Can full-fibre be installed in a converted loft space?

[#1]

Moderators Note

This topic has been moved from Full Fibre to Everything Else. 

[#2]

@sghughes42 

Where did the ONT end up in the end?

There is nothing to stop you running an external cable from the ONT up to the loft - you can drill from the outside though you need to ensure you get your measurements right,

Brian

[#3]

My AltNet were very accommodating when installing my Fibre.

I have an office in the loft and that is where the 'network heart' is. The external connection is also in here as well.

See attached photo of set up, messy, but it works. I also have a backhaul cable going to the garden office with a router as an access point. The black cable on the left of the black external box is the incoming fibre, white one to the ONT. Power to these and other equipment is via a APC UPS.

I did predrill a hole in the gable end for the cable to enter as via pole, also use it for the backhaul to the garden office. Cans of fizzy drink also helped on the day as it was very hot.

Helped a bit to pull the fibre in from the hole to the location of the equipment while he was on the ladder outside.

[#4]

My AltNet were very accommodating when installing my Fibre.

One of my colleagues has just had Youfibre installed and the engineer was very accomodating.

I get the impression that the altnet contractors are paid more/given more time for each install than the Openreach contractors.

So thge OR ones are just keen to get the install done in the quickest way possible...

[#5]

Unfortunately I don't have a drill that can go through a brick outer wall or I would have put a hole there for them / could route the cable to the loft that way myself. Only option would be to get someone to chase up the wall, hopefully missing the water pipe that's embedded in that wall and run a cable up that way, but I hate to think what the cost and disruption of having to redecorate would be.

The ONT ended up in what was the old kitchen which became my wife's study when we had an extension built. We've had to run an extension to power it and whether we go PoE or get sockets installed it's going to be costly to implement a permanent solution.

I had done other prep work, including clearing the area, removing as much boarding as possible and putting a cord in for them to pull the cable through conduit to where I wanted the ONT. I'd also prepared a way up through the eaves as a fall-back, but that got dismissed straight away without him even looking.

To be honest, I got the impression from his body language that an install in the loft wasn't going to happen no matter what.

He initially wanted to install in the bedroom (the room under where the wire from the pole is attached) but I wasn't keen on having a WiFi router next to my head when I slept, plus it would be in the corner of the house opposite where most usage takes place, so likely a relatively poor signal. The various comments are right - he wanted as quick a job as possible regardless of the inconvenience it would cause us.

One other thing I've noticed - he's fitted a box on the outside as well, but has fitted it in just about the worst place possible. It's on the narrowest part of the path, just at the height it'll get taken off when I go past with a wheelbarrow. Does anyone know what this is and what will happen when it (inevitably) gets knocked off?

Also, should he have removed the old external wiring, or is it acceptable that he's just cut it at the top and left the rest? Would I be allowed to remove this, as it's Openreach wiring and not my own?

He's also trampled several plants in the garden and where the cable comes in to the house is just left as an unsealed hole venting straight in to the cavity which doesn't seem great practice either. Does bear the marks of a rushed job to get it done and over with.

[#6]

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@RobPN wrote:

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I disagree.

There have been instances reported on the forum of FTTP being installed in lofts.

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Apologies, maybe my sarcasm at the attitude of the MJ Quinn engineer wasn't apparent! I'd done everything inside and was more than prepared to help pull the cable through, unfortunately I don't have a drill powerful enough to go through brick, so was dependent on them for that part of the install.

Daft thing is it would almost certainly have been easier and quicker for him as it was a much shorter run from where the cable attaches to the house. 

The reasoning I got for why it couldn't be done was that it was 'company policy' to not drill from outside. I'm not sure if that is the case - they have to drill holes outside the secure the ladder - but it seems more like a fob-off because he was fixated on doing the install elsewhere.

[#7]

The reasoning I got for why it couldn't be done was that it was 'company policy' to not drill from outside.

The problem with drilling from outside is that it may make significant cosmetic internal damage to plaster as the drill breaks through, which the engineer isnt able to repair. Drilling from inside MAY do some small damage to brickwork but that is largely covered by the CSP (grey box) and in any case they carry ready mixed mortar to repair any damage.

they have to drill holes outside the secure the ladder

they arent through holes and are repaired with mortar as above

[#8]

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@MisterW wrote:

The reasoning I got for why it couldn't be done was that it was 'company policy' to not drill from outside.

The problem with drilling from outside is that it may make significant cosmetic internal damage to plaster as the drill breaks through, which the engineer isnt able to repair.

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I understand that part, however this was a bare brick wall hidden behind insulation sheets and boarding, so any damage would be invisible.

Even had this not been the case, the cosmetic damage necessary to route cables for power and network to where the ONT has been placed will be far more than any possible damage from a drill.

[#9]

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@sghughes42 wrote:

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... unfortunately I don't have a drill powerful enough to go through brick, ...

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@sghughes42 

Couldn't you simply have begged, borrowed or stolen hired one?

[#10]

@sghughes42 

Apart from the CSP (outtside box) issues it wouldn't be expensive to get someone in to run a cable from the current ONT location up to the loft externaly. Ask around - TV aerial installers, electricians or even local comouter network companies.

The cable would run from the ONT to the loft where you could site the Router.

Brian

[#11]

There's also the ONT relocation kits https://shop.premitel.uk/product/fibre-termination-point-relocation-kit/?srsltid=AfmBOoqJ7BXBB4lz3xp... .

That would enable the ONT to be positioned more conveniently and where there's power.

[#12]

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@RobPN wrote:

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@sghughes42 wrote:

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... unfortunately I don't have a drill powerful enough to go through brick, ...

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@sghughes42 

Couldn't you simply have begged, borrowed or stolen hired one?

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Probably, but that needed me to assume what seemed a reasonable request where to drill the wall would be refused.

[#13]

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@bmc wrote:

Apart from the CSP (outtside box) issues it wouldn't be expensive to get someone in to run a cable from the current ONT location up to the loft externaly. Ask around - TV aerial installers, electricians or even local comouter network companies.

The cable would run from the ONT to the loft where you could site the Router.

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What sort of cost are you thinking? I've run it past the electrician who wired our loft and while he can't give an exact figure until he sees the job, he says it will be in to three figures. And that doesn't include making good the chase up the wall.

Fundamentally, if I'd known this would be involved I'd not have signed up, but once the engineer was here we didn't have the option to refuse.

[#14]

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@MisterW wrote:

There's also the ONT relocation kits https://shop.premitel.uk/product/fibre-termination-point-relocation-kit/?srsltid=AfmBOoqJ7BXBB4lz3xp... .

That would enable the ONT to be positioned more conveniently and where there's power.

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Am I right in thinking this would only allow me to reposition it within the same room? Or could I (carefully!) pull the cable back through the wall, get a hole drilled in to the loft and install it there myself?

If it's only within the same room then it might as well stay where it is as power isn't the only issue we have.

[#15]

Its an INTERNAL relocation kit. The 1st junction box plugs in where the ONT currently is. You can then run the supplied internal fibre whereever you like internally.