Specifying a New House Build Or Retro Fit Network Install

This Document will evolve over time, typos corrected as they are seen.

This page is not a DIY Manual and will not contain DIY Instructions on how to wire up a House with Data / Telecommunications cabling, please see the Legal Disclaimer down the bottom.

This is merely a guide for the less Technically Minded people building a house or thinking about adding cabling to an Existing house (retro fit)

New Houses Really the only way to get your new house (under construction) house wired up is during the Building stage. After the exterior walls are up, the frames are up and roof is on and before the gyprock goes up.

Existing Houses.

These can be done at any time when you feel the need for it. If you are renovating this is the perfect time to do so

What you can do.

These Notes are aimed at people not familiar with Networking/ HT technology

Meet your Cabler: If you are Building and your Builder lets you have your Own Cabler come on Site, Meet with them at least 2-3 months before they go on Site, have you Plans printed out and pick their brains if you don't feel they are answering in the right way ask them to leave as I say to Clients "the only Dumb question, is the one not asked" ask to see their Cabling Licence there and then, if they can't produce it or "their" boss is the only one who has it for the company also ask them to leave.

Select your cable type: Cat6 there is no point to have cat5e installed. Put a pull wire installed along with Cat6 cable will future proof any install for 10years down the technology track

Select the Location and amount of your internal services: IE where you want all your wall plates and any other termination devices and how many runs per room

Select your fittings: Done at your electrical appointment you need to tell your Cabler what Brand and Range and also colour you are using so they can match. nothing worse (IMO) of having mismatched wall plates esp if you are also adding Foxtel later on they use older style wall plates. Colour matching plates are only $3- $4 different then Standard white

Pay them quickly: This and having at most 40- 90%% deposit ready for them to start the first fix. this is also common for the second fix as it is usually the Hardware Heavy End of the Job, Racks, switches wall plate and Mechs (add to that CCTV cameras and Intercom systems.)

Contact: Keep in Regular contact with your Cabler, if only a few update emails about how your build is going, also to ask any questions Technically you have "employed" them for the Duration of your Build, so why not take advantage of this. But also at the same time they are trying to do other jobs or drive so over contacting them could be a worse thing

Price Changes: Make sure you are aware of any equipment or Tradies costs rises or Decreases. Request updates of the quote (not every week but usually after the (locked in period expires), Not only should your Cabler let you know if there are changes but you should be on top of this as well.

On site: honestly there isn’t much you can do without direct supervision. Pre drill holes for your data Cabler on the day to make their day quicker. 60 -80% of a Cablers day is drilling holes… in the first fix. If you’re going for a cheaper/ mate way of data cabling… however most installers like myself won’t let you do that … heck on the first day I’d prefer not to see the client on site.

Paper Work: at the End of Each fix you need to be given a TCA1 form (or its equivalent) which will have the Cablers licence number and contact details.

FTTH/ NBN if you are not building in an NBN Greenfield estate then this won't be a concept on your mind, However making your Cabler aware to ensure he has installed a Fully NBN compliant Lead in conduit for when the NBN rolls down your Street will make the installation of the NBN internal Fibre run much easier/ quicker

For a New build

Pick a space for your equipment to end up.

Suggested places: for the Rack’’’ Garage, study/ home office and or under the stairs if you have them. The place will need good ventilation and or good in rack cooling/ ventilation.

This a rough guide/ Bare minimum on how many and in what rooms/ areas you may want to consider getting your Cabler to run stuff.

For Houses not in a NBN Greenfield Estate. It is worth getting your Cabler to have the conduit ready for when they roll down the Street. Ask them about this.

This Spec covers FTA, Cable and Single Cable Satellite TV Distribution, if you have either dual RG6/ Foreign Satellite service in mind then you will need to inform your Cabler of this.

Main Bed room: 4 x Data + 2 x TV

Minor Bed rooms: 2 x Data + 1 x TV

Study/ Home Office: 2 x Data + 1 TV on one wall, and 2 x Data on another wall

Home Theater: 4 x Data + 2 x TV

Garage: 2 x Data + 1 x TV

1 x Data for a PoE WAP in a central location

For Two story Houses.

1 x Data in a high place for a WAP (Wireless Access Point)

Cabling in place for IP Security Cameras

Cabling/ conduit and pull string in Place for front Door Intercom.

Areas that you may think are a waste:

1 x Data Behind the fridge.

2 x Data in the laundry.

And any area (single story only) where you may add a back to base security system. If you are building a 2 story house you will need to get all you’re cabling in place before the gyp-rock goes up.

Power requirements: You will need to make provision for a double wall outlet at your racks location either 10amp or 15amp check with your Cabler to make sure you have enough power at your rack area. Also inform your electrician and get the plans altered

Other Work: You may also consider having other cabling work done while you have a Cabler on site this includes Home Theater/ AV cabling, Door Intercom pre-wire/ conduiting extra support studs for wall mount TV Brackets

For a Retro Fit

Basically the same as the New build but with only one - two days of actually installing there is no need for a "second" fix. Depending on how you house was built you may or may not have access to the lower section on internal walls due to Insulation being installed the best option for this is locating the outlets on the closest external wall or the use of mini duct

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Misused Terms

Smart cabling is the marketing term for structured cabling which is the process of having a cabling system that is a Non application specific usable for all types of data and signal transmission with in a house/ business. Not only can you put IP traffic over a Cat6 cable but Audio and video signals via Baluns

Legal Disclaimer

This document was created by Andrew Oakeshott aka Pugs/ Pugs the Open Cabler. This document/ page is not to be Reproduced/ Part Reproduced/ Quoted or edited without my written consent and this Refernced online

This document is meant as a guide only and not a substitute for proper advice.

All customer cabling work in the telecommunications, fire, security and data industries must be performed by a Open registered Cabler. This includes all fixed cabling that connects to, or is intended to be connected to the telecommunications network. All data network systems that connect to or may be connected in the future to the telecommunications network are included in this requirement.

In summary, if the cabling is run through a wall, ceiling, floor or crawl space, it must be installed by a registered Cabler. This includes the use of pre-terminated cables and 'clip-through' keystone jacks/wallplates.

If you are aware of these regulations, not a registered Cabler and decide to install cable regardless, be aware that you are solely responsible for your actions and their consequences. You cannot blame anyone for providing incorrect or poor advice.

For more information: ACMA - Cabling regulation ACMA Frequently Asked Questions - Cabling

http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_1455#16

Looking up a Cabler:

If you think your Cabler might not be fully Licensed this includes your mate who “says it is dead easy” please make sure you check the following sites for his details:

Australian Cabler Registration Service (ACRS) Website: www.acrs.com.au Email: enquiries@acrs.com.au Phone: 1300 66 77 71

Australian Security Industry Association Limited (ASIAL) Website: www.asial.com.au Email: cablerservices@asial.com.au Phone: (02) 8425 4300

BICSI Registered Cablers Australia Pty Ltd (FPA Australia) Website: www.brca.asn.au Email: registration@bicsi.asn.au

Fire Protection Association Australia (FPA Australia) Website: www.fpaa.com.au Email: cpr@fpaa.com.au

TITAB Australia Cabler Registry Services (TITAB ACRS) Website: www.titab.com.au Email: info@titab.com.au Phone: (03) 9349 4955