What happens if you have external wall insulation and want to go on fibre....?

[iniltous]

You state you will have to upgrade sometime, that’s true , but not for many years , your  hybrid copper fibre connection ( fibre to the cabinet ) will be maintained, so if the wall insulation can’t be disturbed then don’t voluntarily upgrade to FTTP ( no compulsion to do so ) …

if at some point you have to take FTTP , and it’s your decision that your insulation cannot be interfered with Openreach will bid you farewell as it would be your choice , what won’t happen is the overhead feed changed to an underground one because you and the insulation provider says so ….perhaps an Alt Net may turn up , and ignore the option to use the existing pole ( or even provide their own poles ) and excavate underground to your property, of course they may  need to attach a block to the wall covered with insulation , possibly also breaking and ‘warranty’ the insulation company offered .

As stated , there are fixings , it possible the cable could be attached to guttering down pipe, but if that’s unacceptable you effectively exclude yourself from OR FTTP network.

[Pete65]

Hi iniltous
That's interesting regarding guttering / downpipe.
Are you saying that Openreach will use a downpipe and /or guttering?
We use gutter hooks already for some outside fairy lights.
If Openreach will use gutter hooks, then that opens possibilities for me as I could get a cable run to the part of the house that doesn't have external insulation using gutter. 

[iniltous]

@36ULW  as an ex Openreach engineer in this field had already stated that cable ties fixing the cable to a down pipe is an acceptable way to fix a cable , that may get a new optical cable from 1st floor height to ground floor level but at some point an ingress hole would be required, to get the cable inside, ( they won’t put a hole through a window or door frame as was done many years ago )  , so unless a section of insulation is missing then wouldn’t the problem still exist , no holes to be made in the externally through the insulation.

[Pete65]

"..so unless a section of insulation is missing then wouldn’t the problem still exist.."

My bungalow is a mixed build.
The front part where the fibre would attach is "single skin" and therefore we had the external insulation.
The back part was extended about 25 years ago and is more traditional being double skin and in wall insulation. 
If I can get the fibre to the rear via gutterhooks then no issues as puncturing the external insulation won't be necessary.
But it sounds like only a downpipe is an option 😞 

[WSH]

@iniltous   Just out of curiosity, why do they regard going through a doorframe as unacceptable?  I'd be interested to know for my own future reference, is there actually a problem with it or is it just aesthetics?

[chrisjp]

"they won’t put a hole through a window or door frame as was done many years ago"

Do you know why Openreach won't put a hole through a window frame, even if it's wood? My current copper cable enters my house this way and I'd assumed that, when I was (eventually) offered FTTP, the optical cable could enter this way also.
I also have TV and satellite aerial cables entering my house this way and these cables are at least as big as the optical cable. The outer leaf of my house is extremely hard brick and is very difficult to drill holes into, so using the wooden window frame would save the Openreach operative a whole lot of trouble.
If you drill the hole yourself will Openreach use it?

[iniltous]

I would imagine the policy of not putting holes through window and door frames is because it creates problems should the windows or doors be replaced at some point in the future , plus potentially OR would be liable should ( for example ) a wooden window frame need replacing due to ‘rot’ and the householder insists that was because a hole was made in it and not adequately sealed against water ingress , but that’s my assumption, I’ve no direct knowledge on this , as far as what if the customer provided the hole themselves,  the problem I would think is after a few years or change of ownership it would be assumed that it was OR that made the hole if it has an OR cable in it .

If upgrading to FTTP and the copper cable enters in a fashion that isn’t allowed today , would the tech look to re-use the same hole after removing the copper cable rather than making a new one ?  , I  guess it’s dependent on that individual technician on the day .

[WSH]

Thanks for that.  I was more interested in routing my own network cables through internal doorframes.  Easier and no chance of hitting a pipe/cable.  I was just curious if you knew of a specific problem with rules & regs if going through a doorframe.

[36ULW]

When I was a CST we could put cables through wooden door, window frames.

Obviously you had to use to appropriate wooden drill bit, unfortunately the one Openreach provided us was absolute dog siht. It would blunt after 2 uses and took forever to drill with. You had to keep stopping and letting it cool down to stop the frame from getting to hot.

It was a complete no no though for UPV Door and Window Frames.

Of course rules may have changed in the past couple of years.

[grahamm1]

When I had fibre installed the Openreach guy said he would not drill a hole in a door or window frame. However, if I drilled the hole or there was one already there and I instructed him to use an existing hole, then that was ok. So I drilled the holes while he had a cuppa.

He did warn me of the possibility of damaging the cable if I wanted to change the door and window frames, but I told him I was willing to take the risk.

I drilled the holes in the brickwork, too, as I didn’t want the bricks blown and have a method of drilling right through house walls without blowing brickwork.

I doubt all Openreach engineers are so accommodating.