Home and business cable expert · Nottingham NG3

Plug in, done. Ethernet sockets & data points Fitted across Nottingham

An ethernet socket is the small white faceplate with a port in it, wired back to your router. Plug in, done, no booster and no powerline adapter. I fit them in bedrooms, loft conversions and the home office at the back where the WiFi never reached, single, double or quad, with the label written on by hand.

WhatsApp Craig Call 07747 684253
Twin ethernet faceplate hand-labelled SHED and Bedroom on a white surface box resting on a skirting board Finished job

The job

What you get

  • Cable from your router to a new faceplate in the room you choose.
  • I work from a Virgin Media Hub or from the router on an Openreach master socket, whichever your broadband comes through.
  • The run hidden where it can be: under the floor, through the loft, inside a fitted wardrobe, or outside along the brickwork.
  • Single, double or quad faceplate, flush in the wall where the wall allows it, a surface box where it doesn’t.
  • A hand-written label on each port, so SHED and Bedroom are still SHED and Bedroom in five years’ time.
  • Every port tested with a cable tester before I pack up, then your own device plugged in to prove it.
  • A patch lead to the device, or a small switch behind the TV unit if you’ve more than one thing to plug in. Ask when you message.

Consoles and Smart TVs have their own page at hardwire gaming and TV. Sheds, pods and summerhouses are on garden office cabling.

Outside runs

The cleanest route in most Nottingham houses is outside. Out through one small drilled hole with a grommet, along the brick, and back in where you want the socket. The cable is clipped along the mortar line and turns corners at right angles. Where it comes back into the wall I leave a drip loop, a downward loop just before the hole, so rain drips off the bottom instead of following the cable in. From the pavement you’ll barely see it.

Inside, it’s under floorboards or through the loft when that’s neater. I know where the joists are before I lift anything. Loft conversions get a surface box on the truss with the cables tied off. A fitted wardrobe makes a good hiding place for a socket, with the patch lead running out to the desk.

More outside runs are in the external runs group on my work page.

Data points for shops, offices and trade

Same thing, trade name. A data point is an ethernet socket wired back to a switch or a patch panel instead of a home router. If you’re kitting out a shop, a small office or a unit, see business network cabling. If you’re a builder who wants the cable in before the plasterer, see new build first fix. Labelled and numbered the same way, tested the same way.

Jobs like yours

  • Two sockets in one visit for Lorraine: one in a downstairs room for gaming, one in an outside office. I came to quote the day before and fitted them the next day.
  • A socket in Samantha’s son’s new bedroom. Her review says “Very friendly and tidy”, which is the bit I care about.
  • A cable from the router to Kevin’s home office. He wrote that I came the same day.
  • An ethernet port in Paul’s office after the WiFi upstairs made his work-from-home calls and gaming lag. His verdict was “lightning quick”.

All thirteen recommendations are on the reviews page, word for word.

What it costs

No price list, because the cost depends on how far the cable goes, how awkward the route is and how many sockets you want. Send me a photo of where the router is, a photo of where you want the socket and your postcode, and I’ll come back with a figure or arrange to come and look. The quote comes before the drill comes out. How pricing works.

From the phone, on the job

Real jobs, real photos

More in the gallery
Four-port ethernet faceplate labelled R1, R2 and Bed 1 with grey patch leads plugged in, on a green wall
R1, R2 and Bed 1 patched in, with the fourth port spare.
Single ethernet faceplate on pine cladding with a black cable clipped in a smooth curve up into the corner
Single port on pine cladding, the cable clipped in one clean curve up the corner.
Twin ethernet faceplate on a surface box fixed to a loft roof truss, two black cables clipped below it
Twin port on a loft truss, both cables clipped together below it.
Grey gloss under-eaves wardrobe with its door open, showing a small grey data socket low on the back wall
Data point tucked inside the wardrobe, low on the back wall.
Single ethernet surface box just above a white skirting board, beside a black cable entering the wall through a grommet
Single port on a surface box above the skirting, with cables clipped along the top of the board.
Black cables clipped with right-angle bends on brown brick, one dropping into a drip loop before a wall grommet, beside a metal gate
Right-angle bends and a drip loop into the grommet.
Black cables clipped in smooth sweeping curves across a grey painted brick wall, one feeding in through a rubber grommet
Cables bent to a smooth radius and clipped to the brick, one feeding in through a grommet.
Hand holding a blue RJ45 cable tester connected by a grey patch lead to a white data faceplate under a windowsill
Tester on a patch lead into the faceplate under the window.

Same job, two photos

Before and after, same job

Rough drilled hole in a pale blue wall beside a white Virgin Media coax wall box above the skirting board Before
Single ethernet socket mounted beside a Virgin Media wall outlet with a white coax lead, on a pale blue wall After
Data socket fitted beside the Virgin Media wall box, coax lead plugged in.
Empty white back box above a black cable in a grommet on a yellow wall, next to an NTL box, with brick dust on the skirting Before
White single ethernet faceplate on a yellow wall beside an old NTL box, with a black cable running down from a grommet below it After
Faceplate on beside the old NTL box, the black cable through the grommet below it.

Questions people ask

Before you message

Short answers. If yours is not here, ask on WhatsApp.

Do I need to be with Virgin Media or BT for an ethernet socket?

You don't need to be with any particular provider for an ethernet socket. Any router with a spare port works. I fit sockets from a Virgin Media Hub, from routers on Openreach lines (BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Plusnet and the rest) and from full-fibre setups. If the router itself is in a daft spot, the WiFi problems page covers moving it.

Will fitting an ethernet socket make a mess?

Fitting an ethernet socket makes some brick dust and not much else. A dust sheet goes down before I drill, the hole gets a grommet and a seal, and the dust leaves with me rather than staying in your carpet. Five of the thirteen reviews on my reviews page use the word tidy, and I'd like to keep it that way.

Cat6 or Cat5e for a new ethernet socket?

Cat6 for a new ethernet socket, unless there's a reason not to. Cat5e and Cat6 are grades of ethernet cable, and both carry a normal home broadband connection. Cat6 is the newer grade with more headroom, so it's what I reach for on a fresh run. Both use the same plug at the device end. The glossary on the FAQs page explains the grades in plain English.

Will you need to drill through the outside wall for an ethernet socket?

Drilling through the outside wall is often the neatest way to get an ethernet socket where you want it. One tidy hole with a grommet, sealed, and the cable clipped along the mortar line between floors instead of being chased through plaster inside. Where the route is under the floor or through the loft I'll take that instead. The external runs on my work photos page show what it looks like once it's done.

Can an ethernet socket go where there's no plug socket?

An ethernet socket can go where there's no plug socket, because ethernet doesn't need power at the socket end. Only the router or switch end needs a plug. That's why a socket can sit inside a fitted wardrobe, on a loft truss or low on a skirting board with nothing else nearby. If you want a console or TV hardwired from it, the hardwire gaming and TV page covers that end of the job.

More ethernet and cabling questions answered

Related

Jobs that often go with this one

Based in NG3, covering Nottingham, Arnold, Carlton, West Bridgford and the villages out to Southwell. Further by arrangement.

Craig came same day and installed a Ethernet cable from our to our home office. Quick, effective and reasonably priced. 5/5 can't recommend enough

Kevin D. · · Facebook

Send me a photo.

One photo of where the router is, one of where you want the socket, and your postcode. I will come back with a price or a time to look.

WhatsApp Craig Call 07747 684253 [email protected]
WhatsApp Craig Call