LAN cabling : The right time for beginning

If you've never worked on a multi-prime construction site before (you're a prime since you don't work for the general contractor) you'd better stay way back and just make sure the construction is done to the specs you need. Pulling cable and wiring jacks is a much simpler universe that working on a major construction site in terms of insurance, laws, unions, coordination, etc... Oh, did a say multi-prime?

You do it during construction, since that is when you contracted to do the work. Find the prime contractor and work out scheduling with them. I'm surprised that you were not contracted to work by the prime contractor.

I would wait until at least the ceiling gridwork is up or before. If you do it before you have time to put in support members (J hooks, etc) for the cabling. If there are beams, use beam clamps to support the cabling.

I personally wouldnt start until most of the contractors are out of there except for the electricians, floor guys, and ceiling guys...

I would start the underground OSP stuff now. Go rent a ditch witch, lay your schedule 80, and do your core drilling now. That is the ball buster of the whole job anyhow....make sure you DO NOT PUT any 90 degrees in your OSP conduit. Trust me....LOL Use 45 degree angles. Also, make sure when you build out the conduit, to make sure your put your pull string in and please make sure the string doesnt stick to the PVC cement!!!!!! Or you'll be sorry...

In my experience, the best time to wire is AFTER the electrical guys, but BEFORE the drywallers. First thing I'd do is work with the General Contractor to find out who the Electrical Contractor is, and to work with both of them on a schedule. The larger jobs I've done entailed us "following" the electricians from space to space. For example, most of the time they will start at one end of a floor of a building, and work towards the other. As they go, you follow. I tried to stay about 2 days behind them.

You may need a low-voltage wiring permit, depending on your location, and you will probably be inspected on either your permit, or the electrical permit, before the drywall's up. Again, work this out with the General and the Electrical contractors. Most inspectors are going to freak at doing a closed-wall inspection in new construction, and you don't want the job red-tagged because you screwed this up. Life is much easier if you just dovetail your work, and your inspection, with the electrical guys.

I always bidded out this work at a cheaper rate than when I was doing closed-wall because it's much less labor intensive. If you bid this out full-rate, good for you! There should be lots of gravy :)

Good luck!

One should check local statutes as well. In Connecticut for example you need to either be a phone/cable company employee or have any of several classes of electrician's license, all of which require thousands of hours of documented experience, to do network cabling--it's a ludicrous requirement as the people with the licences generally do about as good a job as a drunken chimpanzee, but it's the law.

Also the local codes need to be checked. One fellow of my acquaintance had to redo a major cabling job because he didn't use the one brand of cable that was authorized in a county in which the manufacturer of said cable was the major employer.