Drilling through UPVC window frame.

Lee.k.hayes

Hi all, I am currently trying to get cat6 Ethernet in the upstairs office of my house and am struggling. 

There are no cavity walls to run it through, so my primary option is to run it outside, up the wall and back in. 

My main problem is the house is about 250 years old and has 1meter thick stone walls, so drill through that is not really an option. 

There is no visible wooden frame around the windows either with which to drill though. My only remains option is to go through the bottom corner of the rear window frame which is UPVC. 

Obviously I’m now nervous this May break the window or render it a “blown unit”. 

Has anyone done this before? Can anyone offer advice or reassurance?

Thanks in advance. 

chrisw

I've done it ok. It should be clear where the edge of the glass is, it sits in a rebate and is held in place by beading. As long as you're below the rebate, then you won't catch the glass.

kipsterno1

Would it be possible to run the cable all the way up to the eaves, throught the loft and then trunked in from the ceiling down?

CliveOfIndia

Lee.k.hayes said:

There are no cavity walls to run it through, so my primary option is to run it outside, up the wall and back in.

Would it be possible to take it up the outside wall, into the loft (there's often gaps around the eaves etc.) then down through the ceiling into the office?  It's a bit more faff, but it might be easier/neater overall?

Grenage

Any chance you could use homeplug adapters?  I don't know what sort of bandwidth you require, but they work pretty well for me.

moneysaver1978

Is your wifi signal poor? What router do you have?

Section62

Lee.k.hayes said:

There is no visible wooden frame around the windows either with which to drill though. My only remains option is to go through the bottom corner of the rear window frame which is UPVC. 

I'd avoid drilling through a uPVC window frame if at all possible.  And never drill right in the corner - the way the frames are made involves welding them at the corners - if you drill through the weld you risk significant weakening of the frame.

1m long SDS drill bits are available if that were an option?  Otherwise I'd explore whether it was possible to drill through the wall just below the outside sill.  Whether that will work depends on your circumstances... perhaps if you can post some pictures inside and out?

twopenny

The safest and easiest would be the safest and eadiest.
Presumably not forever you will need to be there.
Coming down through the loft would be my prefered option if it must be upstairs. If the ceiling is fragile then drilling 5 -6 small holes gently and cutting out would do the trick, then cutting the hole.

alleycat`

As was previously suggested I'd opt for a powerline Ethernet adapter kit or, if the internal construction allowed for it, a wifi mesh network setup.

Cat6E cable isn't, typically UV stabilized and the hole you'd have to make is significant (unless you're crimping the cable ends on yourself after?)

rob7475

If running the cable outside, I'd recommend external STP rather than UTP. UTP has no sheilding and is not suited for external runs. External grade cable will also have a different sheath that will stand up to being outside.

I'd avoid drilling through frames if at all possible. My house has solid internal walls and I use several Eero devices to create a mesh that is solid and reliable. You can hang switches off the back of Eero's if needed to give you a wired connection. I have multiple eero's cabled back to a switch with some of them connecing wirelessly to each other and everything works great.

I did the same as you many years ago and ran a cable externally to get the network upstairs but there's rarely a need to do that anymore.