Checking out some tools from TechToolSupply.com and learning how to run CAT6 cables through my house. DO NOT take this as an instructional video - I am a complete novice at this, and learning as I go. Learn along with me as I attempt to not mess up my house.
TechToolSupply.com
- Use coupon code 'CHRIS10' for 10% off any Cable Ferret or Magnepull product. PRO TIP: If you sign up for TechToolSupply.com's wholesaler/dealer program (it's free and has instant approval), you can shave a few more bucks off of your purchase!
Magnepull: www.techtoolsupply.com/Magnep...
Cable Ferret (ON SALE): www.techtoolsupply.com/Produc...
Cable Ferret Kit (w/30' glow rod kit): www.techtoolsupply.com/Cable-...
Other products used in this video (Amazon Affiliate):
Poly line: geni.us/N9E9l
Cable Matters 24 port keystone patch panel: geni.us/OS4T
CAT6 Plenum cable 1000' roll: geni.us/CveABj
CAT6 20-pack RJ45 keystone jack: geni.us/m21uapN
Leviton keystone wall plates: geni.us/Fnme
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It's always nice when people have amazing attics with huge catwalks and are easy to work in.. Haha. Mine is a nightmare.
Tell me about it. Feels like someone's watching me 😂
Friendly tip, work with gravity. Pull the wire down, not up with the magnet
Thats how all of the other videos I have seen with the Magnepull have shown how to use it. They also were able to go much faster which might potentially help with the issue he was running into with the cable folded over not being able to pass the insulation.
Yup. In my younger days I went top to bottom. Bottom to top is a waste of time and you can avoid all this angle bit. Cameras are a waste of time.
@@raulruiz598 In my younger days I used to do this too, then I realised its a waste of time and after sourcing a good contractor for the job, outsourced the deployment of all the cabling for my projects to them
Running cable is one of the hardest things I do. Customers never understand why it takes so long and cost so much to move a light switch 6 feet.
😱
Two common mistakes you made. Always run one more cable than you think you will need. Cable is cheap and as we get older, running additional cables ends up being more trouble than it is worth. And second, always pull a pull string with your cable to use in the future when even the extra cable isn't enough.
Good tips - thanks!
@@CrosstalkSolutions over pull both length and extra cabling, cables cheap compared to your time. you might also want to pick up a few low voltage boxes for your faceplates. www.homedepot.com/p/Carlon-1-Gang-Non-Metallic-Low-Voltage-Old-Work-Bracket-SC100RR/100160916
@@Killahkazx I use those or similar on all my installs also.
@@philopectol935 or for way less: www.harborfreight.com/electrical-box-cutout-saw-for-oscillating-multi-tools-56666.html
I second Truth Warrier's comments about the string. Always leave a pull string in place, more than sufficient length (about twice needed) and tie a knot around a washer inside the box so it cannot be pulled back into the wall!
the cable ferret is a great example of a tool that's basically a useless gimmick when you don't need it, but the most important tool in your arsenal when you do. it's used for figuring out complex situations where what's happening isn't clear (like when you're hitting something and don't know if it's a board or electrical box... important to know the difference)
Be sure to seal any holes you make in the wall top plates (the holes you drilled in the attic) to avoid moisture traveling from the heated space to the unheated space. Otherwise that nice white insulation will be black around the hole in a few years.
...also a good idea to slow the spread of fire inside walls.
I am far from a professional installer, but I wanted to share some things I learned from my own DYI: 1) Whenever going between floors, like through the top of a wall, you are penetrating a fireblock and you need (in order to slow potential fires and be within code) you should use fireblock foam around the penetration (of course making very sure you are sure you don't need to pull more cable or adjust the cable you have before breaking out the foam). In terms of the hole you drilled in the video, it will also prevent conditioned air from flowing through the hole you made into the attic space. 2) It is good insurance to run another nylon pull (like Poly Line) with your cable if you ever think you might want to pull another. 3) You can strip back the cable a bit and use the copper wire of the cable to help create a strong connection with the Poly Line without as much tape, which helps for a slimmer profile and easier pull. Best of luck with the rest of your cable install!
A 3/4"hole in a top plate of a timber building is never going to increase the fire risk. A timber building is a tinder box every day.
