went totally crazy busy) since it's not work that requires a journeyman ticket. But some might not agree to it, as is their right.

You could DIY it. Beyond the cable costs, the fishing equipment, tape, weights, etc. is only like $50 plus a laundry list of profanity. It technically doesn't really require handman skill, just a bunch of logic and luck. There's a reason why it's often called "fishing" cables.

You could attempt to fish the cable yourself and just hire someone to terminate the lines for you.

I get the confusion about being able to call an all in 1 individual to do it vs calling a trades guy vs a networking guy to do it.

[Aegypticus]

You may also check to see if you have any existing cat5e runs you could repurpose. My parents’ house had all the phone lines run with cat5e so I was able to re-terminate them as network instead. Worth the few seconds taking off any wall plates you may or may not have and checking I’d say.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Aegypticus

You may also check to see if you have any existing cat5e runs you could repurpose. My parents’ house had all the phone lines run with cat5e so I was able to re-terminate them as network instead. Worth the few seconds taking off any wall plates you may or may not have and checking I’d say.

Yeah, 5e isn't the speed I'd prefer with the type of networking stuff I do at home (but passable), but for most people, it's more than good enough.

A powerline ethernet adapter could also be something that OP considers in the meanwhile if he can't get someone to pull a line for him. Something "as simple as pulling a line" like that could still cost a several hundred dollars to do per line, could decrease if pulling more than one line.

[ah123]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Yeah, 5e isn't the speed I'd prefer with the type of networking stuff I do at home (but passable), but for most people, it's more than good enough.

A powerline ethernet adapter could also be something that OP considers in the meanwhile if he can't get someone to pull a line for him. Something "as simple as pulling a line" like that could still cost a several hundred dollars to do per line, could decrease if pulling more than one line.

Tried powerline adapter, but the connection between the two adapters failed to establish. Not sure if it was because of the way things were wired, or something else.

[keratosis]

You could also look into MoCA adapters if you have unused cable lines running in your house. Good ones aren't nececcaraly cheap though some have cable signal splitters built in.
https://www.amazon.ca/Actiontec-Bond...7-ed306eff4f60
https://www.amazon.ca/Generic-StarMa...Y2hfYXRm&psc=1

[ken0042]

If you are considering DIYing it, I have found for most people the female jacks are much easier to terminate than the male plugs. For example with these ones:
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/lev...lue/1001785212

You will see there is a corresponding section on the plug for each colour of wire. So it goes brown, brown/white stripe, etc. Then just use a patch cable.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by ah123

Tried powerline adapter, but the connection between the two adapters failed to establish. Not sure if it was because of the way things were wired, or something else.

You mentioned you have existing network connections. Does that mean you have ethernet to other parts of the house, just not the basement?

Also, what types of speeds are you trying to get in the basement? Slower OK if the connection is stable? Or really fast speeds in the basement? Do you know if it's just signal not reaching the basement? Or is there something in the floor that's totally messing up the signal in the basement?

Have you considered a quality mesh system? Assuming nothing crazy in your main floor that messes up signals, $300-500 for a good/great set up where you might not need to pull the cable, and should also give performance boost to the rest of the home. Pulling the ethernet line later on to put a node in the basement would not be a redundant upgrade.

Honestly speaking, I wouldn't be surprised if the cost of pulling a single cable starts at around $150-300 and rapidly drop if you start pulling multiple cables. If a full mesh system can solve your issue for just incrementally more in cost, I'd consider investigating it. Just don't get a cheap mesh system. I've realized that a quality router or mesh system can blow away a crappy mesh system.

I've recommended new/used AmpliFi mesh systems in the past. That mesh system is pretty easy to use/install and blows cheap mesh systems away.

I haven't read the details, but I've heard the UniFi Express is also a great kit and it costs $175 each (you'd probably want to start with two and then maybe potentially a third unit at absolute worst case scenario). However, make sure that system would be exactly what you need for the type of usage you have.

