Hot take: should we be using one-size-fits-all cable clips on exterior walls?

I was up on a job in Lincoln last week running coax along a brick facade and noticed half the clips I put in last year were already popping loose from the weather. The standard black plastic clips work fine inside a basement but they seem to crack and lose grip after one winter of freeze-thaw cycles outside. Do you guys stick with the same clips everywhere or do you switch to something like metal fasteners for outdoor work?

2 comments

2 Comments

lunashah1d ago

Oh man, that reminds me of the time I was helping a buddy run some line for his security cameras and we found a whole nest of wasps living inside one of those plastic clips. They were just chillin in there, totally unbothered by the coax. Anyway, for exterior work I switched to using those little stainless steel clips with the rubber grommets. They cost a bit more but I've had the same set on my south-facing wall for like four years without any issues. The plastic ones just don't hold up to direct sun and frost heaving out here.

roses691d ago

Four years and they're still holding up? That's basically a lifetime in exterior clip years. Honestly I had the same problem with those plastic clips once - went out to check on a run I did and half of them were cracked and barely hanging on. The stainless ones are like the difference between a cheap tent stake and a rebar driven into the ground. Plus if you ever drop one and can't find it you don't have to worry about it turning into microplastics in the yard. Wasps in a coax clip though, that's a whole new level of nope for me. Tbh I would've just walked away and let them keep it.