@@einfelder8262 ... Actually, a 3/4” hole can let pass a large amount of heat. Enough heat to char and ignite papers, cardboard, plastic, etc that can be found in attics. It will also allow smoke to penetrate. 33 years in fire department, hundreds of fires as experience, in fire suppression and fire cause and determination.
@@ernestgalvan9037 I agree. But once the timber frame underneath is already on fire causing the heat and char to pass through the 3/4" hole, the cause is already lost. Or are you seriously telling me the 3/4" hole is the cause of the problem.
@@einfelder8262 .... well, not “seriously”, but “earnestly”.....😎 A 3/4” hole (called a “void” in our work) can allow a tremendous amount of heat to pass through. This can impact styrofoam-type insulation, or the paper backing on dry-wall, or wiring insulation, among other effects. Fire voids are a leading cause of rapid fire extension, also called “fire getting away”, or as we used to say, “the Dragon getting free”. (Firemen used to say that a fire was a living, breathing animal, a Dragon) Thirty-three years in fire suppression; been there, done that, seen that; I got the scars, along with the t-shirt.👨🏻🚒
I have a gas furnace in the basement with a flue running up through a large chase to the attic, and finally out the roof. I just opened up the bottom and top of that chase with a hole saw and ran 3” conduit all the way from the basement to the attic, making sure to maintain proper clearance to the flu. From there I dropped a length of poly line down for future pulls and stuffed the ends of the conduit with foam insulation. Now I have home runs for my 3 ceiling mounted access points and all cameras. No need for an industrial switch in the attic since CAT6 is cheap enough to run home runs for everything back to my rack in the basement.
Is it safe to have wires ran that close to the flue, even though its in a conduit? I'd be concerned with the heat.
@@lostmatt In my chase, the flue is “B” vent with a minimum clearance of 1” to combustibles. I’m much further than that.
I don't know what I love more. The Run CMD shirt, or the TIA 568B painting in the background. Beautiful.
Glad to see the comments filled with great advice. I would also like to give my two cents. In the beginning of this video you shared a tool to remove the unifi access point. I have been working with that particular brand of AP for a little over 4 years now. To remove them, I have always just used a simple standard zip tie, and have never had any issues getting them off this way. Running cables is my job so I always have a zip tie on me, and saves you a quick buck if you ever lose your tool.
FYI, the wood block that you ran into is probably a fire block that slows fires from running up your wall cavities and into the rest of the house. If you're planning on drilling holes through these blocks, you have to seal the gaps with fire resistant filler
My thoughts exactly! I only have experience with commercial cabling, so I wasn't sure.
It sounded like he just ran into the top plate.
@@JoshuaBurgess agreed and he said it was one 3ft left to go. Most residential code calls for blocking on 10ft or taller walls in texas. Top plat it is
I was very surprised that he didn’t run into fire blocks in those cavities. They are required where I live and make the process of running wire much harder. I had to cut open the drywall in order to drill through thre fire block and then close up the hole. A big job for me.
Chris, the chain in the magnepull kit comes in handy when using the roller to pull lines through walls that may have internal obstructions like other wires, pipes, boxes, etc. You can drop it through the entry hole in the top plate and jiggle it down through gaps that may be too tight for the bullet end to get through. ProTip!
I was also wondering if a person could string the data line through the chain links and keep the bullet on the end when there are obstructions such as plywood cross members across studs or something stupid, that way you could get the bullet down to the obstruction, then pull the magnet off and onto the chain to pull it down to the obstruction creating slack on the bullet end to carry on pulling the bullet. Never used something like this though.
Oh man this breathed new life and hope into a project I've been avoiding. Thanks for sharing your process and the tools
One point - always mount switches with the ports pointing to the side or down. This will minimize garbage/dust getting into any open ports.
Word to the wise - the right sized zip tie end is perfect for removing unifi aps
I use paper clips to remove them, I use the smaller curved side of the paper I just make sure to squeeze the small side of the clip with pliers to fit the notch on the AP.
Yes, Zip ties are perfect tools for this purpose! Have used them for years. Super easy to use and they're much easier to replace if you lose them.
love these types of videos, thanks for sharing your journey.
Like you I am a novice at wiring, so I found your video very enlightening. In all my years in IT (60+) I have helped pull wiring, etc, but I have never had any desire to do more than help. After watching your video I still have little to no desire to do all the wiring.
