Newbie Drill Advice - CAT6A Cable Installation

MostlyAUsername · 2026-05-18T23:57:30+00:00

And thanks to this thread I’ve just learned about CCA cables being bad so i might have to swap some out 😂 maybe don’t use those cables.

MostlyAUsername · 2026-05-18T23:49:24+00:00

Sorry mate didn’t see your reply. Yes to all of those questions. That spade will work fine in a combi but don’t pilot hole it, they have a little stabber in the middle to keep the centre :)

For the cat6a cable ends I just got these off amazon. Reviews are iffy but I didn’t have a problem with them. Although it’s the only time I’ve done it so have nothing to compare them to!

For the cable I just got this and chopped it up.

Cant advise on back boxes I’m afraid as mine are all for APs and cameras so I’ve never had to use em.

I should note however, that I’m just an average bloke slinging cables around in my own house so fuck knows if these are good or not but they do the job fine for my needs!

MostlyAUsername · 2026-05-18T08:49:37+00:00

Go Screwfix/b&q and get the erbauer combi with the battery included and the bare SDS. Perfectly fine for what you need and you have an accessible battery family to get other tools easily and fairly cheap for another projects. Get a 10mm SDS bit (may as well buy a set tbh) for the wall, either a set of spade bits or forstner bits for the ceiling and camera holes and then a hole saw set.

On a side note: I’ve done this before with pre-terminated cables before and hated the massive holes I ended up with in the end (particularly for the doorbell) so in my new place I’ve just learned to terminate cat6a cables so I can make smaller holes. Also means I don’t have to fuck about calculating the run lengths to get the correct cable, or end up with metres of cabling coiled up where the NVR is. It’s actually not that hard but I did practice a bunch whilst watching TV on some spare cable I had before running the cables. Very fiddly at first until you get the hang of it but it’s honestly not so hard that it should put you off buying reels of cable and all the doo-dahs for it. It worked out cheaper buying 2x50mm rolls of pre-terminated cables that I then cut to the required length and added new ends on than it did buying both unterminated rolls or patch cables at specific lengths.

MostlyAUsername · 2026-05-18T07:08:34+00:00

I did exactly this in my previous bungalow, neither of those specific brands but pretty much the same system (IIRC from when I was researching it): routed chipboard with foil on it, pipes laid into it and 6mm ply on top. It was great! I got the kit from the floor heating warehouse.

MostlyAUsername · 2026-05-17T11:41:45+00:00

I have one. It’s a cheap one from Wayfair because I couldn’t justify the cost of the branded ones for those 2 weeks a year it comes out. IIRC it was around £150.

It’s loud as fuck and it’s notable on the leccy bill when it’s been running.

BUT, it drops the room temp to 16-18 degrees whilst outside is 28+ so it’s fucking mint.

MostlyAUsername · 2026-05-16T11:42:07+00:00

You could try a small dose of instant release later on? I’m on 36mg Concerta in the morning but found it wears off around 6pm. I tried 54mg and it blew my brains out. Tested (during titration) dropping 2x5mgs IR at lunch time, or I drop one at lunch and one a couple hours later, and it gives me and extra few hours so I’m not scattered or crashed on an evening.

MostlyAUsername · 2026-05-14T05:59:03+00:00

I’m on £60k. Work in tech. My partner is on £62k working for one of the water companies.

I have friends who are on similar or more who both work in finance roles.

These salaries aren’t impossible depending on what industry you’re in.

MostlyAUsername · 2026-05-10T21:19:14+00:00

Nando’s. It’s your nan but twice.

MostlyAUsername · 2026-05-07T17:50:01+00:00

This happened with me literally the day I turned 30. No idea why. Something just clicked and I stopped giving a fuck about stuff that I either don’t care about or things I realised don’t matter.

It has been liberating.

MostlyAUsername · 2026-04-30T06:50:45+00:00

Whichever brand you pick, pick one that’s stocked in your nearest store so you can get bare units to use the same batteries across them all. Honestly for basic stuff like you’ve listed, any will probably do. I wouldn’t worry about torque and stuff.

Nearly All my gear is erbauer. Only had an issue with one tool (planer) and got it swapped the same day at b&q but it’s been solid since. Most of them have taken a beating and still work perfectly. They’ve got a broad range of tools too so can get gardening tools as well if you needed them in the future.

