Conduit

Have you ever asked yourself why commercial buildings plan their data infrastructure properly, while residential plans leave it to the electrician to work out on the day?

Data cabling does not work like electrical cabling. It is a different discipline on almost every level. High-voltage electrical current interferes with the low-voltage data signal, so the two may not run together. Data needs its own conduit, to every room, at every device.

We have seen beautiful homes get this wrong

We have surveyed some of the most striking modern homes in the Winelands, and most of them managed to plan their conduit incorrectly while the walls were still raw. We find glued surface cable and plastic trunking where a planned in-wall sleeve should have been. Was it a budget constraint on a few metres of PVC, or was the owner simply never told? We hope the latter, because this is nearly impossible to solve afterwards. The home is beautiful, and dysfunctional on one of its most basic needs after power and water.

What we do on site

• Mark up the plan with every cable route and its destination
• Specify sleeve sizes and bends so cables can be pulled without damage
• Install or supervise the first-fix conduit before plastering
• Leave draw wires and spare routes for the future
• Bring every route back to one serviceable hub

If it is not in the floor or in the walls, it will end up on the walls. Plan the routes, plan the cable, and do not underestimate the future. We have a good idea of how the requirements grow.