ᐅ Is it necessary to have LAN cables installed in the garage?

FrankChief schrieb:

No patch panel is needed in the garage.

The patch panel will be installed in the basement. We have 4 Cat Duplex outlets installed in the house.

= 8-port patch panel

Now the only question is whether we still need Cat cables in the garage or not.

If yes, we would need a larger patch panel, the 12-port version.

I always get uneasy when I read about the electrical setup in general contractor builds. For me, it would be a dealbreaker if I couldn’t freely decide on something like that. But anyway, there are more important things in life than LAN. Also, no one here can guarantee whether the Wi-Fi coverage in the garden will be sufficient. It depends on too many individual factors.

For example, I have the HD Flex from Unify in my living room, only 3m (10 feet) from the exterior wall, but coverage in the garden is poor. That’s why an additional outdoor Wi-Fi access point will be installed soon (in spring). At the moment, I have a temporary access point placed on the kitchen table, positioned a bit better to cover the garden.

i_b_n_a_n schrieb:

I always get creeped out when I read about the electrical setup in turnkey builds. For me, it would be a deal breaker if I couldn’t decide freely on something like that. But anyway.

The consequence would have been that we still wouldn’t have a house :/

To clarify once more:

I spoke with the electrician earlier, and as a courtesy, he is charging the same prices in the garage as inside the house.

CAT Simplex €190 (approx. $205)
CAT Duplex €220 (approx. $237), both net prices.

The patch panel prices remain the same.

Currently, I have planned 5 CAT Duplex outlets:

1x living room
1x children’s room
2x studio in the attic for gaming corner (Xbox) – 1x CAT Duplex on one side and 1x CAT Duplex on the other side for the desk
1x CAT Duplex

= 10 ports total = 12-port patch panel.

I’m considering installing only Simplex outlets in the garage and also only Simplex at the desk to reduce the patch panel to 8 ports.

This would save roughly €150 (approx. $162) on the patch panel cost.

What would you suggest we do?
Use all 5 Simplex outlets and the 12-port patch panel, or omit the garage completely, or have only Simplex at the desk and garage to get an 8-port patch panel?

Here is an example from me.
We have everything in duplex. (So, from now on, consider everything doubled)
Kitchen 2x
Living-dining area 4x
Guest/office, etc. 2x
Bathroom ground floor (radio) 1x
Bathroom upper floor (radio) 1x
Children’s rooms 1 & 2 2x
Master bedroom 1x
Garage 3x
Garage exterior 1x
Terrace 1x
Hallway (doorbell) 1x
Utility room 3x
Fiber optic connection between ground floor and upper floor

I don’t think it’s possible to have more, but as my electrician always says, “Better to have and not need.” Plus, I have the advantage of NOT being bound to a developer.

PS. We mostly just browse the internet or look things up. Not gamers or streamers.

I think with the dozens of LAN sockets (in every room!) we’re moving a bit away from the original goal of the OP:

FrankChief schrieb:

I would say our house is low-mid budget.

For a mid-range setup, I would plan one LAN socket for the living room (TV), as well as for the children’s room, bedroom, and office. You can either plug access points directly into one of the rooms or have a separate socket installed in the hallway. All of this should be routed back to the technical room. With your configuration, you probably won’t use about 80% of the sockets because phones, tablets, and laptops usually connect via Wi-Fi anyway. For the low-budget range, you can save on all locations where neither an access point nor a TV is planned.
I would only run cables into the garage if there is an actual use case for it soon. It’s okay to do it preemptively if money is no object. For the lower price range, I wouldn’t do it. Radios are still available via classic wireless, and most people nowadays have a portable Bluetooth speaker that plays music from their phone... ad-free and exactly what they want to hear. 😉
Regarding the wall box, I would personally prefer a model without an internet connection. If it’s not connected to the internet in any way, it can’t be hacked. Remote control by the network operator is also the last thing on my wish list.

Stephan— schrieb:

Here’s an example from me.
We have everything in duplex. (So consider everything twice as listed below)
Kitchen 2x
Living-dining area 4x
Guest room/office etc. 2x
Bathroom ground floor (radio) 1x
Bathroom upper floor (radio) 1x
Children’s rooms 1 & 2 2x
Bedroom 1x
Garage 3x
Garage outside 1x
Terrace 1x
Hallway (doorbell) 1x
Utility room 3x
Fiber optic connection between ground and upper floor

I don’t think it gets much more than this, but as my electrician always says, “Better to have than to need,” and I have the advantage of no builder restrictions.

PS. We basically just surf the internet or look things up occasionally. Not gamers or streamers.

Sounds familiar, even though we had a “bit” more :p

That’s not really that much:p
In the garage, I would at least install a LAN cable for an access point. This way, you can supply the charging station, speakers, garage door opener, etc., via Wi-Fi.