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Drilling through wall to route cable

  • 31-12-2005 2:18pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 1,488 ✭✭✭


    Hi folks & Happy New Year ! :D

    I'm putting together a FTA system at the moment - have the receiver, the cable, connectors, but no dish (had ordered a 90cm from Maplin but now backordered for quite a while).

    Anyway, I'll probably get one locally (satellite.ie).

    In the meantime, I plan on running cable from the shed, along the garden and into the house - with the plan of course to mount the dish somewhere near the shed.

    Question: is it okay to drill a hole from the outside of the house all the way in, bridge it with conduit making sure it's sealed, then putting cable through that conduit ? The house is a timber-frame affair ie. concrete block on the outside, a layer of insulation, then a layer of board, then the plasterboard.

    WHat sort of drillbit should be used - masonry or "auger" ? The latter looks like it'll make a big hole very quick, and remove a lot of waste on the way.

    If that's not a good idea, how does one route a cable from outside to inside ? I have never seen how the pro's do it for CCTV, alarms, dishes, lights, etc etc.

    Thanks

    Frank


Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 11,325 ✭✭✭✭Tony


    I usually drill from the inside out and feed the cable through, if its a cavity wall you may need a coathanger to help guide it through. Make sure ou leave a "drip loop" on the outside so rain drops off before getting near the hole andseal with silicone.

    Desktop PC Boards discount code on https://www.satellite.ie/ is boards.ie



  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,757 ✭✭✭lawhec


    Also drill (from the inside to the out) at a slightly downward angle - if the sealing then for some reason breaks at least rainwater would have to dry and go uphill to enter the inside.


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,325 ✭✭✭✭Tony


    Also drill (from the inside to the out) at a slightly downward angle - if the sealing then for some reason breaks at least rainwater would have to dry and go uphill to enter the inside.

    This makes it tough the get the cable through on a cavity wall though

    Desktop PC Boards discount code on https://www.satellite.ie/ is boards.ie



  • Registered Users Posts: 1,488 ✭✭✭franksm


    Thanks for the tips: inside-->out, not the other way around.


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,325 ✭✭✭✭Tony


    franksm wrote:
    Thanks for the tips: inside-->out, not the other way around.

    No problem, one of the reasons for this is safety so you can get an idea where sockets etc are, its also usually better to have the rough finish on the pustide where you can patch and paint later. If you are lucky you can drill the gap between two blocks.

    Desktop PC Boards discount code on https://www.satellite.ie/ is boards.ie



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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,419 ✭✭✭optiplexgx270


    IBB didnt to the drip loop or even seal the hole in my room :( but then again i dont see a drip loop working with high end cat5 cable. But they did drill from inside out leaving a nice pile of dust on the bed.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,107 ✭✭✭John R


    I don't know how common it is but I have always put cables through the window frames. It is only possible with some windows though, you have to be careful not to go through the seal on double-glazing.

    In my house this was due to necessity. The walls are very thick and made out of some very strange bricks, they are infused with lumps of a granite-like rock that just will not give. The original sky installer insisted on drilling through the walls, 45mns and 2 drill bits later he had only gotten 1/2 way through.


  • Registered Users Posts: 648 ✭✭✭Tenshot


    If you're drilling through solid concrete, having the right equipment (in this case, a proper SDS hammer-action drill rather than a cheap household drill) makes all the difference. Worth renting one for the afternoon from your local DIY shop if your standard drill doesn't seem up to it. I'd definitely use a masonry bit rather than an auger.

    If you're routing high-quality CAT5 (I know you aren't, but somone else mentioned it), you can still make a drip loop - just make sure you don't put a sharp bend in it.

    If you're having trouble fishing the cable through, a coat hanger is easiest, but if you don't have one handy, using the original drill bit works well too if it's a decent length.

    (BTW, for those interested in such things, CPC in the UK are selling a three-piece set of 1 metre SDS bits (12mm, 16mm, 24mm) for £10 at the moment - details here. I bought a set a couple of months ago, and while I've only had to drill two holes so far, I've got great use out of the 12mm bit as an aid to fishing cables through walls and between floors.)


  • Registered Users Posts: 482 ✭✭tapest


    franksm wrote:
    Hi folks & Happy New Year ! :D

    I'm putting together a FTA system at the moment - have the receiver, the cable, connectors, but no dish (had ordered a 90cm from Maplin but now backordered for quite a while).

    Anyway, I'll probably get one locally (satellite.ie).

    In the meantime, I plan on running cable from the shed, along the garden and into the house - with the plan of course to mount the dish somewhere near the shed.

    Question: is it okay to drill a hole from the outside of the house all the way in, bridge it with conduit making sure it's sealed, then putting cable through that conduit ? The house is a timber-frame affair ie. concrete block on the outside, a layer of insulation, then a layer of board, then the plasterboard.

    WHat sort of drillbit should be used - masonry or "auger" ? The latter looks like it'll make a big hole very quick, and remove a lot of waste on the way.

    If that's not a good idea, how does one route a cable from outside to inside ? I have never seen how the pro's do it for CCTV, alarms, dishes, lights, etc etc.

