Old timer told me to stop running cable so tight and it saved me hours

Been doing residential installs for about 2 years now and I always pulled coax and cat6 as tight as I could. Thought it looked clean. Then this guy Bill who's been in the game since the 90s watched me do a run in a crawlspace last month and just shook his head. He said 'you're gonna break that jacket or crack the inner conductor doing that, leave some slack for the house to breathe.' I felt stupid but I loosened up my next few jobs and honestly it's way faster not fighting to get every inch pulled. Also helps when the customer wants to move the box 2 feet over later. Has anyone else had to unlearn something basic like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

oscar_ellis11d ago

Ngl I learned that one the hard way too after a service call.

holly_sanchez7511d ago

Yeah that first time really stings. I think the worst part is you're standing there feeling like a total idiot while the customer watches you fumble around looking for that one little switch or screw. Now I always take a picture of the setup before I touch anything, just in case I need to put it back exactly the way it was.

drew_park11d ago

Wait, you're saying the house actually MOVES enough to mess with a tight cable? I always thought that was just an excuse guys used to be sloppy. Figured the framing would keep everything in place.