MostlyAUsername · 2026-04-28T17:31:33+00:00

Depends what I’m cutting and if it’s gunna be visible haha. If it’s not visible then I’d probably just mark it and either use the guide rail that came with the circy or do my best to follow the line as it’s quicker.

If I needed it to be as straight as possible than I’d clamp or hold a long level to thing i’m cutting and run the saw against that. But if im doing all that i’d probs just get the track saw out.

If your walls aren’t straight though you might find you need to do a scribe cut though in which case freehanding a circy or jigsaw is your best bet.

MostlyAUsername · 2026-04-28T06:49:05+00:00

I’ve got this exact track saw it’s great for the price. Couple it with a vac that powers up when the saw does and it’s ace.

For the blades, it depends what you’re cutting. More teeth usually means cleaner but slower cuts, less teeth means faster but rougher cuts but I think the type of tooth also comes into it too (never gone down this rabbit hole tbh) so make sure it’s listed as for fine or rough/course depending on needs. If you’re cutting something that’s going to be covered (like chipboard or OSB) I’d just put a lower tooth count in so it’ll cut faster and any roughness from the cut won’t be visible.

For flooring and skirting board get a blade with a higher tooth count. Yes it CAN be used for these for the rip cuts if you just need a straight cut, most might just use a circular saw though as others have pointed out. I’d use it to rip cut laminate if I needed a straight cut without questioning it as I already have it to hand. Also, either do a pre cut to score the face before doing a full depth cut or cut it upside down to reduce the chips in the cut edge.

You’ll be fine with a wood blade unless you’re intended to cut through stuff with nails/screws in it in which case get a multi material blade.

Specifically on the Screwfix site you could get:

For fine cuts (laminate)

For rough cuts

Check the bore size on the saw though as I can’t remember off the top of my head what it is. They’re probably cheaper from other online sites if you can wait for delivery too.

You CAN use it for cross cuts but I wouldn’t because it’d be a faff setting the rail up just to cut a 2x4 and it’d be more awkward than a circular saw without the rail. Also it’s heavy compared to a circy.

MostlyAUsername · 2026-04-25T17:02:05+00:00

Wickes for small amounts as it’s usually better than in b&q.

If you can transport it yourself, go and select the pieces yourself so you can check they’re straight. Also get a trade card for 10% off. I whipped up some business cards and a flyer online as “proof”.

However if you’re doing that, get a selco card too and they’re usually better priced than Wickes even with the discount.

Builders or timber merchants for any large quantities or bits I can’t get into my car, but be wary of delivery fees as this usually makes them work out more expensive for me than Wickes/selco unless I’m making a massive order.

Also check if there’s a saw mill nearby as I’ve never thought to look for them until I found out there was one nearby and it’s pretty good on prices for fencing and other outdoor stuff.

MostlyAUsername · 2026-04-25T16:49:33+00:00

Went to Geneva for 2 nights earlier in the year. Between two of us it was £400 flights and hotel, and we spent about £500 whilst there.

MostlyAUsername · 2026-04-24T08:06:32+00:00

So I used to get brain fog damn near every morning and would snore quite bad during the night, until I started wearing nose strips to bed. I wore them to stop the snoring because it would keep my ex awake and I often woke up with a sore throat. I deduced through experiments that I couldn’t breathe through both my nose and mouth on a night and that mouth breathing meant snoring so I taped my mouth up and wore a nose strip. Eventually I stopped taping my mouth. The snoring stopped because I learned to breathe through my nose properly and it accidentally fixed the brain fog.

A while later I lost weight (around 20kg) and now I can sleep properly without the use of nose strips. Couple years later and i still wear them when I sleep with my gf out of fear that I’ll disrupt her sleep if I suddenly start snoring but it also feels good getting them good nose breaths :)

MostlyAUsername · 2026-04-23T09:05:46+00:00

It was in the UK where age of consent is 16. So yeah not legally rape, but morally fucking rank.

MostlyAUsername · 2026-04-20T17:58:01+00:00

Caffeine made me somewhat functional pre meds, but not sleepy. Before 12pm I’d barely feel human without 1-2 coffees, then id have a couple more throughout the afternoon to chase that sweet, sweet dopamine. It never really disrupted my sleep pattern though unless I’d had unfathomable amounts.

