Low-Voltage Cable Footage and Box Count
Cable footage and pull-box count for a drop count.
Example
You enter
- Number of cable drops 48
- Average run length (ft) 120
- Service-loop / dressing slack per drop (ft) 15
- Cable box / spool length (ft) 1000
You get
- Total cable footage 6480 ft
- Cable boxes to order 7
Details, formula, and sources
total = drops x (average run + slack); boxes = ceil(total / box length). 48 drops at a 120 ft average run plus 15 ft of slack is 6,480 ft - 7 thousand-foot boxes; a denser 100-drop job at a shorter 90 ft run is 10,500 ft and 11 boxes. The slack covers service loops and rack dressing; each run's length is limited separately by the structured-cabling channel limit. Cable is bought by the box.
total_ft = drops x (avg_run_ft + slack_ft); boxes = ceil(total_ft / box_ft).
Low-voltage cable footage takeoff identity by name (drops x per-drop length; boxes from total / box); first-principles count arithmetic.
The footage takeoff is public quantity arithmetic; the drop count and runs come from the drop schedule and the plan.
Estimate. AHJ and licensed professional govern.
Field names used by the API: drops, avg_run_ft, slack_ft, box_ft, total_ft, boxes
- Per-drop length average run plus service-loop/dressing slack (~15 ft); the drop schedule governsdrop schedule / plan
- Channel limit each run is length-limited separately by TIA-568 (the 100 m channel), checked by structured-cabling-channelTIA-568