[ah123]

The main router (Shaw) is on the second floor bonus room. When we did the basement, network wiring was setup, but not connected to the router on the second floor.

I have an older Linksys mesh system, which has been flaky lately. I am looking to replace it with a newer system (Wifi 6E or 7). Mesh systems with 6GHz frequency for backhaul tend to have a shorter range, and the suggestion is to have a wired backhaul to take advantage of the capabilities of the mesh nodes. The basement is where I have my office, which is why speed and more stable connection in the basement is needed.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by ah123

The main router (Shaw) is on the second floor bonus room. When we did the basement, network wiring was setup, but not connected to the router on the second floor.

I have an older Linksys mesh system, which has been flaky lately. I am looking to replace it with a newer system (Wifi 6E or 7). Mesh systems with 6GHz frequency for backhaul tend to have a shorter range, and the suggestion is to have a wired backhaul to take advantage of the capabilities of the mesh nodes. The basement is where I have my office, which is why speed and more stable connection in the basement is needed.

Hmm... I see. I'd give a UniFi or AmpliFi mesh system a try if you can't find a straight forward option for pulling cable. Some of the older mesh units do kinda suck.

I wonder if it would be possible to just move the router to the basement and have a mesh node on the second floor. Something like this and have a node on the main floor and upper floor.

https://ca.store.ui.com/ca/en/produc...h-wi-fi-system

I used to run a pair of AmpliFi HD routers in a 2000 sq ft home in basement and upstairs before I went with a UDM system. Broadcasting from main floor worked well. It's when I tried putting unit in basement or upstairs than the interference/signal degradation got to be too much.

A single AmpliFi HD router broadcasting from the main floor of my parents home outperforms an older powerline mesh system with 3 nodes. I purchased it in 2015 vs the cheaper powerline mesh system purchased in early 2017 I was fed up with it by 2020. That's when I gave my parents my old AmpliFi router. The AmpliFi system cost me almost double than the other powerline mesh system ($200-250 per HD router at the time) but it outperformed it by quite a bit and also lasted more than 3 times longer. If I could go back, I wouldn't even waste money on a cheap mesh system and I'd go straight towards a quality one. Orbi and Google mesh I think are other pretty good quality mesh options.

AmpliFi and Unifi isn't enterprise grade stuff, but it's the good type of overkill you'd want in a residential application. IMO, it's been really nice not having to replace/upgrade my networking equipment every 2-5 years.

Just a thought on wifi6. I know it's the future, but honestly speaking, I don't have devices that can utilize it well, at least not yet. It's a nice to have for future proofing, but I wouldn't pay a crazy premium for it. In fact, I ran into issues trying to rely on wifi6 only in my current network for devices managed by the employer. The settings would cause havoc for those devices to disconnect and be unable to reconnect.

[Andrew]

I use wifi 6 upgraded last year it's fine. I restart router regularly though

[Shazam]

The great thing with Unifi is that network config changes don't require any reboot. Processors are not powerful enough to run a stateful firewall without a lot of network performance loss though.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Shazam

The great thing with Unifi is that network config changes don't require any reboot. Processors are not powerful enough to run a stateful firewall without a lot of network performance loss though.

Their older equipment yes, but I just upgraded to their Cloud Gateway Ultra and I'm running every security package available on the firewall with no performance loss. It's also got enterprise grade stuff like app level blocks per device, which is great for blocking Roblox and Youtube on the kid's tablets. It's not quite at the level of a Palo Alto or Fortinet, but you simply can't beat the features\price ratio

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

Their older equipment yes, but I just upgraded to their Cloud Gateway Ultra and I'm running every security package available on the firewall with no performance loss. It's also got enterprise grade stuff like app level blocks per device, which is great for blocking Roblox and Youtube on the kid's tablets. It's not quite at the level of a Palo Alto or Fortinet, but you simply can't beat the features\price ratio

Blech. I'll wait for a UDM upgrade. I use one of the POE ports for an AP in the bonus room.