Hey Chris love your videos, keep up the good content. What I’d suggest next time you fish cable up a wall cavity with insulation, stagger the cat6 cables about 3 4 inches apart. Then use some electrical tape and tighten the bundles together working your way down . This will pull a lot smoother.
"after smashing my fingers against the ceiling" - Been there and done that.
One word: GLOVES
I have done this stuff for years , I understood all your directions and home office background teaching. Good job.!
For someone from Europe (Germany) it's just funny to watch how these US paper houses are built. :D
you should see how manufactured homes are built in the US, they are basically paper houses (i live in one so i know some of the pains, like walls that are not drywall but basically a cardboard material, all the drywall/wallboards are stapled to the framing, same with the cabinets, my house also had no inner vapor barrier and no outer house wrap, basically just a faux shiplap sheeting - although mine also had vinyl siding ontop of that. its drafty, not great in summer and winter, oh and as it was built in 1985 almost all the pipes are polybutylene so im looking forward to having a pipe break down the line. ) although i will say wiring is easy i can get under the building and the outer walls when you drill through the sill plate it has nothing underneath.
Do I hear the Polizei banging on your door? You better get on the ground.
Just ordered the Magnepull XP-1000 pull. Seen it before, but motivated to purchase by your "non-professional' demo. I saw a couple of pro demos but the pros seem like skilled magicians anyway so not certain a mere mortal like myself could pull it off. You demo was encouraging. Your discount code worked like a champ. Thanks.
I literally just finished pulling cables all this week for a church in a crawlspace. I was going to get the magnepull but wanted to see it in action first. Thanks
It’s important to use fire rated foam to fill that hole in the attic 2x4!
Its code exactly anything thru the top and bottom plate fire block foam
I used to use a length of chain like an old school Magnapull on the end of some polyline. Drop is down the cavity, the weight of the chain would fall down and around any obstacles and you could fish it out of the bottom hole with a piece of wire etc. The rods were great for suspended ceilings in commercial environments, pop a tile on one side, rods across to the other side to another open tile, easy done. Cabling regs have changed a fair bit since back then, a lot more requirements for segregation etc. Guy I used to work with (back in the 80’s) used his small dog to pull cables through roof spaces.
One of my first jobs in IT was pulling phone and data cable. I grabbed a length of sash bead chain from facilities and used that to drop down into walls and fish out though the mud rings. Worst job is crawling through ceilings full of fiberglass insulation. Even with a full body coverall, you itch for days afterward. That was one job I was happy to see outsourced to a cable install company!
A few key items to look into. Fire caulk, punch down tool, and single gang low-voltage rings (for stabilizing your wall plates if nothing else). Also, if running poly line (pull string) always double up and strap for future needs like running coax, replacing cables, etc. These simple things will help with future troubles. Keep it up!
For the cable runs in your attic, look at getting J-hooks. Should help keep the cables organized and out of the insulation in case you need to trace anything later.
They make flexible drill bits that attach to a standard drill that are able to go deep into wall cavities and drill into the bottom or top plate if you ever wanted to go that route
i came here to make this same comment. 48" flex bit from harbor freight, it has a hole that you can attach the cable or pull string
been using tech tool supply for years... they are good people!
Great video Chris. Always fun running cabling through your home
DIY magnet puller - fishing line + small & heavy metal object (test with a magnet). Use electrical tape to attach fish line to end if cables & drop it down. If it gets stuck, try drop it again, or use a magnet (ie from an old hard drive).
American house walls. You guys have it so easy and so much room to work with.
I love my Magnapull. As stated below...I find it works better pulling cable down the wall instead of up. As for the chain...I use this to help pull cable through my office building that has metal studs.
I swear Chris is eavesdropping on me when he puts these videos together. One after the other he's posting content that I'm specifically seeking out. Started with the series on the G4 cameras, then the BeaconHD, and I forget what else.
The Magnepull tool is awesome. They also sell a smaller leader for tighter bends. I have both of them for mine.
So useful, and what a cool pair of tools! It’s after a few years now, I’m thinking about putting in CAT 8 cable in the homestead for 20GB networking. Switches with 4 - 5 2.5GB ports and 2 SFP+ ports, managed, w/ POE run $60! What a life, what changes time has wrought….