    Thanks

    Frank

    Frank
    Recently had the "pleasure" of installing yard tap for sister in law (anything to keep wifey happy). My first timber frame house, so I was petrified of water ingress and breaking any thermal / insulation barrier,etc.with copper pipe. I played safe. Drilled from inside out with very long narrow drill bit and then widened hole to accomodate a 3/4" plastic electrical pipe as sleeve. Using plastic pipe as sleeve prevented bridging thermal gap. Widened hole outside seperately for neat finish (no risk of bursting out and damaging area around hole). Cut plastic pipe an inch longer than the required length so that if water penetrated seal between copper and inside of plastic pipe it would drip into the room where you would see it and not get nasty suprise a year later. As plastic pipe was a tight fit in wall, lashed on plenty of silicon sealant and tapped pipe home into final position.
    Suggest you do something similar for cable, finally sealing (outside only) with expanding foam inside plastic pipe. Running additional cables later is a doddle if you use 3/4" or 1" pipe. Drip loop of course on outside. No trouble fishing cable now or later...all contained in plastic.

    Sorry about long winded...but worth doing right and only once

    Regards t


  • Registered Users Posts: 45,762 ✭✭✭✭muffler


    What would be wrong with taking the cable through the soffit, into the attic and then feed to rooms below.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 11,325 ✭✭✭✭Tony


    muffler wrote:
    What would be wrong with taking the cable through the soffit, into the attic and then feed to rooms below.

    rooms? cable can only go to one room

    Desktop PC Boards discount code on https://www.satellite.ie/ is boards.ie



  • Registered Users Posts: 45,762 ✭✭✭✭muffler


    Tony wrote:
    rooms? cable can only go to one room
    Amazing what one "s" can do to a sentence :D

    ROOM it shall be then but what about an answer to my query


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,325 ✭✭✭✭Tony


    muffler wrote:
    Amazing what one "s" can do to a sentence :D

    ROOM it shall be then but what about an answer to my query

    No reason why not, i guess it depends on the ease of install but generally most people dont go for this option as its more installer time and more expensive but for a diyer is definitely an option. Another issue is insurance which generally does not allow an installer to be covered for attic entry.

    Desktop PC Boards discount code on https://www.satellite.ie/ is boards.ie



  • Registered Users Posts: 45,762 ✭✭✭✭muffler


    Tony wrote:
    No reason why not, i guess it depends on the ease of install but generally most people dont go for this option as its more installer time and more expensive but for a diyer is definitely an option. Another issue is insurance which generally does not allow an installer to be covered for attic entry.

    The reason I mentioned this initially was that I thought it would be handier, cheaper and quicker to drill through a wooden soffit and if necessary down through the plasterboard ceiling.

    In my house there is conduit from the attic down to the resess at the side of the chimney breast in the sitting room. I know a lot of houses would not have this though.

    Regarding the insurance Tony I am only assuming that it would cover you for putting up aerials on a chimney so I would also assume that it would cover entry to the attic. The attic would be a safer place to be than the rooftop


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,325 ✭✭✭✭Tony


    muffler wrote:

    Regarding the insurance Tony I am only assuming that it would cover you for putting up aerials on a chimney so I would also assume that it would cover entry to the attic. The attic would be a safer place to be than the rooftop

    I disagree an unlit unfloored attic can be extremely dangerous. Liability insurance for satellite installs does not cover you for aerial work in any case (at least mine does not)

    Desktop PC Boards discount code on https://www.satellite.ie/ is boards.ie



  • Registered Users Posts: 32,417 ✭✭✭✭watty


    If light fails in my attic you might trip over an old copy of Wordstar, an 8086 PC or be eaten by a grue. Mine's probabily uninsurable. The roof is a lot safer :)

    If you have a big drill bit and at least a 350W drill (10mm masonery bit), then standing on the floor drilling out slightly angled down is safest. make sure no sockets / switches above or below. Not fun drilling through main electricity (or water, gas or oil feeds).

    Doesn't take long.

    Drilling from Ladder or Steps is much more dangerous.


  • Registered Users Posts: 267 ✭✭Shinto


    To avoid all that hassle i feeded my cable through an Air Vent which was already there above the kitchen window.

    On removing the black plastic cover, i could see there was already enough space to put the cable alongside the existing flexible AirVent tube. Then the cable was in the house and i was away in a hack from there. That just happened to be convenient for me. Most wont be so lucky.

    Good luck with the drilling. I'd imagine any general masonry bit would do, although im not the best to dish out DIY advice.


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,138 ✭✭✭snaps


    Becarefull drilling through window frames as mentioned earlier. A lot of windows come with a long warranty (Some for life). If you drill through these it may void the warranty as a friend of mine found out!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,242 ✭✭✭Ulsterman 1690




  • Registered Users Posts: 11,325 ✭✭✭✭Tony


    that clown obviously did not look outside first :) CAI the only training body I know always went with inside to out, it made sense to me but each to his own.

    Desktop PC Boards discount code on https://www.satellite.ie/ is boards.ie



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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,568 ✭✭✭ethernet


    I got my uncle [an electrician] to do all the drilling -- wasn't a hope in hell of me going up a ladder.

    Put a hole at top of the gable. Managed to root three CT100 cables through there from terrestrial setup and one LNB output.

    I always found that cables rooted straight down a wall, entering the building near the ground, looks dead cheap. Not to fond of the 'through-the-window' approach either.


  • Registered Users Posts: 32,417 ✭✭✭✭watty


    Mine are all in a drain pipe I buried under garden after gluing all the joints.


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