Running short distances of CAT6 outside the house

[freddyq]

Hi, when we had our house renovated I had CAT6 cable run to three exterior points around the house approximately where I planned to install security cams in future. The cables are coming from the inside of the house in an area under the stairs where they all meet and a hole was drilled at each of the three locations to get the cable outside. I am now about to put the cams up and will need to run the cable from where it is currently to the exact point my POE cams will be which is likely to be no more than a 4-5 metre run across the wall in a straight line. What kind of protection do I need to use on the cables? Most things I've read suggest using a special outdoor use cable but the cable I've had run is standard CAT6.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Fastb]

Paint may be the only protection you need.
PFA137 mod
Or use conduit

 

[dmelle]

I just used regular CAT5. Bought some cheap electrical conduit from Home Depot. Everything has been running great for 3 years so far.

 

[freddyq]

Looking at the conduit / trunking available on the market its not ideal, especially for the one which will go across the front of the house - won't look great. Paint idea is interesting though...if that can suffice then I'll look more into that.

 

[fenderman]

Post a Picture folks will be able to give you a better suggestion

 

[Kawboy12R]

Paint helps but conduit is preferred. Life of standard cable casing will vary on degree of sun exposure and your luck on how much UV resistance that brand of cable has in that particular batch. Might crap out and crack in a year or two or it might last a long time. A cracked casing can easily kill the camera and/or the switch or NVR that it is attached to. Drip loops help but water can travel UP inside a cracked casing by capillary action.

 

[Vince71]

I did not do the installation yet, but I bought direct burial CAT6 which I will run inside PVC conduit. I spray painted the conduit to match my vinyl siding. My previous installs used regular CAT5e and it's held up for years. But it's not exposed, it's above the soffit.

 

[freddyq]

I think I'll be going down the conduit route - protecting the cable is the main priority here. The points to the side and back of the house are hidden from public view anyway so I'm not as worried about the aesthetics of conduit. The one at the front I will need to blend in as best I can but I will wait for the cameras to come so I can connect and test the ideal location depending on what the camera can capture at different locations. It may be that I don't have to travel the cable at all, or very far from where it is coming out.