A tip for getting cables from exterior walls over to interior walls, where you can more easily access an empty wall cavity through which to go between floors...pull the baseboards. The drywall sits 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch off the floor, covered by the baseboard. You can chase the wire along the floor within that cavity beneath the drywall. Then, when you get to the wall cavity you want to use, you can drill up through the edge of the 2x4 base plate and into the cavity. From there, you can move up or down, though you'll need to cut a 1 gang box opening through which to run a drill bit (if going down) or to feed the line up. A mud ring and blanking plate are an easy cover for the access hole if you don't want to patch the drywall.
Great tip! I have used that trick plenty of times. Just make sure you don't put any nails thru the cable when you put the baseboard or quarter-round back!
Last couple of videos you uploaded I thought to myself. What an odd looking piece of art on that wall with those colors. And today I figured it out. Man I’m feeling stupid all of a sudden.
I love that art!
instead of cutting and patching holles in my walls, i removed the baseboard and cut about 3 inches of drywall out all along th floor. this allowed me room to drill each stud and feed the cable through the studs. a quick screw back up (or drywall mud) for the cut out drywall and then re-installed the baseboard. easy peasy and no drywll patching or painting. nice clean quick installation.
great idea! thx!!
I used outdoor fiber cable that were going to be thrown out by my ISP. They were stiff, sturdy, and strong enough to do the job.
Not sure if you’ve realized by now, but the chain that’s included in the maganapull kit is meant to serve the purpose of the Polly line you used.
Also I like your canvas. T568B. In my recent project I ran 8 cat6a lines through tough insulated ceilings for POE cams.
1.)The correct keystone crimper or knockdown tool. 2.) Use a LV box instead of just a hole in the wall when running wall plates. They make a tool that goes on a vibratory tool that is an outline of an electrical/LV box. Literally cuts it in 10 seconds. Done.
The Magna puller is a great tool. I have one myself. I wired my house with cat 6 and have a 48 port switch. Not fully used, but I needed more than 24. So I ran a lot of cable and have multi keystones ports all over I can plug into. My attic is tiny. I have a low slope roof. I did all my wire running under my house. That included coax for the new antenna I mounted being a cable cutter. Wires for the rear surround speakers in the family room. Mostly done myself. My 12U network rack is mounted up high in my small closet in the middle of my house. It was a lot of work. A lot of crawling under my house, getting out to pull wires up and then back under again over and overt!!!. Once all the work is done, is great. In the future, those cat6 cables should be able to handle 10 gigabit just fine.
Oooh. Timely video is timely. I recently moved into a place in Hillsboro and I'm getting ready to supplement the existing cat5e with cat6 runs.
I love my Magnepull. I also use a Magnespot to be able to know where I shall drill.
I use poly string trimmer line for pull lines. It diesn't fray out or hang up on nails, splinters or cracks in the inner wall sheet rock or framing. And will take a heck of a beating before breaking. I've even used string trimmer line to fish fires trough firewalls in my vehicles when I want to run a new wire for something. A big zip tie with the string trimmer line pushed into the zip tie catch and you've got a nice stiff, non conductive pull system.
That Ferret tool will be perfect gift for the WORST SERVER ROOM contest participants. They need something like that to find that damn patch cord.
I use Magnapull. Awesome wall fish tools. They also have locators too.
Yes, best things since sliced bread
I love my Magnapull.
If you already have RG-6 cable lines in your rooms, using MoCA adapters is a much more viable solution. Recommend you use the low voltage old-work boxes too for a much more professional and easier job rather than making those round holes. The square cuts for the boxes allow you to put you hand in the wall to grab stuff. Also along with the wires you pull, always pull another string for future use.
While it’s a good solution for some situations, MoCa is not a replacement for proper network cabling.
Use the drop chain for hollow walls, then use the magnet to get the chain to the cut-out. When attaching your cable to pull I like to cut back about 6 inches of insulation, the run 2 pair through the pull in one direction and two in the other direction twist tight and tape with a smooth head, if pulling two cables, tape the 2nd cable securely about 12 inches back with about 6 inches of tape again with as smooth and pointed a head as you can to avoid getting the cable hung up.
Welcome to a not so fun job an electrician deals with! I like you finished wall mounted plate trick! Quick tip for tying cables onto your pulling device; strip the cable, loop half of the conductors (if they fit) through the pulling device, twist all of the conductor together, fold them back onto the coat of the cable and tape the piss out of the conductors, try to make smooth lips with the tape as you transition between different widths, that way nothing catches on the way through or on the way back if you are struggling.
