Wireless that works everywhere
Several wired access points, positioned for the building's actual layout, give you consistent coverage in the loft room, the extension and the garden.
Derby · Structured cabling and wireless
Structured Data CablingIn Derby For Houses FullOf Connected Devices
Cat6 home runs, access points sited where they're actually needed, and a tidy central rack. It's the infrastructure that makes automation, cameras, streaming and working from home reliable, instead of a daily fight with the router.
16+ years of domestic, commercial and industrial installation experience · Free initial consultation · NAPIT Full Scope registered
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16+ years
Domestic, commercial and industrial experience
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Full Scope
NAPIT registered for all aspects of electrical work
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6-year
NAPIT-backed workmanship guarantee on qualifying installs
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£10m
Public and employers' liability cover
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Free
Initial consultation, no obligation
The service
One router stuffed in a cupboard isn't really a network
Structured cabling means running a dedicated cable from every device position back to one central point, landing it on a patch panel and switching it from there. Every television, access point, camera, panel and desk gets its own run. Any point can then be repurposed later just by moving a patch lead.
Wireless still matters. It depends on the cabling behind it though. An access point is only as good as its wired connection, and good coverage comes from placing several modest access points on wired backhaul rather than asking one powerful router to fight through three walls. A mesh system relaying wirelessly ends up halving its own throughput to do it.
This is infrastructure with a long life. The cable we install today will outlast several generations of router, camera and streaming device, so we install it to a standard well above what a current device actually needs. It also underpins automation, AV and CCTV.
Who this is for
- New builds and renovations where cabling can go in before plaster
- Homes with poor wireless coverage upstairs, in extensions or in garden rooms
- Households with several people working from home on video calls simultaneously
- Properties adding smart home control, CCTV or multiroom AV that need a real backbone
- Offices and commercial premises needing patch panels, racks and structured points
What it costs to leave it
An unreliable smart device usually gets blamed for someone else's problem
A weak network hides behind other faults. A camera that goes offline at night. A stream that buffers only in one bedroom. A smart speaker that stops responding, a video call that drops the moment someone else starts uploading. Each of these tends to get blamed on the device, when it's often a coverage or backhaul problem.
The cost builds up gradually. Time lost on failed calls. Devices replaced that were never actually faulty. A growing reluctance to add anything else to a network that already feels fragile. A dropped call during a client meeting has a real price attached to it.
Retrofitting later is the expensive route. Once the floors are down and the ceilings are skimmed, a cable run to a first-floor access point turns into a chase, a lifted board and redecoration afterwards. During first fix, that same run is a few minutes' work and a length of cable. We specify data cabling alongside the electrical design for that reason, not after it.
Mistakes we get called out to fix
- Relying on a single ISP router in a meter cupboard to cover a three-storey house
- Mesh nodes relaying wirelessly instead of being fed by wired backhaul
- Powerline adapters used as a permanent solution on noisy or split-phase circuits
- One data point per room where the TV, the desk and the access point all need one
- Data and mains cables run together with no separation, introducing interference
- No patch panel, no labelling, no records, so every future change is guesswork
How the job runs
A fixed sequence, so nothing
gets decided on the fly
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01
Free consultation
We map out where devices live now and where they'll live later, check where the incoming line lands, and pin down the coverage gaps you're currently working around.
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02
Design
We agree a point schedule per room, access point positions, where the rack or cabinet goes, switch and PoE sizing, and cable routes against the electrical first fix plan.
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03
First fix cabling
Cat6 or Cat6a home runs go in to every point with the correct bend radii and separation from mains cabling, plus external or armoured links out to outbuildings.
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04
Terminate and test
The patch panel and outlets get terminated, every link is tested and recorded, switches and access points are configured, and the rack is dressed and labelled.
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05
Hand over and support
We hand over the as-installed schedule and test results, verify coverage around the property, and remote support is available for future changes.
What you actually get
Measurable outcomes, not adjectives
Video calls that hold up
Wired desk points and decent switching mean a call doesn't degrade because someone upstairs started a big upload or a camera began recording.
A backbone automation can rely on
Controllers, cameras, AV distribution and access points all share the same dependable wired infrastructure, which removes a whole category of intermittent faults.
Change without new cable
Every point lands at the same patch panel, so turning a bedroom into an office is just a matter of moving a patch lead.
Twenty-year infrastructure
Cable installed to a proper standard outlasts several generations of hardware, so future upgrades mean swapping equipment, not reopening the building.
