Found a better way to fish lines through insulated walls in Cincinnati last week

I was stuck on a job in an old house with that blown-in cellulose insulation, and after fighting with it for an hour I tried using a fiberglass glow rod with a fish tape taped to it instead of the usual method. Worked smooth as butter on the next three runs. Has anyone else found a weird combo of tools that just clicks?

3 comments

3 Comments

james_campbell1220h ago

Man I feel your pain on that insulation stuff. I spent a whole afternoon once in a rental house that had that blown in crap packed so tight it was like trying to fish through a wool blanket. Your trick with the glow rod and tape sounds like one of those things you just stumble onto out of pure frustration. I had a similar moment using a shop vac to pull a string through a conduit that was packed with old wires. It worked so good I still use it now and then. You gotta respect those little hacks that save you from wanting to punch a hole in the wall.

the_anthony16h ago

Pump the brakes a little on calling it a hack though. I mean yeah the shop vac trick works for pulling strings, but run that thing too long on a tight conduit and you'll melt the vacuum motor or suck a bunch of debris into it. I've seen guys burn up a shop vac doing that. It's handy sometimes but it's not some magical solution. You gotta be careful not to overdo it.

finleym4316h ago

Oh come on, now. The vacuum trick is fine as long as you're not running it for half an hour straight. I've used that method plenty of times and never melted a motor or sucked up anything worse than a little dust. You just have to be smart about it. As for the glow rod and fish tape combo, that sounds like a solid workaround for those tight insulation jobs. I've done similar things myself when the standard methods were failing. It's not some groundbreaking invention, just a practical fix for a common problem.