Also match your LV outlets with your AC outlets, usually approx 19" from the the floor.
I've used a 20" piece of steel chain for years to pull thermostat wires, cat five. I used a really strong magnetic wand to grad the chain to pull it.
Toilet chain works great for that.
I used to fish lines pretty frequently.. I bought a magnapull and used it like 2 times.. then sold it. Cheap glow rods or a fish tape just so much easier.
Magnapull comes in handy if you come across insulation. Or, sometimes if you drop a drill bit or something, it comes in handy for that as well.
You need a "bell hangar" drill bit. You drill from your opening near top of wall and through the wall plate. I have a 3' and 6'. A must have tool for running security wire.
Sometimes I have to pull cable through large areas above drop ceilings that narrow down to smaller, difficult areas. I could definitely see some good use of the Cable Ferret in doing that!
Hi Crosstalk Solutions. I really enjoy your videos. I’m just a handyman, but I have hauled my fair share of cables through walls over the years. However, my experience (especially with internal walls), is that there are usually cross studs in the walls (usually halfway down, plus sometimes diagonal studs at certain locations as well), so running cables from floor to ceilings are usually much harder. My current house has steel frames, with holes already punched through the studs at regular intervals, but unfortunately these holes rarely line-up. I’m not lucky enough to have a Wall Ferret, but in the past I have used “cabled Pin-hole cameras” attached to a pushrod, to find my way through walls with existing holes, and that is where cameras like this are really useful. However, as you found out, being able to control the camera to get the best view is often the real problem. Maybe someone out there has a Camera head that you can control a little better, or even a pushrod that allows you to control the tip.
When he didn’t put a mud ring in the hole that he drilled actually broke me.
At least he installed wall anchors instead of screwing directly into drywall.
George Bush why even install them if your not gonna do it right in the first place hahahahaha
@@Harrypm3 IDK, I would give this solution a C+ or maybe even a B.
What non-electrician home owner is using mud rings for a home cable run? Not very many is the correct answer.
Jon G but he does client installs if you have watched any of his other videos so...
Similar to the Cable Ferret, I purchased a "DEPSTECH Wireless Endoscope" on Amazon a while back when trying to run cable in a finished ceiling that had lots of metal studs supporting it and a ridiculous number of obstructions, including a distribution box for some elevator / building automation controls and several PVC sprinkler lines. I kept getting hung up and didn't want to make new holes since it was a public lobby area where looks were important. The light was super bright and the field of view a bit wider, so I could see further than the image you showed in your wall. This helped me fish the camera over to the hole for the access point and then pull string from there to the places I needed it. The camera is on a 12' semi-rigid, bendable cable. It requires a USB power bank or charger for power. It then connects to your phone with wifi.
Second that one - I used two of the DEPSTECH to cross a 90 degree pull between two attic spaces where one was not physically accessible. The bright light and camera on both poles made it possible/not-easy to find each other. I could not have done that pull with the size of the Ferret.
Bonus is you can check yourself for ass cancer. Save an expensive trip to the doctor.
@@thezfunk someone had to bring it up
@@spasmonaut10 it is funny I found it in the comments because I have a friend who just bought one to use it on himself. He is a strange duck.
@@thezfunk I bet he's hard to buy gifts for.
I usually have two boxes/reels of cable, if I want to pull two cables. That way you don't have to guess the center. More importantly I just tie all the conductors to whatever I'm using to pull the cables, which is way stronger then tape in my opinion. It's also less thick than bending the cable, which makes it easier to pull it through stuff.
Yeah, that "bend it in half" idea was nice in theory but has the flaw of thickness. OK inside a clear vertical un-insulated run though.
Another great tool I fell in love with as a Cable Guy, now use for CCTV DATA Access Control. Is from Labor Saving Devices called The Wet Noodle less than 20 bucks...small compact easy-to-use and small enough to keep in a tool bag. Magnet small.enough to stick thru a small hole in a door frame and lamp chain you find with its magnetic tip.. very inexpensive too..... yep string first, or cut and tape multiple wires as a torpedo head and staggering them.. OMG. You used a level in the attic no one but a HVAC guy would have noticed if you had eyeballed it , impressed! To dress the wall plates you van use a mud ring that makes the jack on the wall a little firmer....Luckily you didn't have "Fire Stop" blocks of woods across the cavity in the wall... May look at a Cable Ferret... there are few times you'd like to know what the heck you're hitting or what obstruction you got....
