How to wire/install when soffits are too high?

[bananajam]

I'm starting to do some research into camera installation, placement, etc. and was hoping to get some recommendations/ideas on how to wire and install cameras when the soffits are too high.

The soffits at my house are either a.) 20+ feet high or b.) about 10-12 feet high - the one height is way too high for any sort of identification, and the other is just a shade higher than ideal.

• In the parts of the house where the soffit is 20 feet+ would you recommend threading the cables through the vinyl siding, instead of bringing it down from the soffit, and attaching the cameras to the siding?
• In the parts where the soffit is around 10-12 feet if I want to be able to install the camera at around 8 feet what would be the best way to do that?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[wittaj]

Do you have a basement or crawlspace and come from the ground up and tuck wires behind downspouts?

 

[bananajam]

Do you have a basement or crawlspace and come from the ground up and tuck wires behind downspouts?

I do have a basement and have downspouts at the corners of my house that might work. Are pulling wires from ground up difficult? Would it require going through the foundation?

 

[Teken]

Here's a quick tip: Select three low voltage professionals to give you a quote to home run the wiring. Have them indicate how the wire will be run and terminated within the homes super structure. Going this route not only gives you options but insight as to how the Professionals would tackle the problem.

If you believe your skills are high enough to do the same following their wiring deployment - Go to town. If you don't think you're capable enough hire them to do just the wiring so you can come along later to install the camera's.

 

[H. Swanson]

Here's a quick tip: Select three low voltage professionals to give you a quote to home run the wiring. Have them indicate how the wire will be run and terminated within the homes super structure. Going this route not only gives you options but insight as to how the Professionals would tackle the problem.

If you believe your skills are high enough to do the same following their wiring deployment - Go to town. If you don't think you're capable enough hire them to do just the wiring so you can come along later to install the camera's.

This. I had a professional run the cabling after we discussed how best to do it. They've done this a million times and should have all kinds of ideas.

 

[H. Swanson]

In the parts where the soffit is around 10-12 feet if I want to be able to install the camera at around 8 feet what would be the best way to do that?

I don't know your layout, but 10-12 ft doesn't seem too high IMO unless you're trying to identify someone at a door near the camera.

 

[bananajam]

Here's a quick tip: Select three low voltage professionals to give you a quote to home run the wiring. Have them indicate how the wire will be run and terminated within the homes super structure. Going this route not only gives you options but insight as to how the Professionals would tackle the problem.

If you believe your skills are high enough to do the same following their wiring deployment - Go to town. If you don't think you're capable enough hire them to do just the wiring so you can come along later to install the camera's.

Thanks - that's a great tip! Ultimately, I figured I'd hire a professional to handle the wiring, just wanted to be able to go into the conversation with some background knowledge.

 

[bananajam]

I don't know your layout, but 10-12 ft doesn't seem too high IMO unless you're trying to identify someone at a door near the camera.

Oh ok. I've seen posts mention that 8 feet is ideal for identification, but good to know 10-12 feet isn't too high.

 

[Starglow]

Consider mounting the cameras on posts located away from the house. That does require setting the posts and running conduit and wires to them, but it gives you more options and better area coverage. Plus you don't have to worry about heights and drilling into siding and soffits. Posts might create an HOA issue, but my subdivision doesn't have one. My cameras are mounted 13-feet high on posts and it's the perfect height plus no one can reach them to vandalize or cause harm without a ladder.

 

[Starglow]

Thanks - that's a great tip! Ultimately, I figured I'd hire a professional to handle the wiring, just wanted to be able to go into the conversation with some background knowledge.

Break out your checkbook because hiring a contractor won't be cheap depending on how many wire runs you're installing and the complexity of the job.

 

[bananajam]

Break out your checkbook because hiring a contractor won't be cheap depending on how many wire runs you're installing and the complexity of the job.

Ah yeah, I think I've seen roughly $150 per drop?

Interesting suggestion about the posts. I do have a HOA, so not sure that would get approved, but something I'll keep in mind.

 

[Teken]

Thanks - that's a great tip! Ultimately, I figured I'd hire a professional to handle the wiring, just wanted to be able to go into the conversation with some background knowledge.

Just some more things to keep in mind as you go through the mental list of Go - No Go. If this is your forever home set aside the proper amount of funds to do this right. The wiring infrastructure is going to be the back bone of the system and isn't going anywhere once in place.

As such consider investing the proper finances for CAT-6 shielded (Solid Copper not CCA) wiring. Doing so insures the network is capable of reducing the incidents of RFI / EMI interference and lightning incidents. Keep in mind both ends of the RJ45 need to be shielded and everything else in the network properly grounded.

Run multiple Ethernet pairs along with 22-4 / 18-2 power wire . . .

Doing so allows you to mount another camera or POE enabled device(s). The power wire can be used to power anything from IoT, LED, IR, Microphone / Speaker, etc. As it relates to long term maintenance and clarical / schema ensure the cables are properly identified and marked. One with a black sharpie and the other using marking tape as doing so allows easy identification and trouble shooting.

When finalizing the install make sure there is enough Service Loop in case the cable needs to be cut or moved. Always apply dielectric grease to the RJ45 connector to reduce moisture from impacting the connection. Always use the glands that come with the camera to secure the two connections together.

 

[Starglow]

Ah yeah, I think I've seen roughly $150 per drop?

Interesting suggestion about the posts. I do have a HOA, so not sure that would get approved, but something I'll keep in mind.

I'll upload a picture later tonight to show you my post mounted setup which will give you an idea of what it looks like.

