Rate this WiFi access point install quote

[brianl703]

I guess it depends if the installer is trained how to put an RJ45 on correctly.

If they are, and if they are using the correct ends for the cable and a good crimper, there should be no problem.

I've just seen so many incorrectly installed RJ45s (plugs designed for stranded cable used on solid cable being the most common issue)...unless I know for a fact that the person is trained to install them and is using correct materials...I'd rather a jack be installed. It is MUCH easier to install a jack correctly. There's no issue with getting the wrong kind of jack for the cable, they are all designed for solid cable.

 

[RhondaHonda]

Power Over Ethernet, which for that quote, they ought to be using POE equipment.

Oh yeah, I’d assume they are running Ethernet cable. I was talking about putting the existing Google mesh system in the attic to try but no power up there for it.

 

[racer12306]

I upgraded our home WiFi to Asus ZenWifi right before Covid forced everything to be from home. One of my luckier points in life since I had 2 kids and a wife working and schooling from home. Prior to that I had one Asus N speed router for the whole house and it worked, but it left plenty to be desired.

I think the mesh can still be a solid, economical choice for this situation. There's two different kinds of mesh, dual band and tri band. The standard Google Mesh is dual band. The tri bands have a dedicated backhaul and that can be wired or wireless, obviously wired is more ideal. If you don't have a dedicated backhaul it can slow down the points of use.

In the end, I think there's a lot of options here that don't need to cost $8000. However, you're in MO and they're in FL, would you fly there and take care of setting it up or are you completely reliant on a local install? If you're just dropping devices like the ZenWifi that would sit on a table near a power outlet, do they have any ability to set up the basics of that? It's not hard, (I understand hard to me is different than hard to older parents) and you don't have to do much unless you want to really dig into profiles and QOS stuff and such.

 

[Urshurak776]

I mean, it's Best Buy. Find a smaller IT company and go that route. Probably half the price. Or, like others have said, buy the equipment yourself and then hire someone to install it. GEt a few quotes. Should only cost about half of that quote, if that.

 

[OVERKILL]

My house is 3 levels, 4 if you count the basement, and should be even harder for WiFi yet it works. Go figure.

Mine is too, and I can cover it with a single AP, however, having done an install in a large single-level crescent-shaped house, I ended up needing to use 3x AP's to provide proper coverage based on the site survey. My parent's place is concrete block like the OP mentions, and it has janky coverage with their Bell "whole home" unit. Construction and layout play significant roles in what is required.

 

[OVERKILL]

For that price, I'm half temped to go do it for them

Seriously though, get Ubiquiti equipment and find a handyman to pull the cables and crimp the ends. A very good ubiquiti setup will be 1/5 the price and it's better equipment.

I tend to agree with that, though I've found electricians tend to do a pretty decent job of doing cable runs, another option if they already have one of those they know and trust.

I'm confused as to why there are two switches in the quote

$400 for "programming" some basic Netgear kit seems nuts, unless they are charging $400/hour, in which case, the guy better be a CCIE, which I somehow doubt is the case, coming from BestBuy, lol.

Mind you, if they ARE charging $400/hour, 5.25 hours sounds about right for running cable (assuming it's reasonably accessible) in a house of that size, doing terminations and mounting.

 

[TheOilWizard]

In-laws want better access throughout their Florida home. The house is 25 years old and lots of block construction. We tried the mesh system but it didn’t provide coverage throughout the house.

They got a quote from Best Buy for wired access points throughout and the guy said it would be a commercial quality system that won’t need upgrading for 10+ years.

I’m half tempted to find an installer and just buy the equipment myself.

House is mainly one level, U-shaped around a pool courtyard/outdoor living area of approx 3,000SF. About 7,500 SF is air conditioned. They can afford it but it feels like the Naples tax is in full effect.View attachment 191860

Around here commercial network drops are around $200 per line. This price includes the cable and labor for installation.

I'd recommend finding a local installer that specializes in Ubiquiti network gear. The wireless access points are around $100 each, 8-port POE switch around $150, router around $150... then of course the installer will add some mark up.. do the math on that with some adjustments for regional labor costs and I think the price should be about half of that quote.

Ubiquiti Store

Rethinking IT

store.ui.com

 

[Rand]

Around here commercial network drops are around $200 per line. This price includes the cable and labor for installation.

I'd recommend finding a local installer that specializes in Ubiquiti network gear. The wireless access points are around $100 each, 8-port POE switch around $150, router around $150... then of course the installer will add some mark up.. do the math on that with some adjustments for regional labor costs and I think the price should be about half of that quote.

Ubiquiti Store

Rethinking IT

store.ui.com

Which gear were you recommending?
none of it is 100$ except for the 6-lite WAP which wouldnt be my first choice.
Router $500-- wouldnt use the UDR its not able to keep up with gigabit internet.
The UDM SE has 2 POE+ ports and 6 poe which might be enough... if not add a POE switch. unifi with enough POE watts = ($300-$400?)
also has 2.5gigabit ethernet WAN and 10gbit sfp+ ports if upgrade was needed in future.

IMO its a good idea.. Just not sure where your $$$ numbers are coming from.

The AP's could be ceiling or wall mounted look similar to a smoke detector. Just ethernet wire with POE from the switch or router (or poe injector)

All said the gear should be under $1500

edit: fixed a couple "wrong words"

 

[thastinger]

You've realistically got 1400-1600 in materials if you bought it all online and didn't pay the contractor price for it.

