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Why does nobody talk about using a zip tie to fish a line through a tight drop?
I was stuck on a job in a 1960s apartment building last month, trying to get a new line down a wall that had about three inches of space and a bunch of old, crumbly insulation. My fish tape kept getting hung up on a nail plate. After half an hour of swearing, I remembered a weird tip from a guy I met at a training in Charlotte. I cut a small notch in a heavy duty zip tie, hooked my line to it, and taped the whole thing to the end of a cheap fiberglass driveway marker I had in the truck. It was stiff enough to push past the blockage but flexible enough to bend. It slid right through on the first try. The super looked at me like I'd done magic. Has anyone else found a weird household item that saved a job?
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hall.alex7mo ago
That zip tie trick reminds me of using a wire coat hanger to snake a drain last year.
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jenkins.richard7mo ago
I always thought those hacks were dumb but @hall.alex you're right, they actually work great.
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kelly.robin6mo ago
My uncle showed me that trick in his garage in Toledo. He used a zip tie to pull a new coax line through a ceiling. I thought it was nuts until I tried it myself on a retrofit. Now I keep a pack of the big ones in my tool bag. It beats buying a whole new specialty tool for one weird job.
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