Fully insured, documented work
We carry £10m public liability and £10m employers' liability cover, and hand over an as-installed schedule and test results at completion.
In detail
Cable, coverage, racks and commercial installations
Networking work splits into what's buried in the building and what plugs into it. The buried part has to be right first time, so here's what we install and why.
Cable and containment
What we specify follows run length, environment and how long the installation needs to serve. Separation from mains cabling and correct bend radii matter just as much as the category of cable itself.
- Cat6 for standard domestic and light commercial home runs
- Cat6a where longer runs or higher sustained throughput are required
- External-grade and armoured cable to garages, workshops, studios and gate positions
- Fibre links where distance or electrical noise rules out copper
- Correct segregation from mains cabling and controlled bend radii throughout
- Containment and conduit with draw capacity for future additional runs
Wireless coverage design
Coverage comes down to placement. Several access points at moderate power beat one powerful unit, because devices roam to the nearest one and each has the whole building's bandwidth behind it.
- Ceiling and wall access points positioned by building layout and construction
- Wired PoE backhaul to every access point, never wireless relaying
- Separate guest and device networks to keep smart devices off the main network
- Garden, garage and outbuilding coverage with weather-rated hardware
- Channel and band planning to avoid interference from neighbouring properties
Racks, switching and power
A central rack turns a network into something you can actually maintain. Everything lands in one place, gets labelled, and can be diagnosed without walking the building.
- Wall-mounted and floor-standing racks sized with spare capacity
- Patch panels with every port labelled to a room and position schedule
- PoE switching sized for cameras, access points, panels and door hardware
- UPS provision for the router, switch and controller where uptime matters
- Ventilation and access planned so the rack stays serviceable
Residential versus commercial
Homes need coverage and reliability above all. Commercial installations add density, segregation and documentation that an IT provider can pick up and run with.
- Residential: TV, desk, access point, camera and controller points per room
- Commercial: multi-point desk positions, comms rooms and floor-by-floor patching
- VLAN-ready segregation between corporate, guest, voice and device networks
- Certified link testing and full documentation handed to your IT provider
Before you enquire
Networking & data questions,
answered straight
How much does structured data cabling cost?
It depends on the number of points, the routes available and whether the building's open or finished. We don't publish prices because a per-point figure would mislead you. The consultation is free and a written quotation follows.
How long does installation take?
First fix cabling for a typical house is usually one to three days, with termination and testing later in the programme. Retrofit jobs depend on access, and we quote a duration in writing for those.
Can data cabling be retrofitted into a finished house?
Often, yes, using loft voids, floor voids, existing risers and discreet external containment. At the consultation we'll tell you exactly which points we can reach without making good.
Do I need Cat6 or Cat6a?
Cat6 covers most domestic jobs comfortably. Cat6a earns its place on longer runs or where sustained high throughput is expected, and we'll recommend it run by run.
Will this fix my wireless dead spots?
Yes, as long as the design tackles the actual cause. Dead spots get solved by placing wired access points where coverage is needed, not by adding more mesh nodes.
How long does the cabling last?
Structured cabling installed correctly is a twenty-year asset. Switches, routers and access points get replaced far sooner than that, and the cabling just keeps supporting the next generation of them.
Can you connect a garage, workshop or garden office?
Yes. We run external-grade or armoured links, or fibre where the distance calls for it, and we can put in the power supply to the building at the same time if that's needed too.
Do you work with our existing IT provider?
Regularly, yes. We install and certify the physical infrastructure and hand over documented test results, so your IT provider can configure the logical side without guesswork.
What guarantee applies?
Qualifying installation work carries a 6-year workmanship guarantee backed by NAPIT, with a minimum one year on other work.
Which areas do you cover?
Derby, Duffield, Belper, Ilkeston, Long Eaton, Ripley, Ashbourne, Matlock, Burton upon Trent, Nottingham, Chesterfield, Sheffield and the surrounding East Midlands.
Related services
Where we work
Derby · Nottingham · Duffield · Belper · Burton upon Trent · Sheffield · Ilkeston · Long Eaton and the wider East Midlands. See areas covered, read more about the company or return to the homepage.
Build the backbone
before you add the devices
Book a free consultation and we'll map out the points and access point positions your property actually needs, so everything you add later just works.
NAPIT Full Scope · Official Loxone Partner · 6-year workmanship guarantee on qualifying installations · £10m public liability