First time install with complicated house

[Spackler]

I have been reading around the forums, and have picked my starter cameras IPC-HDW5231R-Z. I plan to also get the poe switch listed below which will be placed in my attic or garage. The problem is getting them installed with my complicated house. My house is stucco and block. The peaks in the pictures below are kind of like false peaks and to make matters worse my attic crawl space is non-existent. I will be mounting a camera in each of the peaks where you can see the arlo cameras that I tried and found the battery runs out in a few days on the wall(unless expertly told otherwise where to place). I will have to run the cat5 through the soffit around the side of the house and through the wood portion into the part of the attic I can get to. Any other suggestions or you are a moron is welcome.
Guess my questions are:

• Is running it through the soffit the best bet?
• Are the locations I plan to put them the best?
• Is this camera right for what I am doing?
• Can I mount these right to the side of the house or do I need one of the J mounts and can you just run cable out of those and into the soffit as I will not be drilling into the false peak.
• Is Blue Iris the software I should get to run them as I will be running all on a pc?

 

[mat200]

Hi Spackler,

If you have any space between the roof and ceilings you can use grey PVC conduit to make the runs to the corners or to the outer walls if needed.

I used 3/4"+ grey conduit to do so, it was flexible enough that I was able to bend it up into the "attic space" through one access hole to the corners I needed to access.

In your case I would also consider running a 1/2" emt conduit on the outside of your home under the overhang and then place a "T" in locations you want to drop the camera down to get a better location. Goal is 8 feet high at the most. I would use the PFA137 junction boxes with the IPC-HDW5231xx camera or the PFA139 with the IPC-HDW42xx
Update: recommend the PFA130E junction box - newer version, better protected vs weather.

With some paint on the EMT conduit, junction boxes, and cases of the cameras to match your walls, it will look very nice.

Use cat5e instead of cat6 as cat6 will be thicker. I was able to put 4 cat5e cables in a 1/2" emt conduit to one location of the house.

Planning it out carefully you can run 4 cat5e lines in the conduit from one side of the garage to the back of the house, and 4 cat5e lines to the front of the house and other side, and place 2 cameras on the garage easily. This should give you plenty of coverage, with a nice vandal resistant setup and well protected cable in the conduit and junction boxes.

 

[Spackler]

Sorry to be a pain, but do you have some pics or links to look at what you are talking about?

 

[mat200]

Sorry to be a pain, but do you have some pics or links to look at what you are talking about?

HI Spackler,

I did not take pictures when I was putting it together, so you may want to check and see what others have done
Installation Pics

 

[Spackler]

Thank you for all the info.

 

[tangent]

The peaks in the pictures below are kind of like false peaks and to make matters worse my attic crawl space is non-existent.

Not sure what you mean when you reference false peaks. Does part of the house have a vaulted ceiling?

You're roof is shallow and there isn't much room to move around in the attic, but I don't think it really matters much. You can use a long wire fishing stick to push the wire from the soffit most anywhere to the center where you can actually get at it.

 

[tangent]

The problem is getting them installed with my complicated house. My house is stucco and block.

Your house doesn't look complicated to me. I don't see any cinder block... your house looks to be of typical frame construction with a mixture of brick, siding, and stucco on the exterior. I'd be surprised if any part of the house has a vaulted ceiling. Your soffits look like aluminum or vinyl, I'm not sure which.

Hiring someone to do this install is something you may want to consider if you aren't comfortable doing it yourself.

 

[Spackler]

Can I mount these right against the wall no junction boxes or are they suggested. Either way can they get mounted junction box or not right to the wall not using J mounts?

 

[tangent]

Can I mount these right against the wall no junction boxes or are they suggested. Either way can they get mounted junction box or not right to the wall not using J mounts?

You can do it with or without a junction box. Without a junction box requires a larger hole around 3/4-1", with a junction box you can make a smaller hole closer to 1/4".

Mounting to wall that connects to the attic (gable) would be much easier than mounting to wall that's below the top plate. Mounting to the soffit is also a good option.

On the front of your house these are some locations I'd consider putting cameras:

The red locations are what I'd probably try first, but the green and purple location are ok too. To mount to the soffit, you may need to temporarily remove a piece of the vinyl or aluminum soffit and put a block of wood in place to mount to. Mounting to the wall with a junction box and popping a piece of conduit through the soffit is also an option.

 

[Spackler]

Thank you everyone for the help. Last question. Am I going to want the blue iris software to run this and just buy it on their website? Best to just run on my PC or some other suggested way to record etc.

 

[looney2ns]

@Spackler
I suggest you read the "wiki" at the top of the page, and while there read the "cliff" notes.

Soffit typically is not that difficult to remove. If you have a construction friend, he can show you how. Or I'm sure Youtube can help.
If you were to place a POE switch in the garage, and run all network cables back to that point, I believe you can accomplish what you want in the soffits. Take out a piece or two of soffit, then use something like this to push to the next location.
https://www.amazon.com/Eagle-Tool-E...id=1524935344&sr=8-6&keywords=fiberglass+fish

Or as Tangent said, you could use the same fish rod to run cables from the soffit into the attic.

Keep in mind, you want to know who did it, not just what happened. In that vein, cams mounted higher than 8ft will have a hard time getting a face ID. Your Arlos are too high.

The camera you have chosen is the best bet.

On the garage area, you could use these mounts, drill through the mortor joint into the garage, and run the cable that way.
This is what I did here:

That way you only have to drill a small hole in the mortor, run cat5e to the outside, then terminate.
All the connections will fit inside the mount.
Blue Iris is a great choice.

Take your time, plan your work, and then work your plan.
Glad to see you getting rid of the Arlos.

 

[Spackler]

Ok I have received my cameras and have the BI software. Is there an idiots guide to getting these setup with the right settings, firmware, etc. Thanks.

 

[looney2ns]

Ok I have received my cameras and have the BI software. Is there an idiots guide to getting these setup with the right settings, firmware, etc. Thanks.

Default IP is 192.168.1.108
Default login: admin/admin
Set a good password when it ask's.
Then change the IP in the cam to something away from .108.
Settings you can leave at default until you get your feet wet, then you can tweak as needed.
Firmware, if it's not broke, don't fix it. It most likely shipped with latest firmware.