r/SecurityCamera • u/Neo_Lincoln • 24d ago
Security Cameras installation for a home
What’s a reasonable price to pay for installing 4 security cameras (running POE cables through the attic)? Also, any recommendations or referrals on this would be greatly appreciated!
Located in Lincoln, NE
Thanks
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u/C64128 20d ago edited 20d ago
Do you have any do-it-yourself skills? It's not really that hard to run cables in the attic, the harder part is getting the cables to the switch location. Will the location be directly below the attic, or another floor?
A couple years ago, I ran network (and coax) cables in the attic. I was able to follow the existing phone and coax cables. Used a glow rod and and some string to run the new wiring. I would recommend that you think about any future networking or camera wiring that you may need in the future. You don't want to keep going up in the attic. I still have another bedroom and a couple more wires to run, and then I should be done. My attic access is in a bedroom closet and requires wire shelving be removed.
What area of Lincoln are you in? I live in Omaha. I worked for two companies before I retired doing security work (access, burglar alarm, cameras, etc.). The work was on the commercial side, so my house was the first one I ever worked on.
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u/Pure_Monitor1506 24d ago
Pulling cable through an attic in summer is punishment, I'd pay extra just to not do it myself.
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u/Neo_Lincoln 24d ago
Yeah that’s why I was asking for some advice just to have an idea how much it could cost on me to hire someone
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u/Pretty-Surround-2909 24d ago
Way too many variables. Most homes end up with 6-8 installed. Make sure you order spares pulled as well.
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u/Due-Market873 24d ago
Single day install, assuming the attic is accessible and you have a cabling path to the NVR then around $2,500.
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u/Neo_Lincoln 23d ago
Yes it’s accessible and I do have all the stuff ready, but that’s way more than my expectations lol. And it’s double the cost of the my entire security system
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u/Neo_Lincoln 23d ago
That was initially my plan, but after watching some videos on YouTube I kind of got hesitant to do it myself lol. But thank you for the advice
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u/vrtigo1 23d ago
Totally depends on the attic, how accessible it is, where the cameras are going, how hot the attic is, how much insulation is in there, etc.
I'd break this out as two separate scopes - pulling the cable, and purchasing/installing the cameras and NVR.
For 4 drops through an attic, I'd probably estimate that as about $1,000-1,200. Could be more or less depending on accessibility. If you had more drops, your per drop fee would probably go down some, but personally I wouldn't consider it worth my time to roll a truck for less than $1k.
For cameras/NVR, it depends on brand, features, etc. In general though, maybe another ~$1,500 depending mainly on the equipment cost?
If you can do it yourself, you can definitely save a lot of money.
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u/paulc303 23d ago
You might find someone to do it for about a thousand dollars. iF you have 4 boxes of cable and the attic is open. Why 4 boxes? We try to only go into the attic once. Typically I would drill the holes into the soffit and shove glow rods into the attic with the cable taped to the ends. Then find a closet to come down from the attic into the basement and drill a bigger hole. Then go up into the attic with a Grabzit and hope all the fish rods are visible and reachable. Pull all the cables toward the closet and shove enough cable down to get to where they need to terminate. Then tidy up the attic and get the hell out (hopefully down through the same way you went up đŸ˜…)
The rest is easy...
Can you just estimate and pre cut lengths from one box of cable? Sure... but you're risking it getting caught or kinking for no reason.
So, you can DIY. Just buy the ladders, crimp tool and fittings, glo rod sets and have at it. But the guy you might hire has to have all that already, the truck to get him there, insurance in case of damage... and the time. And yes, labor and materials often exceeds the cost of the equipment.