Cogeco → [INTERNET] New Install Internet & Phone - Landlord has stipulati

Hi All,

Cogeco phone lines are all busy today, I am hoping someone can help.

We are scheduled to have Cogeco phone and internet on Wed. July 24, 2013. Our landlord has just given us a letter of permission for Cogeco to install with stipulations today.

The stipulations are "that the exterior cable must be routed under the existing vinyl siding so that it is not visible and that the cable then may only enter into the apartment through the original access point".

Can this be done? We don't want to be left without phone service because of medical reasons.

Attached are two pictures. The picture of the inside of the window is where the original old cable came in 15 years ago. The picture of the outside, our window is (facing Building) on the left. The original cable would have come out of the window sill at the bottom right (caulked over and could possibly under some siding. I believe Cogeco cable comes from those two boxes beside the window to the right (cable runs from it to the apartment below).

Any help is appreciated.

Jackorama

Are you sure the existing cable needs to be replaced at all? If it was ~15 years old it is quite possible that it could be RG6 already.

The original cable was cut away, no cap on the end. I really don't know who did it. For the longest time there was about 6 inches hanging outside the window frame. When the siding went up on the top half of the building many years ago, it must have been cut back to the window frame.

What is pissing me off is that there is cable going to the apt. below us and is just tacked on the siding that the landlord must have allowed.

This is a bit off topic, I apologize.

We are great tenants and have always paid our rent on time over the 15 years we have been here. We also pay our own water & electricity, heat is included.

When the students are away, during break-ins,we called the police, did the walk through with the police and secured the apartments until the landlord could come in and replace the broken windows. When the front screen door was smashed in, we called the police and cleaned up the broken glass so the other tenants could go in and out of the building. We keep an eye on the building. The other tenants (students) have asked me for help when their fuses have gone and other general low maintenance things. I have cleaned the hallway, stairs and fixed the front door when the hinge comes away from the frame.

We do this for free because the landlord was keeping the rent reasonable for us, though we never asked him too. The landlord does pay my husband a little to cut the grass with a push mower, rake leaves, pick-up garbage and to shovel & sand the walkway of the building. No one who does that for a living would do it for what he pays.

A landlord would be crazy to make it tough for tenants like us. We really don't know what is going on. If we can't get the cable service, I not doing it anymore. The building can go to crap anything needing fixing in my apt. the landlord can pay and get someone in to do it.

If we could move we would, but medical issues right now make it near impossible. I need medical equipment which has partial coverage by ADP, I pay the rest. Also, just finished paying $1500 medical product needed for a 6 months medical program I'm in at the local hospital. I really can't afford Bell. About $106 a month for land line phone and not super fast internet.

Back on topic now.

The landlord is so concerned about the siding, if you can zoom in on the picture, look at where the chains go into the front of the building that was done not long ago by a contractor the landlord has. Use to be big eye hooks there and one of the chain broke off. The contractor cut into the siding to attach the chains. The over hang is crooked. the landlord say's he is worried the cable going to our apartment is going to hang loose and make the front of the building look bad.

One would think that if the contractor did a nice neat job, and made sure the cable was routed along the bottom lip of the siding where possible, that would be good enough for the landlord. You shouldn't have to go through any extra effort that other tenants didn't go through, but ultimately, it is HIS building.

I find the quality of the install depends totally on the tech doing the job. Some of the guys are fantastic and will go out of their way to route their wiring in a neat and professional manner, and are receptive to your concerns. Others just want to get the job done the quickest way possible and get on to the next one.

I find the guys working directly for Cogeco (the ones driving actual Cogeco vans) seem to be better than the subs (PVS and whoever else Cogeco uses).

A number of years back Cogeco was rebuilding in my neighborhood and bringing new underground feeds to each of the houses. PVS was doing the new hook-ups and I came home one afternoon to find a couple guys in my driveway, stringing 200 feet of co-ax from the new demarc box around to the back of the house where the old service came in. They'd taken the cable up the siding and shoved it into the J-Mold between the siding and soffit and were wrapping it all the way around the house. I stopped them immediately and took one of the guys into the house to point out the main splitter, next to my hydro panel....about 2 feet from where they started off. I really couldn't tell whether they guy was pleased or annoyed with me, but I saved him a ton of work and cable that I would have ripped down anyways.

They did the same at my neighbor's house, but he wasn't home to step-in so he called Cogeco to complain after they bent the soffit and moldings all to hell, not to mention the 50 wire clips they'd screwed into his nice new aluminum capping around his front windows!

Some guys do great work, others are hacks....luck of the draw I guess.

Just wondering can the cable come from the pole on the street to the window and would it cost extra? Then that way nothing would be touching the siding. Attached are 2 pictures of the pole outside our window. Sorry, the one from inside the apartment window is cloudy because seal went in it before we even moved in.

Edit: My husband was looking at the siding tonight and found that there is a lot of give and he can slide his fingers in behind the slats of siding. Does this information help?

Thanks.

I have sent you a PM regarding this.

Here are pictures of the cable that was installed after the siding was put up to the tenant, below us.

This is the same lip that goes around our window that the cable has been put behind on the window below us.

Just wanted to say that the installer did a wonderful job. I don't know if the landlord approves or not. He did look at it, but has not said anything about it to us. It's mentioned here »FIXED - Two more days and I will know if I will no longer

Also, very happy with my service and with the help from customer service. Impressed with the fast speeds I am getting.

Thank you Cogeco.