Surface Raceway?

[greg_mitch]

I want to route a few Ethernet cables from a basement utility room, up through the garage (shared wall) and into my attic. Due to the offset, and wall insulation, I don't think I will have the capability (or maybe patience) to fish it all in the wall and was considering surface raceway for the cabling just as it pops out the wall, over to the corner, and then up to the attic.

Is anyone using something similar to this? Any issues I am overlooking? Would give me fairly easy access to route and conceal future cables if I add more cameras.

 

[Nolesfan]

You can use this cable moulding to hide/access your cables.

Cable Raceway Molding - Fiber Savvy

 

[SLC]

You could always use cheap PVC pipe and paint it the same color as the wall. Easy to cut, mount, and can be found at your nearest big box home improvement store. Would also make it very easy to run future cables if you run some mason string with your initial cables. Just make sure you buy PVC pipe with a wide enough inside diameter to fit all the cables you intend on running.

 

[mat200]

I want to route a few Ethernet cables from a basement utility room, up through the garage (shared wall) and into my attic. Due to the offset, and wall insulation, I don't think I will have the capability (or maybe patience) to fish it all in the wall and was considering surface raceway for the cabling just as it pops out the wall, over to the corner, and then up to the attic.

Is anyone using something similar to this? Any issues I am overlooking? Would give me fairly easy access to route and conceal future cables if I add more cameras.

Hi Greg,

I like the PVC option if on a budget. I used grey PVC 3/4"+ in my attic runs - worked well and very affordable. ( iirc $2.75 for a 10' 3/4" section )

The cable raceways that Nolesfan points out are nice, and if you need a nicer look as well as easier access that would be the way to go for a little more $.

 

[TonyR]

I want to route a few Ethernet cables from a basement utility room, up through the garage (shared wall) and into my attic. Due to the offset, and wall insulation, I don't think I will have the capability (or maybe patience) to fish it all in the wall and was considering surface raceway for the cabling just as it pops out the wall, over to the corner, and then up to the attic.

Is anyone using something similar to this? Any issues I am overlooking? Would give me fairly easy access to route and conceal future cables if I add more cameras.

@greg_mitch, this would be especially important in your 'shared' wall to prevent a fire in YOUR area getting assistance to travel to another area, increasing your liability: please insure that the insulation and outer jackets of all your cables are rated for use in a riser with regard to fire resistance, low smoke, etc. It could be the difference maker in whether or not your home and loved ones survive what could have been minor fire damage. The link at the end below contains an excellent video of several different rated and one unrated cable responding to an applied flame. Pay special heed to the last video of the 'unrated' PVC cable and imagine a bundle of those types burning! Looks to me like the 'CMR' rated (riser, second video) would be an excellent choice or the pricier, low-smoke 'CMP' rated (plenum, first video). Also, be wary of counterfeit, offshore suppliers with false NFPA, NEC and/or UL approvals (as if you did not have enough things to consider!). Good luck with your project, I hope it all comes together well and works out even better.
Video ==>> here <<==.

 

[greg_mitch]

@greg_mitch, this would be especially important in your 'shared' wall to prevent a fire in YOUR area getting assistance to travel to another area, increasing your liability: please insure that the insulation and outer jackets of all your cables are rated for use in a riser with regard to fire resistance, low smoke, etc. It could be the difference maker in whether or not your home and loved ones survive what could have been minor fire damage. The link at the end below contains an excellent video of several different rated and one unrated cable responding to an applied flame. Pay special heed to the last video of the 'unrated' PVC cable and imagine a bundle of those types burning! Looks to me like the 'CMR' rated (riser, second video) would be an excellent choice or the pricier, low-smoke 'CMP' rated (plenum, first video). Also, be wary of counterfeit, offshore suppliers with false NFPA, NEC and/or UL approvals (as if you did not have enough things to consider!). Good luck with your project, I hope it all comes together well and works out even better.
Video ==>> here <<==.

I should clarify, I meant that the garage shares the same wall as my basement utility room. This is a single detached home. I do still need to be concerned about fire/smoke spreading from basement to the upstairs though. Thanks for the comments. The cable I purchased is CMR from Monoprice.
1000FT Cat6 Bulk Bare Copper Ethernet Network Cable UTP, Solid, Riser Rated (CMR), 500MHz, 23AWG, White (alternative is PID # 12787) - Monoprice.com

 

[greg_mitch]

You could always use cheap PVC pipe and paint it the same color as the wall. Easy to cut, mount, and can be found at your nearest big box home improvement store. Would also make it very easy to run future cables if you run some mason string with your initial cables. Just make sure you buy PVC pipe with a wide enough inside diameter to fit all the cables you intend on running.

Hi Greg,

I like the PVC option if on a budget. I used grey PVC 3/4"+ in my attic runs - worked well and very affordable. ( iirc $2.75 for a 10' 3/4" section )

The cable raceways that Nolesfan points out are nice, and if you need a nicer look as well as easier access that would be the way to go for a little more $.

Good idea on the PVC. Perhaps I put a large junction box at the wall where I come from basement utility room out into garage and then a straight PVC conduit up from there to the attic. I can pull sufficient length from the basement through J-box and then pull that length of cable up the conduit into the attic. I like the idea of painting it. I am thinking I need to pull about 8-10 cables from the basement up to the attic. Might go with 2" so I can easily pull more in the future. Thoughts?

 

[mat200]

Good idea on the PVC. Perhaps I put a large junction box at the wall where I come from basement utility room out into garage and then a straight PVC conduit up from there to the attic. I can pull sufficient length from the basement through J-box and then pull that length of cable up the conduit into the attic. I like the idea of painting it. I am thinking I need to pull about 8-10 cables from the basement up to the attic. Might go with 2" so I can easily pull more in the future. Thoughts?

Sounds good, I went with 2 smaller diameter pipes to reduce the width in a section. ( iirc 2x 1.25-1.5" )

 

[SLC]

Sounds good and also like mat200's idea of using 2 smaller pipes but that all depends on your setup and space.