Finally got that tricky alarm panel in a historic building right

I was installing a system in a 1920s building downtown last Wednesday. The walls are all plaster and lathe, so running wires is a nightmare. After three hours of trying to fish a wire through a firestop, I remembered a trick an old electrician showed me. I used a glow rod with a magnetic tip to find the stud cavity from the basement. It saved me from having to cut into the beautiful original woodwork. The homeowner was really happy I didn't mess up his walls. Has anyone else dealt with old buildings where you had to get creative with the wiring?

3 comments

3 Comments

gavinw451mo ago

Did you try using a glow rod from below before you went in from the top? I've done a few old Victorians around here and I always go down to the basement first now, saves a ton of frustration. Fishing up from an open floor joist beats trying to work blind through lathe any day.

piperb9327d ago

Funny you mention that @gavinw45, because my buddy Dave just went through this exact thing last month on his place. He was up in the attic for like three hours stabbing around with a fish tape, cussing up a storm. Then his neighbor came over and told him to just go in the basement with a glow rod. He said it took maybe twenty minutes after that, all done. He was so mad he didn't think of it himself. Now he swears he'll never run another cable without checking below first. Does anyone still try to do everything from the top these days?

the_margaret1mo ago

I read somewhere that working from below is one of those tricks that separates the pros from the weekend warriors. That glow rod trick sounds smarter than wrestling with lathe for an hour.