RJ45 weak-current network: necessary?

[Garald]

Preface to this and several other questions I will be asking:

Well, the planning stage is over, and we should start working soon. And guess what, my architect has just presented me with a huge bill courtesy of her contractor for me to approve - much larger than the budget I had originally fixed. So, we now have to sit down and negotiate - and go through every unimportant, expensive detail that can be taken off.

 

The totals for electricity, painting and laying floor are particularly enormous.

 

Here comes in my friend, N. the Philanthropic Flipper (banker by day), who has been of invaluable help to me in the past (and present). He pointed out (among other things) that the bill for redoing the entire electricity system (which does need to be changed entirely: the current one is clearly the fruit of 90 years of DIY) includes RJ45 entries in virtually every room. He says that an RJ45 weak-current network is not needed to begin with (or even common in new construction or renovation jobs), and thus is an unnecessary expense, besides being bad for the environment (all that cable). I should be fine with a router per floor (and I agree; in fact, in my current place, I like turning off my one and only router in the morning so that I can focus fully on my work).

 

Is that right? Are RJ45 weak-current networks (which I had never heard of before until now) both expensive and unnecessary?

 

(The architect may honestly think that people who are science-y fields need to have their brains directly wired to the Internet.)

[MJNewton]

1 hour ago, Garald said:

He says that an RJ45 weak-current network is not needed to begin with (or even common in new construction or renovation jobs), and thus is an unnecessary expense, besides being bad for the environment (all that cable). I should be fine with a router per floor (and I agree; in fact, in my current place, I like turning off my one and only router in the morning so that I can focus fully on my work).

 

Is that right? Are RJ45 weak-current networks (which I had never heard of before until now) both expensive and unnecessary?

 

'Weak-current network'? Never heard of the phrase, and Googling suggests it's a very little used term.

 

Personally, I'd ignore him. I wouldn't be without a wired network in the house. Really handy for static items (AV kit, computers, cameras etc) and leaves my wifi free for mobile devices. Cable it cheap, as are sockets etc really but you could always leave them out until as and when you need them. It all depends if *you* want one though.

 

Is the network itemised separately?

Edited September 10, 2022 by MJNewton

[Garald]

> 'Weak-current network'? Never heard of the phrase, and Googling suggests it's a very little used term.

 

Well, I'm translating from French!

 

I have used a wired network at my own place only once in my life - early in the pandemic, when I was trying to figure out the reason why JamKazam was so slow as to be unusable. (Hint: no, it wasn't the Wifi.)

[Temp]

There are many ways to skin this cat.

As a minimum I would recommend putting a WiFi Access Point on each floor connected by RJ45 cable back to a modem located where the phone line comes into the house. So for now that would be just two RJ45 cables. I would also put a power point in those three locations. Eg to power the WiFi access points and the modem

 

You could also consider running RJ45 from the modem to the main TV area? Possibly even one outside so you can put a WiFi Access Point in the garden.

 

As @MJNewtonsaid a wired network can be very useful but if really on a budget the above is the minimum/priority I would go for.

[Garald]

No TV area because no TV (I'm ending the TV connection, actually).

 

A WiFIi access point in the (shared) garden might be a nice gesture to win the neighbors over. (The same goes for all improvements to the garden - I plan to do some, but I haven't put *that* in the budget yet.)

[MJNewton]

16 minutes ago, Garald said:

Well, I'm translating from French!

 

Ah. Mange tout, Rodney. 🙂

 

(Edit: I don't know how that's going to translate so just ignore it if it doesn't! Link)

 

 

Edited September 10, 2022 by MJNewton

[Remington]

I'd follow @Temp suggestion, a couple of key locations in the house to run cat6e to, if you're building though plan to put it the router/cable centre near the riser so you can run more when/if needed, thinking Poe cameras etc.

[Conor]

I'd echo above. We put network points in to almost all rooms. So far, apart from the main router were using one (old smart TV with no WiFi). Everything is WiFi these days so I really don't see the value of networking an entire house, instead put in a couple mesh WiFi hubs In key places for good coverage.

[Kelvin]

Even if they put networking cable terminated in every room it shouldn’t be that expensive. I’d get a second opinion to sanity check all the costs or seek out another electrician to quote the electrics. As others have said, if you have no plans to fit things like cameras in the house or any sort of automation then one cable per floor makes sense for Wi-Fi access points. 

[Garald]

OK. I'm contacting another electrician (based in Paris proper - he comes with a very good recommendation) and telling him that I only want a WiFi access point in every floor, but I'm also considering some automation (for an alarm, possibly for security cameras, and also for opening the door remotely, in case I ever let the downstairs studio or just want to allow a friend in; the Philantropic Flipper also mentions that he regulates the heating remotely, but I don't see what that's good for - just so that one doesn't have to wonder whether one left the heating on? Or in case one is away for a sabbatical and doesn't want to make a local friend come in to turn off the heating completely at the end of winter?).

[TonyT]

You really need to decide what you want to let trades price for things, they may advise on a few things that they have picked up on the way and will be beneficial to you but watch out some may be interested in making their lives easy.

 

if you have floors you up to rewire makes sense to add anything you think could be beneficial to save the hassle of doing this again, and once furniture etc is in place it is a hassle 

for you and the next trade that will

just add more to deal with the hassle.

 

 

Edited September 11, 2022 by TonyT

[SteamyTea]

My experience of using French workers is small.

Staying at a mates place near Bayeux, the telecoms man came around to fix the phone line.   Was there at 7AM, sorted it in a few minutes, then had a biere with Maurice (the owner).

They chatted for about 2 hours and went of off his next job.

Maybe things have changed in 35 years.

It was all very civilised.

[Crowbar hero]

I'd definitely allow for some form of network infrastructure - if you cannot afford or justify cabling at an early stage, at least put conduit in to allow cables to be pulled later - your electrical contractor is putting the network cabling in conduit - isn't he?

 

I'd be careful with the whole wifi-access point on each floor - that is 2D thinking and frequently sub-optimal- Wifi signals radiate in all directions, up and down too - and can often pass through timber floors a lot easier than masonry walls - a central chimney stack made from engineering brick can easily cast a wifi-shadow across a portion of your home regardless of which floor your access points are on.  

I would also choose appliances and devices carefully as to favour the wired infrastructure rather than dumping everything onto wifi - the less fixed devices you have chattering across the airwaves the clearer they are for genuinely mobile equipment - bear in mind that unless you have significant isolation from your tech loving neighbours your house will be subjected to possible interference from all their devices too.

[Garald]

That makes sense - the ceiling separating half of the library from part of the attic is wood.

[SteamyTea]

50 minutes ago, Crowbar hero said:

and can often pass through timber floors a lot easier than masonry walls

I went through the Dartford Tunnel on Sunday, even after over 55 years of using it, I am amazed that Radio 4 is uninterrupted.

[Radian]

1 hour ago, SteamyTea said:

I went through the Dartford Tunnel on Sunday, even after over 55 years of using it, I am amazed that Radio 4 is uninterrupted.

 Leaky feeder

Edited September 13, 2022 by Radian
added link to wiki

[SteamyTea]

1 hour ago, Radian said:

 Leaky feeder

Thought that was some east end rhyming slang.