How to Install the Perfectly Labeled System

Every cable that you install on a job must be labeled. No excuses.

Labeling will not only save you lots of time on the job site, but will also greatly reduce frustrations of troubleshooting and service.

There are two types of cable labeling requirements:

1. Interconnect Cables (or Jumper Cables) -- Short cables used to interconnect A/V or similar equipment that you take to the job and install. These cables are purchased or fabricated in the shop, but always labeled in the shop, too. Note that power cables fall in this category, including 120-volt AC cables that come with purchased equipment.
2. Infrastructure Cables -- Typically part of the structured cabling install, run in the walls and cut to length (Cat 5, RG6, 14/2, etc.). These cables are terminated and labeled on the job site.

Professional labeling both of these cable types will separate you from the non-professional competition.

Make a Cable Schedule, with Cable Identification

Every cable installed on the job (interconnect or infrastructure) should appear on a cable schedule.

The cable schedule is derived from the design drawings and lists each cable to be installed with from-to location and termination information.

The cable schedule

• documents what needs to be installed and where
• serves as an installation record to verify that everything was installed and tested, by whom and when
• indicates any necessary deviations, such as a different type of cable or termination

Each individual cable should be listed on a separate line even if it's part of a bundled cable.

Each cable on the schedule has an identifier (ID). The ID can be numbers, letters or any combination as long as you understand it and it works.

I've tried a bunch of different systems, but always come back to the same conclusion: don't try to make the label "make sense."

That is, don't try to use labels like "Master Bedroom to Security Panel." (Click here for the one exception) Here's why:

• You can't fit designations like "Master Bedroom" on a label
• Though you might think it makes perfect sense when you write it, come back even a day later and you will have forgotten what you were thinking when you made the labels
• It doesn't tell you enough

Instead, use a cable reference ID.

The labels you make for the cable will simply reference the ID on the cable schedule. If you need to know where the cable goes from-to, look it up on the schedule.

I've settled on using letters for the ID since numbers are used for location IDs on the plans.

Use the Right Label

Never write the cable ID on the cable with a felt-tip marker. Use a label.

You may think you can write on a small, rounded dark object so that someone else can read it, but you cannot.

Avoid using masking tape, office peel-and-stick labels or other paper products to label. They get scraped off when you're pulling the cable through the hole in the 2" by 4", they don't flex and they're impossible to move once applied.

Use polyester or other flexible plastic material.

Commercial label makers from Brady and Dymo work fine. The labels are easy to read, plastic and self-adhesive.

Even so, the equipment has a couple of downsides:

1. The machines require batteries which you won't have extras of on the job.
2. They also require tape, another item you won't have on the truck when it runs out.
3. You usually have to trim the label so that the ID is visible when you wrap it around the cable.
4. They seem prone to tape jams on the job, maybe due to rough handling or getting full of sheetrock dust.

Nevertheless, these products are best used in the shop and are especially good for labeling your interconnect cables -- and they aren't expensive.