Advice on getting a network cable from a house to a fence with a sidewalk in the way?

[ipmania]

So my house is surrounded by a 4-ft concrete sidewalk. I've been thinking of mounting a camera on the fence, which would be on the other side of the sidewalk.

How have people gotten the cable underneath the sidewalk to the fence?

 

[wodman]

I went across my driveway grinding joint out then refilled with urethane (about 4 years ago). Several hundred foot run just direct bury 5e.

 

[Rob2020]

Here is one way;

Basically dig a hole for access, use a drill and auger with extensions.

Youtube

 

[TonyR]

I went across my driveway grinding joint out then refilled with urethane (about 4 years ago). Several hundred foot run just direct bury 5e.

That is CAT-5e rated for direct-burial, right?

 

[ipmania]

I went across my driveway grinding joint out then refilled with urethane (about 4 years ago). Several hundred foot run just direct bury 5e.

That could work. I'm assuming you used an angle grinder? How long did that take? I'm thinking it took a long time. I only need to do 4-ft though.

 

[ipmania]

Here is one way;

Basically dig a hole for access, use a drill and auger with extensions.

Youtube

Thanks. I'll save this for another situation. Unfortunately the sidewalk goes right up to the walls of my house.

 

[OICU2]

You could use a diamond tipped circular saw blade and make two passes about an inch apart then knock the middle out with a chisel. Run cable then seal channel back up with epoxy.

 

[wittaj]

That could work. I'm assuming you used an angle grinder? How long did that take? I'm thinking it took a long time. I only need to do 4-ft though.

If the sidewalk is old enough, the joint may be large enough to push down into it without much or any grinding?

 

[dudemaar]

If the sidewalk is old enough, the joint may be large enough to push down into it without much or any grinding?

 

[TonyR]

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That's quite possibly a twisted pair, 18-2 shielded Belden lead-in cable ("DLC") for a traffic signal's inductive vehicle loop detector and they'e working to get it into that #3-1/2 concrete pullbox in the sidewalk. That's not really kosher but it is low voltage and it may be a band-aid until a more permanent, reliable fix can be done.

 

[Mike A.]

If the sidewalk is old enough, the joint may be large enough to push down into it without much or any grinding?

I was lucky enough to be able to do that mostly getting across mine. Still wasn't all that easy. Beyond the first inch or two where the grooving tool stops it's not uniform and even if cracked and separated you've got all kinds of rock and stuff in there that doesn't cut easy even with a concrete blade. Hard to work at it a bit to get things deep enough. One damn little rock took me half the day to get past. The thing was near indestructible.

 

[dmcIPCAM]

Don't laugh, but I've tunneled under sidewalks with short pieces of pvc, couplings, duct tape and a shop vac. I've also seen it done
with a pressure washer.You still have to have dig a pretty decent size hole on one side though. Soil composition can make a big
difference, obviously. And as #Mike A. mentioned, if you encounter a big enough rock in your tunnel it might be unworkable.

 

[TRLcam]

I have done it a few times with a 5' piece of 3/4" pvc connected to a garden hose. On the other end a pvc cap with a 1/4" hole drilled in it. Dig a hole on each side of the concrete. Around here there is a inch or two of sand under the concrete. So, I turn on the water and blast through that to the other side. Then disconnect the hose and attach your direct burial cat5/6 and pull it through.

 

[dudemaar]

I’ve fished a wire under a sidewalk using my 3/4 in 5ft long flexible installers bit. Dug a hole on each side of sidewalk drilled underneath cement, twisted wire to end of drill bit and pulled it through.

 

[dmcIPCAM]

Thanks. I'll save this for another situation. Unfortunately the sidewalk goes right up to the walls of my house.

Is boring a hole in the sidewalk and running a short section of pvc up the exterior wall possible?
(You see this frequently with sprinkler valve wiring running to the control box, usually in the garage)
You would only have to tunnel from the outside edge of the sidewalk.

 

[wodman]

That could work. I'm assuming you used an angle grinder? How long did that take? I'm thinking it took a long time. I only need to do 4-ft though.

Just took a few minutes and was the easy part of the job. Yes, a rt angle grinder with diamond blade.
One run is thru 5 conc joint that is against structure and another is 10ft thru joint with concrete against both structures (this one was little more work).

 

[ipmania]

Is boring a hole in the sidewalk and running a short section of pvc up the exterior wall possible?
(You see this frequently with sprinkler valve wiring running to the control box, usually in the garage)
You would only have to tunnel from the outside edge of the sidewalk.

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Looks good but I am thinking it'd be hard to "hit" such a small "target" from the sidewalk. But if sprinkler installers do it all the time, maybe it's not so bad.

 

[dudemaar]

Looks good but I am thinking it'd be hard to "hit" such a small "target" from the sidewalk. But if sprinkler installers do it all the time, maybe it's not so bad.

Maybe bore the hole underneath first then scan the concrete somehow to detect where precisely the bit/ pipe is? ??

 

[Broachoski]

Maybe an arbor, archway or pergolo to run the wires over the sidewalk if aesthetics could be satisfied.

 

[97JeepXJ]

A cut and break concrete saw would leave a clean cut that could be filled in with concrete crack filler