Installing Full Fibre in a Timber Frame House

[notstoopid]

Hi there,

I'm considering buying a timber frame house. It has timber frame walls and a brick exterior.

In my current house the engineers had to drill a hole through the wall to install full fibre broadband. But I've read this isn't good to do on a timber frame house as it can pierce the damp-proof and vapour control membranes and cause issues to the structural walls.

Are there other alternatives for installing the cable?

I don't seem to see any of the other houses in the development with cables going through their walls, I'm not sure if this means they just don't have full fibre installed or if it's been installed another way.

I work from home and need fast internet, but I'm very concerned about compromising the integrity of the walls.

Does anyone have thoughts/experience on this?

Thank you.

[ptrduffy]

How does the existing phone line get into the house?

The Openreach engineer (or subcontractor) who comes to install the fibre needs to put a box on the outside of the house (the CSP), and connect this to a box on the inside of the house (the ONT).  They will want to use a simple (ie quick) route to run the connecting cable as they have a limited amount of time to do the job.  Normally this is a hole straight through the wall between the two, as you say.

However, if there are alternatives (e.g. up the outside of the house, into the eaves and down through a wall void; or through a sub-floor/underground conduit) then you may be able to get them to use that different route.  You will be more likely to succeed in this if you are able to do some preparatory work - e.g. if you install some conduit with a draw string to make it wasy for the installer to get the fibre from CSP to ONT.

There are some limitations to be aware of.  Fibre cannot make 90 degree bends, so a route that uses more gentle turns is preferred.  And the shorter the distance the better, as the installer will only have fibre in pre-cut lengths to work with (if it's under 10m you will be fine).

Ultimately, it's up to the installer on the day to decide what route to use - but if you're not happy you can cancel the install.

[naylor2006]

I wonder in these sorts of scenarios where you can see no cables entering properties for a structural reason that there isnt some sort of ducting or conduit installed already. Its not uncommon in new developments for things like fibre hookups to be installed when the house is built, sometimes by Openreach and sometimes by an altnet. My new build back in 2014 already had the fibre installed, little yellow cable located in the understairs cupboard. It was an altnet called See the Light and they laid fibre for the entire development, when it came to ordering someone came out and just installed a modem and router.

If it is not already there then @iniltous will most likely know the appropriate method to retrofit.

[iniltous]

With new builds, the developer , if they have advised OR in advance, and want OR to supply services ( not all developers do ) then any unusual requirements are incorporated into the way OR plan to deliver the service, most ‘site’ work is undertaken by the developer anyway , so with a ‘normal’ brick construction the developer brings the OR duct up against an external wall ( on the outside  ) ,   and also provides the access hole through the wall , in fact they also run the internal optical cable from the ONT location to the exterior wall and thread this cable through the hole they make , so it’s visible on the external wall .

If the developer doesn’t want this , but wants to bring the Openreach duct ‘inside’ the property ( so no visible evidence on the external wall ) this can be done ( makes little difference to OR ) the only practical difference for Openreach is the need to supply a ‘gas seal’ if the duct entry is inside the property , whereas an external duct doesn’t need a gas seal as any ‘gasses’ , that may be present in the external duct network can’t enter the house with an external duct , with an internal duct although gasses entering the home is a theoretical risk a duct seal is provided.

You need to speak to the developer, they may not have used Openreach in which case it’s irrelevant as BT would not be available, if they have ( for example ) requested internal duct , either for some practical reason ( integrity of the wall structure  ) or simple aesthetics, then nothing will be visible on the external wall .

If the developer isn’t using Openreach you would need to ask what ‘broadband’ provision they have made .

[notstoopid]

So I didn't mention that the house isn't a new build - it was built in 2007. I've asked the seller if they have any information about how the phone line is connected or if there's a fibre cable installed internally ( I would assume not at that age but not sure how early they were installing fibre like that). The trouble is the seller was only renting the house out and the estate agent has told me he may not know anything about the internet. I am hoping this is just estate agent being difficult.

[imjolly]

Is there an existing openreach phone line in the home and if so how does it enter the property?

[36ULW]

It’s possible the Developer/Builder put in some kind of Utility Access Cupboard or something but I wouldn’t hold your breath as something like the Replacement/Upgrade of Utilities is always an afterthought.

[iniltous]

If OR were involved with the developer as the house was built  ( assuming this is part of a development of similar houses ) then in 2007 apart from it probably being copper rather than fibre the relationship between OR and the developer is pretty much the same today  ,   it will be underground delivered service ( unless a very small development or a single house build , poles are not normally used ) .

TBH , I think you are overthinking this , if FTTP is now available , the existing method of service will be used , if the duct comes up on the outside of the building then there is already a ‘hole’ that the copper cable goes through ( to get from outside to inside ) , the fibre cable will ( if requested ) use this same  access hole  ( possibly by removing the copper cable  ) , in fact that’s the easiest thing for the installer, it’s if you didn’t want the ONT in the same location as the copper pair master socket that a different access hole would be required.

The installation method used on your previous property is no guide , the date of construction of that property was probably much earlier that 2007 , housing built in the 1960’s through to the early 1990 service was underground but not ducted , hence the need for a ‘new’ access hole , as the existing armoured copper cable was not visible as it entered the property, housing in the 1950’s and earlier was generally telegraph  poles .