Can you run ethernet cable outside a house?
By Jon Grant, Manchester Home Networking. Updated .
Short answer
Yes. Cable made for outdoor use can run along the outside wall and come in exactly where you need it, with each hole sealed against the weather. In a finished house it's often the tidiest way to get a wired connection, because nothing inside gets lifted, chased or redecorated.
Why go outside at all?
Getting a cable from a router to a far room indoors means one of three things. Floorboards up, a channel cut into plaster, or cable pinned along skirting boards through every room in between. All three leave something to make good.
Outside, the wall is usually a straight run with nothing in the way. My house is a Victorian end terrace in Levenshulme. The router is in the front room and my desk is in the back bedroom, with a tiled bathroom between them. Indoors, the cable would have had to get past all of that. Outside, it was one run along the side of the house.
Will it survive the weather?
It has to be cable made for outdoors. Ordinary indoor cable perishes after a few years of sun, frost and rain.
Where it goes through the wall, the hole is sealed, the same way as for an outside tap, a burglar alarm box or a boiler flue. Sealed properly, it keeps the water out.
What does it look like?
A thin dark cable, about as thick as a phone charger lead. Run neatly, it’s hard to spot. There are photos of ours on how it works if you want to judge for yourself.
What can stop it?
- A mid terrace with no way round. We can still reach the front rooms by going up the front wall. The back of the house is out of reach without crossing next door.
- Most flats. The outside walls usually belong to the building, not to you, and the route to your flat rarely works.
- Renting or leasehold. You need permission to drill an outside wall. Landlords often say yes, because nothing inside gets damaged.
- A listed building. Check with the council first.
Distance isn’t a problem. An ethernet cable can run about 100 metres, and a route round a house never comes close.
Could I do it myself?
If you’re happy up a ladder, drilling through an outside wall and wiring the sockets, yes. The things that go wrong are indoor cable used outside, a hole that lets water in, and a connection that never quite works at full speed. Most people would rather someone else stood on the ladder.
What does it cost?
We charge from £450 for one room, with the survey, cable, socket and testing included. What moves the price is mostly how many rooms and how far the cable has to go.
Want to know if it works at your house?
The survey is free and takes about half an hour. You get a fixed price in writing, or an honest no.