CSP & ONT Installation.

[caravanj]

Our present FTTC installation is that the copper cable reaches the house via ducting from the underground OR junction box.

The cable from our external  OR junction box to the master socket under the stairs was installed at the new build 1st fix stage & I very much doubt that it was run though any internal ducting, plus it's mounted over the Ethernet patch plate so lots of cables & in what would be quite cramped working conditions.

Therefore this has reinforced my decision to have the ONT on the internal wall where the CSP box will be mounted & I assume the external fibre cable from the street box will be routed up the existing capping into the box & the internal fibre will be routed from the box back down the capping & into the house as the hole can be drilled under where the capping will be.

Is this a reasonable assumption on my part?

Assuming it is correct the position of the CSP box will make it necessary to drill the hole at an angle to ensure it reaches through the wall into the room & not going into a wall cavity, plus missing mains cables that are in the vicinity, I'm proposing to drill it myself if indeed my cable route assumptions are workable.

[36ULW]

I don’t see how you can avoid drilling into the wall cavity when drilling right through from the inside/out.

Openreach Engineers, and I assume their Contractors use Electrical Mains and Pipe Detectors and are instructed not to drill out in a location where services are highlighted by the tester.

If you want to drill your own hole though knock yourself out, needs to be at least 10mm as that’s the size of the tube for the Lead In Tube.

[caravanj]

@36ULW 

Thanks for your reply.

Lol, 😁.

I should have explained the layout.

The capping from the ducting & the existing copper cable box is on a part of the wall where an internal wall abuts it at 90 degrees & it's that wall's cavity that would have to be missed.

I've measured & re-measured a dozen times & I reckon that a hole could be drilled at the far left of the capping area which would go through into the lounge - just, with enough room for the internal lead-in kit.

The external fibre cable will have to come via the ducting &, I assume, up the capping & so the CSP will replace the existing box which is why I thought the internal fibre cable could be protected by the capping as well.

I've got a 12mm * 460 mm SDS drill bit that I would use.

[36ULW]

I would strongly recommend you drilling the hole.

Will you be there when the Openreach Engineer is?

[caravanj]

@36ULW 

Yes, I'll be there when either the Openreach or Kelly engineer arrives, I'm 79 so I'm there virtually 24/7. 😀

Just to make sure of my measuring I've ordered an internal lead-in kit so that I can actually seen where the hole has to be internally as it can't be so close to the other wall that the cover won't fit as it's almost going in a corner.

[36ULW]

OK, thanks.

[caravanj]

@36ULW 

I'll post how the installation went after the 27th next week.

[caravanj]

I went ahead & drilled the hole but from the inside instead of the outside & the hole exited slap bang where I wanted it to be, under the capping a few inches below where the CSP will be.

The only niggle is that the internal 12 mm hole must have got widened a fraction as the lead-in tube lugs are not tight enough so I've wound a couple of turns of insulation tape & it's now a good firm fit.

I just hope the engineer will accept it or do the same if he has to use one of his own.

The lead-in & the ONT will be where they won't really be seen as they're tucked away in a corner & won't ever get touched.

Fingers crossed for next Friday.

[caravanj]

@36ULW 

Installation day is this Friday & as I previously posted the hole which I drilled didn't need to go at an angle, it went straight through & into the capping just below the existing junction box so the new CSP box can be mounted with one of the knockouts level with the lead-in hole which makes it fully compliant with the relevant Building Regs, part of which state that The Fibre going into the house should not be visible, as its through a hole directly behind the CPE junction box

 

[caravanj · Accepted solution]

@36ULW 

Well yesterday was installation day & it couldn't have gone any better.

The lead-in I fitted was used & the cables are both contained in the external capping so nothing clipped to the wall.

The ONT is exactly where I wanted it, low down in the corner just above the skirting board so the Ethernet cable to the understairs SH2 can go straight into the D-Line trunking.

All-in-all an extremely neat installation both external & internal.

I'd already set up the SH2 & I had the nod to snip the phone wires in the master socket & connect it to the SH2 so everything was ready by the time the splicing was done.

As soon as the cables were spliced together everything was back online & all the phones working on our existing Plusnet number within a couple of minutes.