If your pub, restaurant or shop is closing for a refit in January, the data cabling has to go in before the plaster, paint and panelling. That means planning it and booking it now, not when the decorators arrive.
January is the obvious month for building work. Like-for-like sales across Britain’s managed pub, bar and restaurant groups slipped 0.1% in January 2026 after a busy December, with bars down 4.9%, according to the NIQ RSM Hospitality Business Tracker. Closing for a fortnight costs less in January than at any other time of year.
The catch is that everyone has the same idea, so trades get booked up early. And the network cabling, which every till, screen and camera depends on, is usually the job that gets thought about last.
Because cable runs through walls, ceilings and floors. Before the plaster goes on, an installer can run neat, hidden cables to exactly where they are needed. Afterwards, the choice is between chasing out fresh plaster or fixing plastic trunking along newly painted walls.
Planning the cabling first also forces a useful conversation. Where will the tills go? Where will the screens hang? Where will the kitchen printer sit? Answering those questions early stops expensive changes later.
More than most people expect. A typical bar or restaurant might need data points for:
Many of these devices can take their power through the data cable using Power over Ethernet (PoE). One cable to a ceiling access point or a camera means no separate power socket in an awkward spot.
Wi-Fi is shared. Every phone, handheld and card machine in the building competes for the same airtime, and on a busy Saturday night that adds up. Fixed equipment that has to work every time, such as tills, kitchen printers, cameras and kiosks, is more reliable on a cable.
The sensible split is cable for anything that does not move and Wi-Fi for anything that does. Handheld ordering devices such as PocketTouch and portable card machines need Wi-Fi. Even then, the access points that provide that Wi-Fi need a good cable behind them. Our guide to business Wi-Fi for hospitality venues covers coverage and guest networks.
For most hospitality installations, Cat6 is the right choice. On our data cabling work we generally use:
The cable is the cheap part. The labour, and the disruption of doing it twice, is what costs money. That is why it pays to fit the right grade first time.
Picture a 120-cover pub adding a function room over the January closure. The new room might need a till point with a spare, a Wi-Fi access point, two cameras covering the entrance and the bar, a screen for event menus and a door entry reader on the side entrance. That is seven or eight new cables, every one of them simple to run with the ceiling open and awkward to add with it closed.
Yes. With walls and ceilings open, it is the cheapest moment to add cameras, upgrade access control or move to a digital phone system. If your venue holds 200 or more people, it is also a good time to think about the lockdown and communication procedures covered in our guide to Martyn’s Law for hospitality venues. If you still have phone lines or devices on the old copper network, our post on the PSTN switch-off in January 2027 explains what needs to move, and the deadline falls in the middle of refit season.
Our data cabling page also covers whether your electrician should install your data cabling. In short, only if they have the right testers and can provide certified results.
When the cabling is planned first, the finished venue looks clean, the tills stay connected on the busiest nights and adding a screen or camera next year is a simple job. When it is left until last, you pay for it twice.
Planning a refit this winter? Talk to CCR Systems about a site survey and cabling plan before the decorators are booked, or call 0151 644 8296.
