jason524•1mo agoMost Upvoted

Found a way to pull cable through a tight attic space without tearing up drywall

Had a job in a 1950s house in Tacoma where the attic access was tiny and the run was blocked by a cross brace. Instead of cutting a new hole, I taped a small magnet to the end of my fish tape and used a strong magnet on the outside of the wall to guide it around the brace. It took about 20 minutes of careful moving, but the fish tape popped out right at the outlet box. Anyone have a different trick for these old cramped attics?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_elliot1mo ago

Thought it was dumb until I tried it.

the_lucas1mo ago

Honestly, that magnet trick sounds like way more hassle than just cutting a small access hole.

-1

jordanl821mo ago

Depends on what you're doing, I guess. Cutting a hole means patching and painting later (a real pain if you have textured walls). The magnet trick is just a tiny hole for the string, so no one ever knows it was there unless they look super close. Plus, you get to feel like a wizard for 10 minutes, which is its own reward.