Stumbled on a trick for running wire through finished walls that actually worked after 15 years of struggling

I was trying to fish a cat5e cable from the basement up to a second floor bedroom and after 3 attempts with a glow rod I remembered an old timer telling me to tape a strong magnet to the wire and use another magnet on the drywall to guide it, and it slid right through the insulation on the first try - has anyone else tried that or am I just late to the party?

2 comments

2 Comments

josephb353d ago

Actually that magnet trick works way better on standard drywall with wood framing, but you gotta be careful on metal studs lol. The magnet will grab the stud instead of your wire if you're not paying attention and then you're stuck pulling it back out. Had that happen twice before I learned to use a weaker magnet on the outside to keep it from latching onto everything nearby.

paul_burns2d ago

What size magnet you using that grabs a metal stud that hard?