This week we saw the data cables get installed. And spent some quality date time reviewing flooring options. Josh is going to spend some time going over the wired decisions and dreams we have for our networking. At the end we talk a little about the flooring options we looked at and a few of the most excellent modeling photos Elizabeth had of various floors that caught our eye.

Joshua spec’ed out Cat 8.1. I know, I know. That is ridiculous! You’re right. The typical Ethernet cable is Cat 5 (10-100 Mb/s, and has been around since the 90s and is still sold today) or Cat 6 (100-1000 Mb/s). Most internet speeds max out at 1-2 Gb/s or roughly 1000-2000 Mb/s, which is the upper end of what a Cat 6 Ethernet cable can do. I know, Cat 8 must be ridiculous. We’re getting there. Cat 7, which isn’t even really sold yet, boasts 10,000 Mb/s or 10 Gb/s. Literally 10x faster than a typical consumer fiber hookup. And Cat 8, which has found more use in data centers, but is generally available, tops out at 40,000 Mb/s or 40 Gb/s. Our Starlink internet, on a good day, is 100 Mb/s, but is more often than not half or less.

So, why Cat 8? Because we want to build a Unifi home network that, among many other things, has POE++ capabilities. POE is power over ethernet. You can plug in security cameras, doorbells, cheap (less than $120) next-gen Wifi 7 access points, and not need any outlets. The power runs through the network. The devices are basically plug and play, because they rely on a network cable, so you physically connect it to your home network, for a completely reliable and insanely stable local connection.

Why wired? Now THAT, friends, is a great question. For a reasonable couple hundred dollars, you can get a seriously overpowered mesh network that would blanket all of Sugarfield in wifi signal. Aren’t ethernet something from a bygone era? Here’s what I learned when hooking up 8 different Amazon Echo Dots in our previous home: IoT (internet of things) devices, like Echo Dots, toasters, doorbells, thermostats, and security cameras, have a lot of limitations, which are amplified when you exclusively use wifi. There’s a bandwidth issue, a noise issue, and, in some circumstances, your wifi signal might not be the greatest, so you’re compromising on location to make sure it has a stable connection (maybe your kitchen is too many rooms from your base internet station so your Echo Dot just drops from the whole house playlist at inopportune times).

So, we have Cat 8 connections. Roughly 22 of them. Some of the Cat 8 wires go to future upgrades (EV charger, Solar hook up, extra security cameras), some of them go to our doorbell, our primary outdoor-only (we don’t trust indoor cameras in our home) cameras that cover the driveway and backyard, and a number of strategic wall hookups for media, smart floor cleaning bots, hotspots, computers, and a few smart speakers.

Do we really need 40 Gb/s? Perhaps the highest frequency cable is overkill, but I expect this cable will outlast the Cat 6 cables over the next 30-40 years. 

If I could do it over, I would install cat 6 everywhere, but do it with flexible conduit. I missed the chance to do that, even though many people suggested it on various forums and blogs and videos. But I’m very happy with this ethernet cable and feel confident, for what we will do, this cable will handle everything we might throw at it now and into the far future.

Around the same time that our data cables were being installed, Liz and I had a date weekend where we explored so many flooring options. We ultimately chose a clear maple that looks amazing. Lots of tile was inspected, and we went, for the very first but definitely not the last time, to His Place Eatery. His Place has incredible comfort food. We will be back.