Drilling to routing camera power cable

[Indio]

I am trying to mount a Nest outdoor camera under the overhang and route power cable into the room right above it.

I drilled two holes first one I ran into a joist(I think) so abandoned that. You can see that hole in the photo, look right below #2.Drilled a second one which gave no trouble however I am out of drill bit length & yet don't see a hole in the room closet which I was expecting. I am using a 12 inch long drill.

Wondering if I need a longer drill bit or I am doing it wrong. What is the average height of subfloor between two levels, > 12 inches?

 

[Racinfrk]

Are you drilling straight up through the overhang? If so, it looks like you can measure the white area the the house numbers are on. That should give you a rough distance I would think.

 

[Yakoo752]

12"-14" is common

 

[250mL]

Hard to say, but you may not even be drilling far enough away from the numbers to clear the wall sill.

Drill top to bottom. You'll prevent blowout of your closet floor this way too.

Longer bit is likely needed too:
https://www.harborfreight.com/516-in-38-in-716-in-25-in-Long-Wood-Bit-Set-3-Pc-68823.html
or
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-916-in-58-in-25-in-long-wood-bit-set-3-pc-68824.html

 

[Indio]

Are you drilling straight up through the overhang? If so, it looks like you can measure the white area the the house numbers are on. That should give you a rough distance I would think.

Good idea. I am drilling straight up through the brown colored plywood (?) sheet.

 

[Indio]

Hard to say, but you may not even be drilling far enough away from the numbers to clear the wall sill.

Drill top to bottom. You'll prevent blowout of your closet floor this way too.

Longer bit is likely needed too:
https://www.harborfreight.com/516-in-38-in-716-in-25-in-Long-Wood-Bit-Set-3-Pc-68823.html
or
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-916-in-58-in-25-in-long-wood-bit-set-3-pc-68824.html

Yes the first hole wasn't far away from numbers. However second one is about 14 inches away. I will try drilling from inside closet down using a longer drill bit.

 

[Racinfrk]

Just in case, remember to caulk or silicone around the wires. Don;t want water or insect intrusion.

 

[Schnellbandit]

Yes the first hole wasn't far away from numbers. However second one is about 14 inches away. I will try drilling from inside closet down using a longer drill bit.

If you haven't done that yet consider this:

Drilling from above down as already described, STOP when you get through the floor. You have no idea what someone might have run underneath and just drilling all the way through can end badly, for you.

Next, if you have a vacuum cleaner with a wand, apply it to the hole underneath you think is best located. From the top, feed in a nylon thread or strong but flexible string. If they are close to alignment, the vacuum will pick up the thread and now you have a pull string. You are done. You then also use one of the holes already drilled and can probably fish from one to the other to use whichever hole you want.

No matter how you do it, always leave a pull string behind in case you need to run something else. Far better than using existing wiring as a pull string later on.

If you drill with a long bit, know what is underneath before finding out someone got sloppy and ran electrical wiring there. You'd be amazed at how some wiring is run where no one can see it and inspectors never checked.

 

[nakedape]

Hard to say, but you may not even be drilling far enough away from the numbers to clear the wall sill.

Drill top to bottom. You'll prevent blowout of your closet floor this way too.

Longer bit is likely needed too:
https://www.harborfreight.com/516-in-38-in-716-in-25-in-Long-Wood-Bit-Set-3-Pc-68823.html
or
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-916-in-58-in-25-in-long-wood-bit-set-3-pc-68824.html

This is a great suggestion. Top down.

BTW the Nest cams are great. Actually improved since the buy out. We have an indoor kitty cam and the outdoor for the intrusion alerts. Set it up to zones as per instructions so it ignores areas that don't concern you as much. They are truly smart. Turn off sound! Outside they will ping you all day and it's like crying wolf.

Anticipate bugs setting it off by flying in front of it and wind swaying bushes/shrubs. The package delivery notifications are worth it alone.

 

[Indio]

If you haven't done that yet consider this:

Drilling from above down as already described, STOP when you get through the floor. You have no idea what someone might have run underneath and just drilling all the way through can end badly, for you.

Next, if you have a vacuum cleaner with a wand, apply it to the hole underneath you think is best located. From the top, feed in a nylon thread or strong but flexible string. If they are close to alignment, the vacuum will pick up the thread and now you have a pull string. You are done. You then also use one of the holes already drilled and can probably fish from one to the other to use whichever hole you want.

No matter how you do it, always leave a pull string behind in case you need to run something else. Far better than using existing wiring as a pull string later on.

If you drill with a long bit, know what is underneath before finding out someone got sloppy and ran electrical wiring there. You'd be amazed at how some wiring is run where no one can see it and inspectors never checked.

Great idea. I will try this. Thank you.

 

[Indio]

This is a great suggestion. Top down.

BTW the Nest cams are great. Actually improved since the buy out. We have an indoor kitty cam and the outdoor for the intrusion alerts. Set it up to zones as per instructions so it ignores areas that don't concern you as much. They are truly smart. Turn off sound! Outside they will ping you all day and it's like crying wolf.

Anticipate bugs setting it off by flying in front of it and wind swaying bushes/shrubs. The package delivery notifications are worth it alone.

I got two brand new Nest IQ outdoor cams for $500 from CL. Saved about $120 over retail. I have a Nest door bell which is much netter than Ring my neighbor has. Generally speaking Nest designs good products.

 

[Schnellbandit]

Great idea. I will try this. Thank you.

My suggestion works if you have the stuff, if not no biggie. I just got done pulling, pushing and manipulating power and network wires that could probable cross the Atlantic. I did the vacuum thing because I also had to run wired in a place very similar to yours.

Just be wary of the string. I had it on a spool and had the vacuum below with a helper. They turned on the vacuum and I fed the string. Fantastic! The vacuum sucked the string and I walked away to go outside and go out front.

Question: how much string can a vacuum pull of a spool in less than a minute?

Answer: Miles, or so it seems.

 

[m_asim]

That Nest power cable with a wide end is a bitch to cut sheetrock. Any idea how others have done so with the least amount of holes (Even pulling the wiring from outside light or something similar).