Outdoor Cable: Secrets to Success

A couple of old cabling axioms: Don't allow your cables to be drenched in water and don't run them where people tend to use shovels and weed whackers.

This is why routing cable outdoors for audio, video and control systems is challenging. The secrets to doing it effectively, however, involve abundances of planning and conduit, says Curt Hayes of Audio Design Inc., Deerfield Beach, Fla., a company that provides integrators with outdoor system designs.

The planning part involves getting in early and coordinating with other trades. The logic is similar to why it's good to run indoor wires before the walls go up. Outdoors, however, it's more likely that a cement path or pool will run interference - not easy workarounds.

Hayes advises installers to run all outdoor cable through conduit, ensuring extra protection against garden tool dangers. Even in conduit, he recommends direct-burial cables.

Outdoor cable lengths can cause problems, Hayes adds. The runs tend to be longer and "you really have to think about what the distance will do to the audio, video and control." Meanwhile, runs often can't be completed at rough-in, so he suggests stubbing out cable bundles to a weatherproof, surface-mount box where connections can be made later, perhaps during landscape construction.

In terms of cable choices, Hayes offers the following:

Speakers - Upgrade to a 14/4 cable and run to a box with a cover plate. Installers that stock two-hole versions can run two loops of speakers from each stub-out location or use inline to extend runs. Switch to direct-burial cabling at stub-out point.

RG-6 and Cat 5 - These are safe bets for all other outdoors equipment. Dedicate an individual Cat 5 for each audio, video and control path or two shielded Cat 6 for HDMI extension.

Fiber - Audio Design Inc. has also begun adding fiber for HDMI extension, especially when the run is over 100 feet. Hayes says it's less expensive and has become easier to terminate, but he warns not to run it in lieu of Cat 5 (just in addition to).

Obstacles & Solutions

Obstacle: Pavement is an outdoor cable installer's arch enemy, says Hayes. He says installers who aren't trained on how to get wire underneath things like cement walkways can literally run into roadblocks.

Solution: "Planning their work ahead of time so they can get out there while the other trenching is getting done, coordinating with the landscaper and architect," is the answer, Hayes says. "The best thing they can do is coordinate with the other trades and make sure they get their pipe where it needs to be."

Obstacle: Outdoor installers might be inclined to run all their cabling underground, but that can create problems.

Solution: "The biggest thing is don't allow any of your terminations to be underground," Hayes says. "Pipe it and stub it up. Your pipe is going to fill up with water. It's almost inevitable. You can use waterproof connectors and they're designed for that, but they're still probably going to fill up. Wherever you have a termination point, you need to stub it up."