Just realized I was overcomplicating my wire pulls in old houses.

For years, I'd try to force a fish tape through every tight spot, fighting it for an hour sometimes. Last month, a retired installer at a supply house in Tacoma said, 'Kid, use a vacuum and a pull string with a foam plug.' I tried it on a 1920s bungalow job, and it took ten minutes to run a wire from the basement to the attic. Has anyone found a better trick for those plaster-and-lath walls?

3 comments

3 Comments

ross.felix1mo agoMost Upvoted

Hold on, vacuum tricks are NOT the magic fix. You get one little tear in that foam plug and now you're fishing bits of foam out of the wall for the next hour. I've seen it happen. Sometimes you just need the control of a good steel tape to feel your way through. That old guy's advice is fine until it fails. And @king.andrew, a sink drain is totally different from a wall full of old nails and debris! Forcing it can be the right move if you know what you're pushing past.

drewsullivan1mo ago

Man, I was the same way. Thought you had to muscle it through every time. That vacuum trick is a total game changer.

king.andrew1mo ago

My buddy tried that on a clogged sink last week and it worked on the first pull. He was so shocked he just stood there holding the plunger for a minute.