PSA: A homeowner's comment about my wire pulling made me change my whole approach

I was finishing a kitchen rewire in a 1920s house in Tacoma last spring. The homeowner, an older guy who used to be a machinist, watched me pull a new 12/2 through a tight stud bay. He said, 'You know, you're fighting that cable. It looks like you're trying to win a wrestling match with it.' He was right. I was forcing it, getting frustrated, and probably putting too much strain on the sheathing. He suggested I try pulling a little, then backing it out a few inches, then pulling again, almost like working a saw. I tried it. That little bit of back-and-forth motion let the cable find its own path around the old nails and knots. It took maybe two extra minutes, but it went in smooth with no kinks. I've been doing it that way ever since on old work. It's a small thing, but it saves my arms and the cable. Has anyone else picked up a simple trick like that from a client?

3 comments

3 Comments

kevin_harris7822d ago

Man, that's such a good point. An old plumber I worked with showed me a similar trick with stiff EMT, where you sort of rock it back and forth to get it past a block in a wall. You just stop fighting the material and let it work for you. It feels slower but you never have to go back and fix a crushed cable or a bad bend. Those little bits of wisdom from folks who've been there are pure gold.

felix_lane9922d ago

Disagree a bit on that one honestly. Sometimes you gotta force it, especially with schedule pressure. I've seen guys baby a conduit run for an hour, then the foreman comes by and just shoves it through in two seconds. That old school "feel" can waste a ton of time if you're not careful. Sure, you might kink a pipe now and then, but replacing ten feet is faster than dancing with it all afternoon.

finleyw5822d ago

Used to force it too, learned the hard way.