Trunking/paneling to run cable behind at front door

SocialSpud

Hey folks,

I bought this front door from Senator a few years ago. I need to run some cat6 cables for a video doorbell and so I was wondering if you have any idea what trunking/paneling that I could hide cables behind and would match the navy door?

Or do you know if the existing panel can be temporarily removed so I can run a cable behind it? The cable I have is too thick to squeeze behind it.

Screenshot 2023-06-21 at 11.28.59.png

Screenshot 2023-06-21 at 11.34.28.png

Screenshot 2023-06-21 at 11.36.50.png

I have attached a few screenshots to give you an idea. Thanks!

hesker

There are usually cover strips at the junction of one frame with another. These can be pulled off and reapplied easily. Not sure if there is room to hide a cable in there but would be worth checking.

What I have done in the past is to fit mini trunking. I think it might be called d-line trunking or something like that. I then painted it to match.

Alun

Does the cable have to run up the outside? Could you run it up the inside of the frame instead, use easily available white trunking, and drill a hole through the frame to the point outside where you're mounting the bell? Assuming of course that the inside frame is white!

SocialSpud

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120744343#Comment_120744343

Thanks for the reply. The cable will actually be coming from outside as I have no easy/clean way to take it from inside.

SocialSpud

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120744321#Comment_120744321

Thanks, I'll give it a try, too afraid to force it in case I break it but will try and be gentle 🙈

Is the mini trunking for use outdoors?

Alun

On my Palladio door there's a bit of a groove running along the inside of the frame when you open the door that looks to me to be big enough to hold a cat6 cable, and it doesn't look like it would affect the closing of the door in anyway. You could run the cable into the inside through a hole at the bottom, run it up the groove, maybe holding it in place with, say, blobs of Tec7 or tape of some sort and then as before a hole to the outside where the bell goes.

I tried to take a photo of my door but it's difficult to see what I mean.

Citizen Six

Have you thought about getting the window installer to come back to run the cable?

Alun

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120744770#Comment_120744770

I was going to suggest that too. The strip joining my door frame to the side panel looks like it's removable, both inside and outside, but could equally well be glued / welded in place at the factory, only the installer will know for sure and you could make quite a mess trying to removing it if it is fixed in place and doesn't just click in.

hesker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120744385#Comment_120744385

I think it should be ok outdoors but you might look up the manufacturer’s info on it. The difficulty in painting will be to get a durable outdoor paint that doesn’t flake and peel.

I can remove that strip on my Palladio door this evening and post a photo

hesker

I just removed the cover strip on mine. The plastic cover strip has a hollow section but you wouldn’t fit Cat cable in it. It’s too small.

The cover strip is pushed onto a metal bar that is sandwiched between the two frames

IMG_2589.jpeg

SocialSpud

Thanks to everyone who replied so far. Bit of an update, I was able to remove the plastic cover strip and tested out fitting 2 regular Cat6 cables into it. Pics below. So this is good news! I just need to decide now if I should use 1 single thicker outdoor graded CAT6 cable, or 2 indoor CAT6 cables. They will be run 45 meters from a garage to this front door. I'm thinking 2 indoor ones and just making sure they're in a PVC pipe and waterproofed where I will drill out of the plastic cover strip and into the doorbell. What do people think? I think I'd prefer how flexible the indoor cable is, and the redundancy of having 2 there in case something goes wrong with 1.

Alun

How easy was it to remove the strip by the way? I took a quick look but I was afraid I'd damage the edge of it trying to prise it away. I have a Nest doorbell that I'd like to move from it's current position and being able to route the cable via the the inside strip would be handy.

hesker

Dead easy on mine - Palladio door. It’s just a compression fitting

Alun

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120753815#Comment_120753815

Mine is a Palladio too. There just doesn't seem to be much space to get a blade or other thin metal tool in between the strip and the frame without risking nicking it.

SocialSpud

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120753373#Comment_120753373

I first tried on my side door and it was easy enough. However, on the front door there was a bit of concrete poured and has weathered, so it took a bit more pulling. I carefully used a screwdriver to pry it out a bit too. I have a Senator PVC door, though it's probably the same.