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So I’ve got a new wireless AP that I want to mount on the ceiling in our hall. It’s got power over Ethernet so all I need is one cable running from the router (in a cupboard on the upstairs landing).
The house is about 10 years old. Upstairs, when I pull the carpet up, the floorboards are made of what looks like chipboard and are nailed down and sealed around the edges. Before I pull everything up, is there anything I should look out for?
I’m assuming that I can pull up the floorboards, then there will be a series of beams, between which maybe some insulation and then the plasterboard for the (downstairs) ceiling? I’m guessing this should be relatively straightforward?!
Are there any other considerations?
For ethernet cables I've found just running t cable along the wall tucked under the edge of the carpet by the gripper strips works fine. You can drill up from below (check for cables/pipes) where you want it to come out and use a long bit to break through the floor above so the two holes align and then just feed the cable down.
If the floor is tongue and groove chipboard that has been glued and nailed then it will be a pain to lift. Might be easier to cut a few access holes, feed the cable (with a bit of fishing and working blind), then fill the holes. Use something like this: Floor hole saw
Might be easier to cut a few access holes, feed the cable (with a bit of fishing and working blind), then fill the holes.
This, if the joists run parallel to the cable run. Might not be so easy if they are perpendicular.
I'd just run it behind the carpet gripper rod / tucked under the skirting board if there is room...
As above, lifting the boards will be hard. You can probably tell which way the joists run by looking at the nail spacing, joists are usually 40cm apart. Or drill a 2mm hole 20mm deep midway between two nails, and see if there's space underneath. If the joists run the wrong way, run it along the edge until you get to the point were you want to cross to the middle. I don't know if the voltage / current in PoE is enough to mean you should protect the cable from damage?
It will look something like this....
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/3859/14732553898_5999c24a79_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/3859/14732553898_5999c24a79_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/orSbZY ]Lifted remains of original floor boards[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
Work out the joist direction and try and run the cable to minimise the number of holes you have to drill through joists. NB a 90 degree drill is your friend if you have to drill loads of holes..
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/5586/14919142125_605ffe1e08_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/5586/14919142125_605ffe1e08_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/oJmvbn ]Makita Angle Drill[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
I went through all this adding sockets to rooms which only had one double socket in completely the wrong place...
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/3849/14732541348_2e63c87cb5_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/3849/14732541348_2e63c87cb5_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/orS8gA ]New socket #3[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
NB It's quite common to find the builders filled the gap in the floor with rubble rather than carry it to the skip, hence the trowel and bucket - I have removed 100kgs from the floors in the house over the years!
It’s quite common to find the builders filled the gap in the floor with rubble [s]rather than carry it to the skip,[/s] for sound deafening which was a standard detail back in the day.
....but not in a ten year old house like the OP's.
Those original builders had to carry all that ash in rather than being too lazy to carry it out.
If the floor is tongue and groove chipboard that has been glued and nailed then it will be a pain to lift.
And it will also perpetually squeak for the rest of the lifetime of earth irrespective of how many screws you use to re-fix it. I avoid lifting boards if at all possible and would do as suggested above.
I used a router to cut a channel into the chipboard floor for the cable to sit in and then then drilled down into the boud ad through the ceiling
Ive done exactly the same as what the OP wants with ethernet cables. Though I had floorboards but didn't have the space to lift one up. I just drilled a small 3mm hole to make sure there was no joist/cable/pipe directly bellow. Then carefully drilled a 20mm hole so I could see down to the ceiling and check for pipes/wires before drilling from below.
Thanks all.