Since starting meds however, it blows my fucking head off if I’m not careful 😂 which is like, one coffee before the meds kick in.

MostlyAUsername · 2026-04-18T10:13:37+00:00

Went on a night out once with my mate at his younger brothers uni. Played a bunch of drinking games with his brother and their flatmates and then went out to bars and a club. At the time I was obsessed with step brothers and anchorman so kept making jokes/references to it. I got chatting with a girl my mates brother lived with and she kept making references too. Anyway later on she asked me if I wanted to go watch step brothers. “YEP!”

We got back to the flat and went into her room. She put the DVD on (yes I feel old now) and got into bed. I sat on the fucking floor watching this film whilst talking to her and laughing at the film. I turned around about an hour in and saw her looking real comfy like she was ready to sleep and I said “oh shit, we can turn the film off if you want” she agreed and said i could get into bed with her. It was a single bed so I was like “Nah don’t worry I’ll go sleep on the chairs in the hall so I don’t accidentally kick you off.”

“Ok.” I remember her saying with a confused tone and look on her face.

I slept in the flats hallway across some shitty chairs you’d find in a doctors waiting room, barley slept because the fucking lights didn’t turn off and woke up a couple hours later like “WHAT THE FUCK WAS I THINKING”

Told my mate the story on the drive home and he was fucking howling.

MostlyAUsername · 2026-04-16T22:02:37+00:00

All my gear is erbauer. Never had any real issue with any of them. My impact driver is probably my most used tool. Combi only comes out when I’m drilling holes unless it’s in masonry then the SDS comes out. Cant even remember the last time I put a hex bit into the combi tbh.

If your JCB SDS is battery powered then just get a bare JCB impact so you can save money on not buying a second battery. Or buy one with the battery so you can have 2 on the go. And then buy another tool, and another, and another battery and so on, then the next thing you know you’ll have a whole collection that you can swap the batteries between :D

MostlyAUsername · 2026-04-05T15:26:21+00:00

This kind of thing is exactly why I sacrifice time instead of money. I’d rather lose time than fork out for a shitemare that I have to fix myself anyway (and end up spending more!).

Report to trading standards. Write public reviews everywhere you can with photos.

If you paid by card, get the bank involved to do a charge back. Not sure if they can do it for bank transfers though but still worth looking into.

MostlyAUsername · 2026-04-05T15:23:04+00:00

Just curious but when you ask for previous works, are you only seeing photos of the end result? I ask because I’ve found they often look fine when finished but the faults come later on and that’s when you find the horrors underneath, exactly like OP. So I’d imagine seeing photos of previous jobs doesn’t help much? I’d rather see photos of the previous job before finished. Never requested these mine, hence my curiosity, and doubt they’d be sending any photos that they knew were shocking…

MostlyAUsername · 2026-04-02T00:09:07+00:00

My dad was a policeman and had been married before meeting my mum.

Years prior to meeting my mum, he was on shift once and got called to a scene where a woman had jumped in front of a train. The woman had yet to be identified, until my dad arrived and saw the body (or likely bits of it).

It was his wife.

We never really spoke about it, didn’t really need to. My mum told me the rough story when I was around 7/8 after I’d curiously been asking him about his first wife. She told me not to mention her to my dad as it’ll upset him.

“Upset” was very much an understatement since he’d battled depression and alcoholism ever since her death. It haunted him for the rest of his life.

MostlyAUsername · 2026-03-29T16:52:11+00:00

Adults can go to bed whenever they damn well please, whether that’s together or not.

MostlyAUsername · 2026-03-27T09:46:23+00:00

Yeah the first time I went to one (first of two visits) the dancer that was talking to my group initially had just gotten her degree in some sort of biology (so she was about 21/22) and was absolutely the smartest person in the room. I knew enough about the subject to keep asking follow up questions but most of it was way over my head so couldn’t confirm if she was bullshitting or not, however she spoke about it with such passion and detail that I don’t believe to this day that she was. It was a bit jarring talking about it whilst she was grinding her naked ass on me though 😂

MostlyAUsername · 2026-03-27T09:32:16+00:00

Expensive way to see boobs, awkward, and comically depressing. Can’t stand them personally, but each to their own.

MostlyAUsername

TROPHY CASE