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I have the leftover from a long spool of CAT6. I'd like to run a line to my garage, which is separate from the house.
Can "typical" CAT6 be directly buried, or should I buy one of the "waterproof" cables I see on Amazon?
I'm in the Toronto area, so coldish in the winter, but not particularly wet and in an area with good drainage.
These normal cat6 cables might not work well for ourdoor using. These is direct burial cable which has a tough jacket that can tolerate abrasion underground. If you're in conduit this matter less, but you might choose it anyway.
Indoor UTP cabling is not at all suitable for outdoor use. It cannot tolerate any moisture. Category-6 cabling is difficult for even professionals to install and terminate properly in order to pass the Category-6 test suite.
OSP (Outside Plant) cabling should only be done by a professional. There life and safety concerns. You must have proper grounding and bonding at both ends (lightning does travel through the ground). Buried cable must either be in conduit, or be specifically designed for direct burial. It must be buried at least 24" or below the frost line, whichever is deeper, because the ground does move.
I have done this with no problem. I obsoleted the need for the cable by using WiFi before the cable ever could become a problem. But while I was using it I had no problems. The trick is to not just bury the wire. Enclose it to keep water away from it.
Since this is for home use, I would suggest that you bury it inside a length of PVC pipe.
Get the smallest that will work for you, and put on elbows and such so it comes up at each end then angles down before the cable goes through a wall, so rain stays out of it. I spray-painted mine black so it was barely noticeable, mounted on the wall.
Be sure to plan for failure because this cable is not designed for this, so have a second one in the pipe with the first one just in case. Maybe also make a third one you keep in the garage in case water does cause a problem with whatever is in the pipe and you have to pull them both out and blow it clean.
Like with any conduit-type installation, make sure you pull in a draw string along with the cable(s).
Connectors on each end for easy swapping, of course.
In any case, give it a try. The worst that can happen is that it will work for a few months then fail. You have the cable, and PVC pipe and fittings are all very inexpensive. Not all the PVC joints will need to be glued, but the elbows that go underground definitely should be.
Good luck with this project.