The rest is all labor. You don't need an electrical permit in most places to extend an existing circuit (meaning add an outlet), buy a fish tape and some concrete bits and go to work.

 

[TheOilWizard]

Which gear were you recommending?
none of it is 100$ except for the 6-lite WAP which wouldnt be my first choice.
Router $500-- wouldnt use the UDR its not able to keep up with gigabit internet.
The UDM SE has 2 POE+ ports and 6 poe which might be enough... if not add a POE switch. unifi with enough POE watts = ($300-$400?)
also has 2.5gigabit ethernet WAN and 10gbit sfp+ ports if upgrade was needed in future.

IMO its a good idea.. Just not sure where your $$$ numbers are coming from.

The AP's could be ceiling or wall mounted look similar to a smoke detector. Just ethernet wire with POE from the switch or router (or poe injector)

All said the gear should be under $1500

edit: fixed a couple "wrong words"

The AC-Lite AP's have worked well for me in RF coverage and throughput. Are they the absolute best APs available? Of course not, but they are good value.

At the end of the day this is for a residential setting. I think it's important to tighten the reins and be realistic about the requirements. A $500 router is not needed to route gigabit for someone at their house.

 

[brianl703]

At the end of the day this is for a residential setting. I think it's important to tighten the reigns and be realistic about the requirements. A $500 router is not needed to route gigabit for someone at their house.

I was going to say, I know that inflation has been a problem but a $500 router isn't needed for gigabit internet.

 

[Rand]

The AC-Lite AP's have worked well for me in RF coverage and throughput. Are they the absolute best APs available? Of course not, but they are good value.

At the end of the day this is for a residential setting. I think it's important to tighten the reins and be realistic about the requirements. A $500 router is not needed to route gigabit for someone at their house.

you 100% missed the point of my post.
You mentioned Unifi gear and gave out inaccurate prices.

I was going to say, I know that inflation has been a problem but a $500 router isn't needed for gigabit internet.

If using unifi equipment that is the gear that makes the sense.

UDR is anemic.
UDM pro is 379 and would require a poe switch which with 60w+ needed would cost around $300 if using unifi equipment.

UDM SE has POE and 2.5GBE built in. which would support 2 lite or plus Waps and 2 LR waps.. could skip the poe switch.
and allow for future upgrades with SFP+ ports.

Now if you wanted to hodgepodge it together or use TP link gear it can certainly be done for much cheaper.

 

[TheOilWizard]

you 100% missed the point of my post.
You mentioned Unifi gear and gave out inaccurate prices.

Trust me, I completely understand the point of your post.

I never mentioned "Unifi" once. Ubiquiti does not necessarily indicate UniFI products. Maybe that is where you got confused.

And my prices were not inaccurate. You can easily get a gigabit Ubiquity router for $150 or less. The Lite AP's are indeed around $100, and, once again, you can get a sufficient POE switch from Ubiquity for $200. I said "around" 150 for the switch, so in fairness after checking prices I was off by 50 bucks.

 

[OVERKILL]

The AC-Lite AP's have worked well for me in RF coverage and throughput. Are they the absolute best APs available? Of course not, but they are good value.

At the end of the day this is for a residential setting. I think it's important to tighten the reins and be realistic about the requirements. A $500 router is not needed to route gigabit for someone at their house.

I think context is important here, they have an $8,000 quote that they don't necessarily think is unreasonable but their SIL does, we aren't dealing with a D-Link or Toilet-Paper link budget here. The OP is just trying to ensure that their in-laws get some good value, which WorstBuy doesn't seem to be representing.

Are you recommending an EdgeRouter product? Because that's about the only thing in the price range you mentioned, but the EdgeRouter 4 has a DPI throughput of 250Mbit...

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

How do you even pull cable runs through concrete block construction?

 

[OVERKILL]

How do you even pull cable runs through concrete block construction?

There's usually a space above that would allow for that. Drops would come out into the ceiling, AP's would be ceiling mount.

 

[Rand]

I never mentioned "Unifi" once. Ubiquiti does not necessarily indicate UniFI products. Maybe that is where you got confused.

Maybe if you mentioned actual products there would be less confusion?
Most of those I know of... if you turn on any features wouldn't meet performance requirements.
Since everyday low tier cable internet can be over 300mbit now let alone fiber.

If $8000 was being considered at all (it was?) what do you think is an appropriate equipment budget is
when labor $$$ is going to be a large part of it.

 

[TheOilWizard]

Maybe if you mentioned actual products there would be less confusion?

Why would I? The OP asked a general question about the quote and I responded with a general and accurate response. I don't think the OP is asking for exact build configs for his next network deployment.

You incorrectly assumed I was referring to all Unifi-enabled gear and decided to double down on it.

You're welcome to recommend a $500 router for a home gigabit internet connection and I'll maintain my position that it can be accomplished for a fraction of the cost. Ultimately the OP will have to make the decision.

 

[RhondaHonda]

How do you even pull cable runs through concrete block construction?

There’s drywall interior walls and ceilings with space above the drywall but below the roof.

 

[JustinH]

Seems deadly high for everything, including netgear hardware.

I would recommend you have a contractor run all the cable and terminate everything, then plug and play an Aruba Instant on setup. Very easy to use and will save them a ton of money.

For example I have about $400 into my 2 ap and 1 switch instant on system, using the att gateway as a firewall. I bet they could get away with 4-5 access points and have very good coverage. You could even get an outdoor AP if they need it in a patio area.