I am trying to drop some wires (telephone and network) through a wall and am having a heck of a time. It is an inside wall and there is no insulation in it, and I don't think there are any horizontal braces. I've got the new expansion box in and from what I can see the cavity is empty. I've got decent attic access and was able to drill a hole through the top plate without trouble. I thought it would be an easy drop (and I have done them before - quite a few).
The trouble started when I couldn't get the wire down. So I took a wire fish tape (snake) and tried to grab it from the bottom. The tape snagged on something and I managed to actually break it trying to pull it out, leaving part of it stuck in the wall. Then I went up in the attic and pulled the wire out and tried to push one down from the top. It got stuck too! This time I didn't try too hard to yank it out and went back down to the bottom and stuck another tape up to try and pull the one from the top down. You guessed it - stuck [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img].
So now I have three tapes stuck in the wall, and no wire run [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]. I do have access to the wall behind it and am thinking that I have to cut out a pretty good sized section of the drywall on the back so I can see inside the wall and try and figure out what is going on in there. I didn't think that I had any other wires (electrical) running through that cavity, but I'm guessing that I may (there are outlets in the area).
Any advice on how to do this? In all my wire running experience, I've never had a situation like this. I'm not especially comfortable with tearing a wall apart, but I know that it doesn't have to be all that difficult. So before I dive in to the project I'm hoping that those of you that have done this kind of thing can offer some advice...Chris
I've never had much luck using fish tapes when wiring our house (built late 1800s, plaster and lath, thick top plates). I've been successful with the following process...
1. Cut the hole in the wall for the outlet.
2. Drill a hole in the top plate.
3. Stick a flashlight in the outlet hole
4. Peer into the hole in the top plate and hope I see a light!
5. Assuming I do, I attached a small weight to a piece of string and dropped it through the hole in the top plate and 'aim' for the light. I placed a mark at 8 feet on the string so I know if the weight comes to a stop much before I've fed 8 feet then there's an obstruction in there somewhere.
6. Reach into the outlet hole and feel around for the string.
7. If I can't feel the string, I made hook in the end of a piece of 12 gauge wire and tried to snag the string.
8. When I find the string, I use it to pull the cable through the outlet hole in the wall.
9. Pull the cable into the box, wire the outlet and shove everything back into the hole in the wall.
I did all the wiring by myself so this process could involve a number of trips up and down the steps to the attic.
Chris,
The weighted string trick is the best. Especially if you are dealing with an existing box. You can slide a #12 with a hook in the end up into the wall. Bend the wire, twirl it some, back and forth. When you snag the string, pull it through the box.
Definately make sure your weight drops as far as your box, or beyond.
Thanks for the advice. That sounds like a better aproach than tearing my wall apart. One question, though...what do you think that I should do about the fish tapes that are stuck in the wall? Should I cut them off and just leave them in there? Is there any chance that they might cause problems down the road?
It is worth noting that there is no particular reason to run telephone, network, and other low voltage cables inside a wall. One trick is to pull off the quarter round and or base board. Usually there is a gap of 1/2 inch or more at the bottom.
Chances are, there is a wire in the wall which is the source of your problems. It doesn't take much to hold things up. Its too late, but you could have tried straightening the hook on the fish tape, and threading it through, then rebending the hook. That way it wouldn't have got stuck.
I was threading a wire through a conduit in a concrete wall once and it got stuck. I tried and tried to no avail - it had to come out or go through, or I'd have do outside power. I spend hours. I figured what the heck - I'd try to snag it with a hooked wire from the other end. Got it first try.
Maybe somebody does like me!
As for your fish tape, they are usually much longer than you'll ever use, so you may as well just cut it.
Sort of a variation on Mike's answer: if you haven't already mounted the box in the wall, try to shine a flashlight onto a small inspection mirror stuck inside the wall. The light will reflect up and you can see the spot that is illuminated. This may show you the obstruction you are hanging up on.
As for the pieces of fish tape, abandon them in the wall unless you plan on getting in there again.
Thanks for all the input, everyone. I'll leave the tapes in the wall and hope that a weighted line will work. I do need to drop through the wall, though, because my existing wiring is in the attic. I won't be able to tackle it today but hopefully I'll have a "success" follow up tomorrow [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img].
Finally succeeded in getting all the wire run, spliced in, and working. Still don't have the purty wall plates on, but things are functional.
Turned out that my hole in the top plate was going in to a different wall cavity than my hole in the drywall. Duh. Drilled a new hole up top, dropped a string down, weighted with a bolt, and low and behold, there it was, right in front of the hole below when I went down. A miracle, at last! Pulling the wires was uneventful and that took care of that.
'Course, I do have wire fish tapes in my walls, but we won't tell anyone about that, right? [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]
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