Price of ethernet wiring

[Narn79]

So I'm looking to have a cable guy come and wire my computer to my router the actual distance to the computer from the router will only be around 20 ft dpending on route and I have 0 clue how much this will cost and cant find any answers anywhere else.

 

[Azn Cracker]

Like $5 worth of cable

http://www.amazon.com/eForCity%C2%AE-Ethernet-Cable-CAT5e-connectors/dp/B000E8BGCE

 

[Onetimetwotimes]

It would be a good idea to go to the store and find out how much Ethernet cables cost per foot/meter. Once you have done that, think of a few routes that you think would be most efficient, and measure them out. Measuring straight from the router to your computer won't give you enough information.

Once you have figured how much you would be spending in cables, think about labor and time. Will it be difficult to fish the cables through the route? How long might it take? And make hunched calculations off of the answers of those questions.

 

[USAFRet]

So I'm looking to have a cable guy come and wire my computer to my router the actual distance to the computer from the router will only be around 20 ft dpending on route and I have 0 clue how much this will cost and cant find any answers anywhere else.

The actual cable? Maybe $5-$10.
Why are you having a cable guy come and do that? Plug in one end, plug in the other...done.
If he comes and does that, maybe $50, just for the time involved.

Unless he is running it inside the wall or something. Then the price goes up to $200+.

 

[Narn79]

I would have to run it across a hallway and through 2 doors so probaly through hardwood floors or walls but probaly the floors

 

[USAFRet]

I would have to run it across a hallway and through 2 doors so probaly through hardwood floors or walls but probaly the floors

Running between 2 rooms is almost certainly more than 20 feet. What exactly is the installer guy going to do?

 

[boosted1g]

Vast majority of the time it is easier to run it either down to the crawlspace or up into the attic and then over to the next room, vs removing baseboards and trying to route around doors.

The reason why you cant find a good idea on cost is because it is very variable. First and foremost your house layout is a very large variable. If you have a crawl space and can just drill down from wall cavity, do the same and fish the wire then most any place should do this for less then $100, maybe even closer to $60. If you have to go up multi-story, have to go through insulated and fire-braced walls, and/or have a very limited access attic then the cost can go up to $200 easily because it is now a 3 hr job. The other variable is that each shop charges a different amount, some may charge per labor, some may charge per cable drop.

The cost of the actual cable is minimal. Real cost in materials of a $100ft cable of cat5e is less then $10, so factoring in markup and a little money for the cost of his tools he is using the cable itself should cost no more then $20.


As USAFRet said, it is highly unlikely the cable is 20ft. To get a drop 12-15ft away requires around 35ft of cable. Not that 20ft vs 35ft of cat5e costs much more then $1 or 2

 

[gangrel]

Going through the floor is not going to be practical at all. One does this when one has raised floors installed, because under the ground-level floor is the foundation.

By all means get estimates, but I think it's going to run into substantial cost. Cutting through walls and running cable through walls is never cheap.

 

[boosted1g]

Going through the floor is not going to be practical at all. One does this when one has raised floors installed, because under the ground-level floor is the foundation.

By all means get estimates, but I think it's going to run into substantial cost. Cutting through walls and running cable through walls is never cheap.

It all depends on the home, if it has a unfinished basement or crawlspace then it is really simple (like 30-40 minutes simple). Here in Arizona we have cement slabs so the only option is to go up to the attic and then over. At that point it just becomes about what obstacles you have. If we are talking non-insulted or braced Interior walls, non-vaulted ceiling, and a traditional pitched roof with a half decent attic access; I can do a drop from one room to another in less then an hour easily.

 

[jsmithepa]

Even the non-licensed folks should be able to come in, take a look, ask you how to want it and give you an estimate, for free. If you are asking, then I assume you have a budget.

The expense is not the material at all, as mentioned, it's the labor, it's the time taken to not break your furniture, to patch the holes back up if he has to drill anything, the care not to drill into live electrical wires.