 

[actran]

Yeah, cable quality is important. If you use an installer and he provides the cabling, make sure it's good quality or buy it yourself to be sure.

It's not impossible to replace cabling but you just don't want to go there...better to spend a bit more for quality up front.

 

[bananajam]

I'll upload a picture later tonight to show you my post mounted setup which will give you an idea of what it looks like.

That'd be great, appreciate it!

 

[bananajam]

Just some more things to keep in mind as you go through the mental list of Go - No Go. If this is your forever home set aside the proper amount of funds to do this right. The wiring infrastructure is going to be the back bone of the system and isn't going anywhere once in place.

As such consider investing the proper finances for CAT-6 shielded (Solid Copper not CCA) wiring. Doing so insures the network is capable of reducing the incidents of RFI / EMI interference and lightning incidents. Keep in mind both ends of the RJ45 need to be shielded and everything else in the network properly grounded.

Run multiple Ethernet pairs along with 22-4 / 18-2 power wire . . .

Doing so allows you to mount another camera or POE enabled device(s). The power wire can be used to power anything from IoT, LED, IR, Microphone / Speaker, etc. As it relates to long term maintenance and clarical / schema ensure the cables are properly identified and marked. One with a black sharpie and the other using marking tape as doing so allows easy identification and trouble shooting.

When finalizing the install make sure there is enough Service Loop in case the cable needs to be cut or moved. Always apply dielectric grease to the RJ45 connector to reduce moisture from impacting the connection. Always use the glands that come with the camera to secure the two connections together.

Really appreciate the details here.

Couple questions:

• Re: power wire - is that a "in case it's needed in the future?" - but not necessary for a POE camera installation? (I'd be on board with installing it, but was wondering whether the POE camera system required it)
• Re: ensuring enough service loop - is this common practice for a professional, or would I need to specifically call it out?

Edit - sorry one more question

• Can all electricians do low voltage work, or would you recommend looking for someone who specializes in it?

 

[Teken]

Really appreciate the details here.

Couple questions:

• Re: power wire - is that a "in case it's needed in the future?" - but not necessary for a POE camera installation? (I'd be on board with installing it, but was wondering whether the POE camera system required it)
• Re: ensuring enough service loop - is this common practice for a professional, or would I need to specifically call it out?

Power Wire: Back in the day when POE was just starting out and coax was king power wire was always present. Now, power wire is rarely seen in the final installs. As stated, if you sit down and think what your future holds and can envision a use case than having said power wire is going to be Win when required. Keep in mind you don't need to run either cable in a specific location if you know there is zero need in the future. But, if you envision something like a more powerful IR / LED can provide you better nightime view / captures than its worth every penny.

Often times the first complaint about night time shots is the IR isn't strong enough or doesn't offer enough FOV (Coverage). The other problem are bugs from moth to spiders that always seem to gum up the cameras lens. Having the ability to turn off the cameras IR and only use an external IR avoids the above scenario while also offering better night time coverage.

Service Loop: In the industry its best practice but its safe to say not everyone does so. So have this called out in any quote so you know it will be present when needed.

A service loop normally spans 3 - 5 feet at the final deployment.

Lastly, set aside the finances for proper SPD (Surge Protective Devices) and a UPS for the system. Lots of time and finances are being invested so its best to protect that investment!

 

[Teken]

Really appreciate the details here.

Couple questions:

• Re: power wire - is that a "in case it's needed in the future?" - but not necessary for a POE camera installation? (I'd be on board with installing it, but was wondering whether the POE camera system required it)
• Re: ensuring enough service loop - is this common practice for a professional, or would I need to specifically call it out?

Edit - sorry one more question

• Can all electricians do low voltage work, or would you recommend looking for someone who specializes in it?

Its safe to say the market is riddled with Master of all - Master of none . . . If you scan a companies profile and if they call out they install network cabling while also being an electrician. Just ask them for their low voltage certification or better yet ask them if they use a Fluke cable certifier.

Keep in mind this isn't the be all end all indicator for a good installer . . .

But, any reputable company that does commercial / government network installs will have a similar device to allow them to certify the cable meets all IEA standards and have receipts to prove it. It should be noted almost no one has this done in a residential install because the costs is very high.

It's done in very important installs think: Hospital, Fire, Police, Military, Government, Data center, etc.

Because they need to first meet ISO rules and standards, along with obtaining their ISO certificate which also impacts their insurance or lack thereof.

 

[bananajam]

Its safe to say the market is riddled with Master of all - Master of none . . . If you scan a companies profile and if they call out they install network cabling while also being an electrician. Just ask them for their low voltage certification or better yet ask them if they use a Fluke cable certifier.

Keep in mind this isn't the be all end all indicator for a good installer . . .

But, any reputable company that does commercial / government network installs will have a similar device to allow them to certify the cable meets all IEA standards and have receipts to prove it. It should be noted almost no one has this done in a residential install because the costs is very high.

It's done in very important installs think: Hospital, Fire, Police, Military, Government, Data center, etc.

Because they need to first meet ISO rules and standards, along with obtaining their ISO certificate which also impacts their insurance or lack thereof.

Thank you again for taking the time to share all this! I always felt like I was going in blind in conversations with contractors, because I didn't know any better, but this is really helpful just to know what I should be looking out for.

 

[Teken]

As it relates to Ethernet SPD’s there are countless companies that offer the same. Some reputable companies such as Citel / Ditek.

Keep in mind a solid low resistance Earth ground must be present. Everything must be connected to that single point ground to reduce a voltage differential.

This is also a good time to have a grounding bar installed and located so everything can be easily connected.