Installing motorized dome camera under slanted Eave/Soffit

stealthrt

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Hey all I am new to installing cameras on my home. I have already ran the Ethernet cables to each edge of the house since I am wanting to install one camera up under the Eave/Soffit so that at least the base of the camera is out of sight.

However there is a problem and the reason I am creating this post. My home is old and therefore not very efficient when it comes to design since back then when it was build no one was designing it in mind of technology.

Here is an image of one of my corner setups:

1617921833540.jpeg

Currently I’m not able to think of a way to hide half the camera but have enough showing so that I can rotate it and not have any obstacles in my way.

The closest I have come to finding perhaps something that would work would be the
below:



1617921869096.jpeg

But using this would very much show all of the camera plus some of the wires coming from it.

the most difficult about this project is the fact that the wife does not want holes in our newly installed siding. So that just adds another layer of difficulty when trying to find a secure way to hang them.

So does any one here, pro installers or DIYers, have any ideas on how I can achieve this setup?
 

sebastiantombs

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Given that the general angle of a camera on a soffit is "down" you can use the soffit angle to your advantage. First, use turret cameras rather than bullets, much less obtrusive IMHO. I have three across the front of the house, mounted to the soffits, and hardly anyone ever notices them.

Next, with that style soffit, you can bend the outer flange out of the way and pull one piece of the soffit to get very easy access for wiring. You'llprobably have to pull a nail or stale to be able to slide it out, but that will be the hard part.

The camera can be mounted to 2" flat aluminum stock, painted to match. You can use two pieces, or more, if needed depending on the width of the camera base. I get "fancy" and cut "ears then pop rivet them in place rather than using two or more full strips. The flat stock needs to be cut the width of the soffit from the house wall where the inner channel attaches to the outside of the soffit. Painting is a little time consuming since aluminum primer needs a 24 hour cure before a second coat so that's two days just for priming.

Mount the camera after wiring, and taping, the connections and slide in the piece of soffit you removed. You can also cut a notch in the inner flange on the house wall, if it's a "U" style flange, to let the CAT cable pass through easily. Then fold the outer flange back up shaping it by "pinching" with your fingers.

That sounds like a major job, but there are NO holes required when using this method and the camera is securely mounted. In your case the angle of the soffit won't hurt in terms of setting the view unless you're trying to put up a "sky cam" for weather watching.

Edit - I've used this for fixed turret cameras and not a PTZ.

Note - You need to clean your gutters. :) Tip - I do it from the roof with a leaf blower. Cleans the downspouts well, too.
 
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mat200

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Hey all I am new to installing cameras on my home.

..
Welcome @stealthrt

"Installing motorized dome camera under slanted Eave/Soffit"

my notes:
1) many motorized PT cameras are designed to the mounted up right side or upside down, and not at a slant.
2) domes, many of us have experienced issues with dome cameras outdoors and in general prefer turrets instead
3) I would not install on gutters.. too weak
4) double check views at placements you plan to use.. you may find the locations not as good as you imagined.
5) I would custom make blocks to come down from the soffit to hold appropriate junction boxes and paint them to match your trim.
6) test test test
 
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Flintstone61

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Somebody around here had a pole mount that requires you to cut a small hole in the fascia, and then mount/screw the pole to wood inside to get it stable. In your case you might have to get a divorce to cut the hole. Or make a good case for a tough mount. But yeah, SebastianTombs ideas are pretty solid too. Early on when I was a Noob I did this. I ran 1-1/4" Polebarn screws with 1/4" heads that "self tap" into the facsia. Any idiot could probably walk up and rip them out if they wanted to make a lot of noise. But you'll probably end up with a Turret. Then you mount the base first then attach the Camera second.
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