Ran my first drop through a finished wall using a magnet and a shoelace, saved me from cutting drywall
Had a customer in Mesa who wanted a new outlet in a room with a freshly painted wall and zero attic access, so I was about to cut a hole when I remembered a trick an old installer showed me. I tied a small magnet to a shoelace, dropped it down the wall cavity from the top plate, then fished it out through the existing outlet box using a second magnet, and pulled the cable through in about 10 minutes. Anyone else got a go-to trick for fishing walls without making a mess, or do you just cut and patch?
Magnet fishing works great until you hit a fire block halfway down, then you're back to cutting anyway. Best trick is to check the stud bay from the basement or crawlspace first if you can, a lot of those walls are open down there and you skip the whole fishing game. Mesa homes usually got that poured slab though so your shoelace move was prob the only play.