What structured cabling actually costs
The single most searched question in this trade, and the current answers are a 2012 forum thread and a cable retailer. Here is what actually moves the number.
What cabling costsThe questionsPeople Actually Ask.
Nobody calls a cabling company for fun. They call because something does not work, or because a builder asked a question they cannot answer. These are the answers, written out properly — including the ones that end with you not needing to buy anything.
Start here
Four questions,Answered properly.
Every one of these gets asked on a first phone call. Rather than say it again each time, we wrote it down — with enough detail that you could act on it without hiring anybody.
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Cat5e, Cat6 or Cat6a — what you actually need
Usually the honest answer is that the cable already in your walls is fine, and the bottleneck is somewhere else entirely.
Cat5e vs Cat6 vs Cat6aMesh WiFi vs wired access points
Mesh is a workaround for not having cable. That is not an insult — sometimes it is the right answer, and here is how to tell.
Mesh vs access pointsWiring a new house before drywall
The cheapest cable you will ever run is the one pulled through an open stud bay. This is the checklist for getting it right before that window closes.
Wiring a new buildWhy bother writing these
The people selling cableShould not be the answer.
Search any of these questions and you get a forum thread from a decade ago, or a shop whose answer is always the more expensive cable. We do not sell cable. We install it, and we have no stake in which grade ends up in your walls.
Before drywall
The decisions that are free to change now and expensive to change later.
Coverage, honestly
Why one room is slow, and why a second router usually does not fix it.
What a quote covers
How to compare two numbers that are thousands apart by reading the scope instead.
No cost, no obligation
Still wantSomebody To Look?
We walk the building, look at what is actually installed, and tell you plainly what is fine, what is a problem, and what it would take to fix it. You get the findings whether or not you hire us — which is the same standard as these guides.
Typical response — same business day