It's not hard. I had some techs in my overseas office a few years ago. I needed to be on site while they did the work (which for certain reasons that I can't get into had to be of a very high quality). So I asked them to show me how to prepare, cut, terminate, and test CAT-6.
After a day or two's practice, I started making patch cables while the techs were on break. They'd test them after break and, if they met muster, use them.
When I returned to my home from overseas, I bought a spool of CAT-6 and termination tools. The cable was the most expensive. Running the cable was the most time consuming. Terminating plugs and recepticles was the most satisfying.
Big lessons?
1. Decide where your "server room" will be. The closer to the point of incoming lines, the better.
2. Buy more cable than you think you'll need. I figured I'd need 300-ish feet. I bought 1000 feet. So far, I've used a little over 500 feet. In another 100 feet, I will have broken even with the cost of a 500' roll. I'm pretty sure I'll make it... or my brother-in-law or son-in-law will help me get to 999 feet!
3. Never pull a single wire, when two or more can be pulled. It will save you from having to buy any more managed switches than necessary (there really is no other kind, as the unmanaged ones are very inefficient).
4. Use multiple receptacles/faceplates. A four-gang receptacle is the smallest you should place at a termination point. Trust me, you'll end up using every port as the "Internet of things" matures.
5. Wireless wifi repeaters are a waste of time and money. Ensure your cabling is routed to the edges of your home to allow broad placement of wired wifi repeaters. Use these to get to zones you can't (or don't want to) string a wire to... like outdoors.
6. Mark recepticals simply and clearly. I used a coded system using numbered and colored dots scribed with an indelible marker. The colors were coded to individual rooms. That way, I could keep track of exactly where things were going from the large server patch panel. Some ppl use stickers. Fancy, but they fall off... or kids peel them off, making things as fun as opening label-less can goods.
7. Get and use a good testing tool, such as those sold by Klein USA. They cost more than the competition, but still cheap in the scheme of things. Reliable and durable... trust me, your buddies will be asking to borrow them once they see your setup.
Now my mobile tech team leader would say "don't bother with CAT-6, go fibre. The work is the same, performance better, and potential for RFI is nil". But fibre can be tricky to pull (it hates bends and kinks; and my home has nothing but bends and kinks because it was constructed 40 years before home builders even though about laying conduit) and good termination tools for fibre are expensive.
Hope this helps, man. Good luck with your work.
