Reddit reviews Greenlee 430-500 Tool, 500', Green

Let's look at some numbers then.

You need a cable tester, that's $370 for this, the bare minimum tester you can use.. The right tester is like $7k to buy, probably around $500 to rent for a week, so we're cutting corners.

Then, you need a spool of plenum cat6a. It makes no sense to use cat6, because you can't do 10g over it for any real distance. That's $275, again, the bare minimum you can buy.

Then, you need a tool set. $60, they're cheap, but you'll only use them once. I don't buy cheap tools, your company is less discerning.

Lets spec for 10 wall plates. 13.95 for keystones, $12 for wall plates, 10 mud rings for $85 because you need retrofits for existing construction for a section total of 110.95

Then you need a patch panel to punch all the cables down. That's 47.81 for the bare minimum. Make sure you punch it right the first time, because you'll get maybe 3 punches out of a port before you have to toss it.

You'll also need this $32 fish tape, and this pull string for 14.73

To hang the cable, you'll need these plus some zip ties and some screws to attach everything. Also, you'll need a couple rolls of plenum velcro to wrap cables and get everything tidy-ish. Let's be conservative here and call that $50 all told.

That's 950.49 before you've even paid taxes or shipping, but whatever, we've left off the biggest cost here.

Your Time

Now, let's assume you make 20 bucks an hour (it's probably more). You probably cost the company 30 bucks an hour with everything else they pay for to have you employed (again, it's probably more). You'll spend 15 hours to complete this project provided you work fast and don't make mistakes. That's two full workdays in fairy tale land where you're already good at this. So let's call it 20 hours of learning how to cable and making mistakes and actual cabling, plus say 2 hours to clean up the mess you'll make (there will be mess).

All told, it'll cost the company 1610.49 for this install.

100 bucks more than you were quoted to have a guy with zero experience to install a network that will be critical to business operations for years. Sounds like a deal!

At that distance they will likely be using their own rope/mule tape and only need a simple string to pull the rope in. Something like this or what I normally use as it's always on the truck anyway this.

Yes, when running in the ceiling (assuming normal drywall on joist ceiling), it will be monumentally easier to run cable in the ceiling on the short axis of the building (ie, in the joist bays). Anything that traverses the longer side will likely be easier in the basement or crawlspace. If you need to do runs perpendicular to the joists, then you will need to drill through the joists (IF you do this, PLEASE research and know what you are doing! Cutting in the wrong place or too big of a hole could cause serious structural issues! (Diagram of some restrictions, yours may differ)and conduit may be a good idea, but its certainly not required. Buy some poly line, and just run it with the wires. If, in the future, you need to pull more wires, you can tape some on the end and pull them through

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No need to avoid electrical wires, just dont run them in parallel for very far. In general, they should cross at a right angle, but if you dont follow this exactly, its usually not the end of the world

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Also, use Fireblock! Any opening that traverses floors should be fire foamed and sealed. The last thing you want to do is introduce life safety issues should you have a fire.

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Lastly, you forgot drywall tools (hawk/trowel, knives, texture in a can and mud). I ran a lot of ethernet through my new house when I first moved in. I cut a lot of holes and got really good at patching them seamlessly. Because no matter what you think now, if you want to do it right, you might need to open some walls.

I posted this in another thread asking similar things.

When you pull wire at a min you should pull two wires. Ideally you will pull 4-6 wires. You don't have to terminate all of them, you can leave service loop behind the wall or wherever. If I were to wire my house I would pull 4 Cat6a and 2 RG6 (coax) to every room (maybe two runs to each room). You can use one of the Cat6A for phone. The 2 coax allows for dish tv too.
I don't have my house wired because I use wireless network (Ubiquiti AP Pro) , wireless phone, and don't watch cable tv :)

http://www.ecmweb.com/content/basics-pulling-wire

https://www.homedepot.com/b/Electrical-Electrical-Tools-Wire-Conduit-Tools-Fish-Tape-Poles/N-5yc1vZbm7s

https://www.harborfreight.com/wire-running.html

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-6-500-ft-Pulling-Line-56110/100660172

https://www.lowes.com/pl/Fish-tape-poles-Electrical-testers-tools-Electrical/4294722452

https://www.amazon.com/Greenlee-430-500-Tracer-Green-500-Foot/dp/B001UKL6BG/ref=pd_sim_60_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=KEVC38PW0T32VYWZDKP2

Edit: FYI I used to install IPTV for an ISP so I ran wire in all kinds of houses. Its not as hard as you may think once you start doing it.

Greenlee 430-500 Poly Fish Line, Tracer Green, 500-Foot https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001UKL6BG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_3ZP1AbM5A9E15

Greenlee 430 Poly Fish Line Tracer Green, 6500-Foot https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001M0NTIC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_C0P1AbBNX9FH9