Advise on cabling large networks ie:depatment stores

[audiopimp]

Hi, I'd like some advice or comments on people who have cabling experience with large networks and pulling cables on a 40' ceiling. Fiber optics and cat5e installations.
Advice on fishing cables with conduits and installing conduits; 40' celings through ciderblocks, between floors ect.
Thanks anything is appreciated

regards

 

[curlycord]

I would use CAT_ FT6 in any application for starters and not FT4.
Conduit is a choice in some applications and if it is not where you are then use 3/4 inch going down any walls to the jack. Use 2 inch feed conduit from the IT/Data room to meet up with a bunh of smaller 3/4 pipes with a 1'x1' Electrical box as the junction.
Seal any holes around cables from floor to floor.
Fish tapes (200') for conduits are about $100 CAN and are easy to use.

For fibre cable I would put a 2 inch cable from Underground Equipment room to the destination.
Hope this gives you an idea. ~Will Nortel soon be NoTel??~

 

[ddobb]

In a typical retail environment you are going to be dealing with an exposed red iron ceiling that has been painted white. As far as running cables is concerned you can either go all the way to the top and pull through the corrugated roof. (If it is corrugated in the direction or your run) You could run it along the lowest part of the red iron where there is an L-channel. Or you could use a form of support such as a j-hook with a beam clamp. You do not need to have conduit ran everywhere for you low voltage. However, certain counties have different rules. When the time comes to bring the cables to there appropriate destinations have the electrician install outlet boxes and have the conduit stubbed up or out for you.

 

[curlycord]

CAT_FT6 means CAT5, CAT5e or CAT6... you fill in the blank, FT6 means the cable is plenuem therefore fire rated as FT4 is not fire rated.
Most offices btw in department stores have low cielings (drop ceiling) where most of the data cables will be.
The question is about advice on running conduit and not loose cables in grooves or rings (both look terrible in an open enviroment.
Most department stores insist on conduits plus cablers like to see conduits in place as this makes for a professional job and not some half baked loose cable runs, thats to cheap for an open department store but ok for a wharehouse with paint...

~Will Nortel soon be NoTel??~

 

[daronwilson]

Interesting indeed. Perhaps what is confusing us is curlycords location. In the US we are used to a rating like CMP for plenum cable. You suggest using FT6 anyway, but frankly that is a waste of money if the plenum rating is not required for the installation.

It must just be a difference, but most of the hundreds of department stores we deal with have a high ceiling, and many times the drop ceiling is 30 feet up with an open space above that for ducting and wiring. If the wiring is above that drop ceiling, there is no real advantage to conduit. It is much more expensive than properly supported cable runs or cable tray and makes moves/adds/changes more costly. If the ceiling is exposed, then certaily conduit would look cleaner. Your conduit from the telecom room to the jbox should be sized according to how many runs you are placing in it. It is pretty routine here to have a minimum of one 4" conduit from the telecom room to the floor area.

Installing a conduit system for the first time in a large department store is certainly not a beginner job. Hopefully this guy has a trained crew available to do this installation so it is ready to be cabled when done.

Good Luck It is only my opinion, based on my experience and education...I am always willing to learn, educate me!
Daron J. Wilson, RCDD
daron.wilson@lhmorris.com

 

[rpearson]

Well.....Is this a open ceiling or a drop ceiling as Daron mentioned?Ive installed cabling in a chain of food stores at which cables were installed through the basement using proper cabling support such as J-hooks.From the ER (or patch panel)a stub was put in through the floor to the basement.The cables were pulled to the help desk for some networking equip.Maybe you have the option to install the cabling from the basement ,up to the location.Is this an option for you?Check for existing or unused conduit runs that may benefit you.I found that each store was a different monster.Later.

 

[curlycord]

cable pullers do it with yellow 77 :-D ~Will Nortel soon be NoTel??~

 

[rpearson]

Righhhhht....

 

[daronwilson]

Yellow 77 is not the lubricant of choice here. If you ever have to go back, you'll find that stuff dried and hard in the conduit, not what you need when you want to add more. We use the blue aquagel, much more fun to play with, and it doens't seem to dry solid like the old yellow stuff did.

Good Luck It is only my opinion, based on my experience and education...I am always willing to learn, educate me!
Daron J. Wilson, RCDD
daron.wilson@lhmorris.com

 

[shipwright]

All job sites are different it might be worth taking an experianced cabler onsite to consult on the best way to install your network.

 

[curlycord]

LOL@Daron Sorry bud but that was an old saying from 17-20 yrs ago and we didn't mean for using it with cables either LMAO! ~Will Nortel soon be NoTel??~

 

[daronwilson]

Curlycord, check out the aquagel then, I'm sure you would find it a superior product for whatever you intend to lube with it.

It is only my opinion, based on my experience and education...I am always willing to learn, educate me!
Daron J. Wilson, RCDD
daron.wilson@lhmorris.com

 

[curlycord]

I did my friend! in my last days of pulling cable and thought it was a great product but never got to try it in the cold of winter as that was when I realy hated 77 because it would freeze and seperate.

Cheers! ~Will Nortel soon be NoTel??~

 

[audiopimp]

Hi guys thanks for al the insight! Project was a huge success! all ius runnin smooth on 40 POS's, 2 controllers, fiber ect...
BTW the conduit was for the redundant fiber backbone not for the Cat5e. We pretty much used Jhooks for those.

Once again Cheers!