Recommended way to put network/dsl through wall

[cheesemp]

I've just had my garage converted into a sort of study. The phone point is about 1 meter away on the other side of the wall to where the PC will be. I use to use home plugs to get network to PC when it was upstairs and that is still an easy option but seems like a waste of electric vs drilling a simple hole. Just wondering which of these methods Hexusites would most recommend:
1. Use homeplugs - easy option but expensive
2. Drill cable sized hole and put ethernet/vdsl cable through and crimp plugs. (I don't care which side of the wall the router is)
3. Same as 2 but use faceplates.
4. Drill larger hole (say 20mm) and put complete cable cable through (this is fairly cheap but I don't have an SDS drill so it might take a while!)
5. Wireless although I'm concerned about latency (I have a cheap AC750 wireless router)

All have big pros and cons but most important to me is maximum DSL speed and I don't want costs to go to high. I don't have a crimp, IDC push tools or long drill bit (Needs to be 30cm for cavity wall). I can pick up a cheap crimp tool from amazon for £5 and its about £5~10 for a drill bit from screwfix which should be good enough for one cable but i'm concerned how hard it will be to get the crimp right (I've done some more basic plug style crimping and have a reasonable amount of microelectronics experience)...

Edit: This kit looks pretty good for a basic job for option 2. How big a drill bit would I need to put the cable through - 10mm?

[flearider]

you don't need the kit really ..just get a bigger drill bit 15-20mm it's all I did for a wall.. money you save on the kit could go towards a better drill ? or just take your time ... fun part is when you go under floor

[cheesemp]

you don't need the kit really ..just get a bigger drill bit 15-20mm it's all I did for a wall.. money you save on the kit could go towards a better drill ? or just take your time ... fun part is when you go under floor

What sort of size bit do I need to put a cable+connectors through? Is 20mm enough do you think - I'm thinking this would be good enough - http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-maso...-x-400mm/88178 but having not done such a deep drill before would you recommend a pilot hole? I've got a fairly decent (but old) Makita cordless drill that should be up to the task.

[stevie lee]

having recently drilled a few holes of varying sizes. before buying a big drill-bit, make sure the drill-chuck is big enough to take the bit.
and you remember to turn the hammer function on.

as you are just 'putting a cable through' it may even be worth aiming the hole to where the cement is in between the bricks. it'll be a lot easier drilling. especially if your house has those pressed bricks that I broke 2 drill bits on

[scaryjim]

... before buying a big drill-bit, make sure the drill-chuck is big enough to take the bit. ...

This Most drills max out at 13mm.

Best way to check what size hole you need would be to measure the end of a cable! 20mm should do it, I think, but always best to check before you buy.

[cheesemp]

Thanks guys. They seem to do up to 25mm x 400mm bits with reduced shank for regular drills so they should fit my drill. The walls are (I think) regular brick on one side and concrete block on the other side but its all plastered now (should have thought of it before doh) so can't see where the mortar is... Thankfully my old makita drill is pretty good at masonary its just I've never done a hole all the way through a cavity wall before and never wider than about 7mm. Think I'll take it nice and slow so the bit and drill don't over heat...

[jimborae]

A 25mm drill is way to big for one cable !!! I use a 14mmx400mm drill for single cables which i normally terminate with an RJ45 plug after pulling the cable through. However I've managed to push a terminated cable through that size hole on more than one occasion.

[peterb]

The block may be blown concrete, which are strong but light, and quite soft. If you get a thin long shank drill ( 12 inches) you can drill a pilot hole through the wall. Then use the shorter reduced sha,n drill to drill through from each side.

You could get two wall boxes and punch down sockets, you only need the small hole for the cable then and you can get a cheap punch down tool and ready made patch cables to connect it up. Most single gang faceplates can take two sockets, so you could run two cables.

[DanceswithUnix]

I have a similar arrangement at home.

The phone point is in the porch where there isn't any power, so I have a DSL faceplate on the master socket (put in as part of the original 40Mbit connection years ago) and a cable from that poked through the cavity wall to the living room where on the other side of the wall I have a router where it can hide away next to a power feed.

Because the cable is going to the internal connectors on a faceplate, I could cut the connector off that end before poking it through the wall.

The drill bit I have is 10mm X 400mm (I just checked). That is enough to get satellite feeds etc through walls, 10mm has always been enough so far.

I would really recommend a faceplate if you care about best possible speed, something like http://www.adslnation.com/products/xte2005.php

[eltel]

Question how old is the house? because if you have old style engineering bricks you will struggle with a standard percussion drill (speaking from experience with a few customers just stood there pissing themselves laughing as I tried to drill 2 holes. I didn't even get to finish the first hole!) needless to say I now have a 36volt sds drill and don't have those problems anymore.
I would go down the route off small hole with the cable run in to a wall box it will be neater and no chance of damaging the RJ45 plug.
if you were not quite so far away(Torbay to the new forest) I would have brought the drill up and done the work.

[cheesemp]

eltel - Its a late 70s house. The concrete bricks are pretty solid but I can get through them slowly with my drill and a 5mm bit (I guess this proves a pilot hole from that side would be a good idea). The old 'outside' is regular brick and I get through it easy enough. Thanks for the advise though!

danceswithunix - I think i'll keep the router in the original location as its hidden well enough (and the faceplate is a modern BT one they only installed 2 or 3 years ago when I got BT infinity). Think i'll just bring a single network cable through. I'm unlikely to need a second device in there and if I do I can always get a cheap switch for a £10...

jimborae - Sounds like 10 or 14mm should be good enough then. Thanks. I've read that cling film on the end of the cable helps keep it clean when it goes through the hole...

peterb - Good idea I might give that a go however the blocks aren't the nice new concrete blocks but old heavy ones that take some effort to get through...

[Dashers]

If you have a central location for your switching, then jam in as much cable as you can. It's all very well having a switch running on the other side, but then that's 35W extra power needed to break it out.

Alternatively, can you go up and over a wall and tack the cables to the wall or put it into conduit?

[impossible]

A few years ago I needed to drill a hole through walls for CAT5. I found that Wilko's sold cheap 400mm drill bits.

[bledd]

Cat5e = 7 or 8mm drill bit.

Then put ends or modules on. Use solid core cat5e.

[MrComputerSaint]

Cat5e = 7 or 8mm drill bit.

Then put ends or modules on. Use solid core cat5e.

I'd do it this way. If I was near you I'd drill a hole for you as it'd be a few minutes (I the tools), but alas I am in the North East.

[ik9000]

Position the hole sufficiently high to miss any DPC layers in the wall. Assuming it's a solid wall without internal vapour barriers and the like that should be all you need to do. If you have some expanding fire-resistant foam I would then put a blob of that in to seal the void once the cable is in if there isn't a snug fit to limit spread of flame and acoustic transfer. If it's not a solid wall then be careful with what you're drilling through. Hammer action masonry drill with masonry bits will be needed for masonry walls, and powered from the mains - I find battery drills won't cut it (if you pardon the pun).