A combination of the cable ferret and the magnetic pull (maybe taped together) could be useful.
To run cables into the attic - Klien makes a 6' long flex drill bit (Google 'klien long fishing drill bit'). You cut the hole in your sheetrock for the jack and then fish the drill bit up into (or down into) the wall and drill through the top plate (or bottom plate). You then go to the attic (or crawlspace) and the bit has an eyelet on the end of it to tie off your wires. Go back into the room and pull the drill bit back in with your wires on it.
It's triggering me that you didn't use either mud rings or "old-work" boxes.
I'm debating using them myself - I don't see anything wrong with hole sawing it out and then using some anchors (I have a shit ton around here) to mate the wall plate to the drywall.
@@the_kombinator When I'm planning additional new runs to an existing plate, finding a drilled hole instead of a box is a bit like opening the blinds in a hotel room to find a brick wall outside. It's one of those "awwww" moments.
@@Treddian I'm running two drops to every plate (4 drops in my office) - I'll never need more unless I suddenly decide to mine bitcoin. But maybe you're right - at least in the lower floors I'll use them.
What is the best way to run cable from outside to inside it prolly will be spf+ or ++40gbs fiber vs cat im new to fiber normally i just drill hole shove fill this is a very wet area of organ snow rain and its going to a very costly server room hope u reply treddian
It's not an issue with low voltage systems, but it isnt the recommended method. Smaller hole to patch if he regrets making it. However the 3d printed boxes for 120v systems is a big nono.
There are a few suggestions on this thread to use fire block foam to fill holes drilled in sill plates. That's such a great idea that it is required by code. But sometimes you need to be able to open the hole again so try electrical putty or duct seal. It acts as a fire and air stop and is easily removable. Also, it's putty, you can find lots of uses for it including as a toy.
This came just in time...closing on my first house tomorrow...one of the first things I want to do is run cable to most of the rooms and to some security cameras.
A piece of advice, always run an extra wire. Wire is cheap enough and it’s so worth it in the event you someday need it.
For the exterior wall, you can get 4' long flexible drill bits. You feed them through a wall box and up into the top of the wall and plate.
I've wondered how you manage to keep them from boring a hole at an angle at the top plate and winding up with a hole somewhere that you don't want one.
@@spasmonaut10 They have neat little tennisballs on go on the end, and levers that keep the bend radius consistent. www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-3-Piece-Flexible-Drill-Bit-Kit-53721/203913339 and www.techtoolsupply.com/Bumper-Balls-In-Wall-Drill-Guide-1-3-4in-2-1-4in-p/rat-bb3412.htm
@@JoshuaBurgess I used their flex bit as well as a few of their flex extensions. They work great but they are a nightmare to retrieve if the extension comes loose. Almost lost the bit when drilling from the attic to the basement in my 2 story home.
i have used these many times, they work great. If you are using an extension, make sure you tighten the junction well, I had one come loose and when i removed the rod, all that came out was the extension!!
The use case for the Cable Ferret is definitely sending the sticks through the plenum area above a drop ceiling. With that bad boy you could probably guide the sticks 20 or 30 foot at a pass! Wish that was a thing back in my old cabling days 20 years ago...
I remember working for San Diego Alarm and in a very old building, there were Tube & Knob wires (which were bare). I used my Simpson meter to test the wires, and to my surprise the wires were HOT with live 120 volts! 10 years later, when I was an E.M.T., We had to rescue a telephone repairman who was electrocuted the same way by brushing against a hot wire. We tried in vane to save the man, but with sweat, and salt making a perfect conductor, It stopped his heart instantly! PLEASE be careful in the attic, and cut the power to the building if you are not sure!
5:07 looks like a flexible rod. Very cool kit.
Unless I'm mistaken, it's not a 4x4. The top plate is typically two 2x4s on top of each other. I used to be an electrician, and did a lot of this wall fishing. At the time, we used what's called a "fish tape", which is a piece of thin steel rolled into a coil. It unrolls as you pull it off the roll. Any home improvement store will have such a thing.
That cable ferret would be ideal for hooking onto poly line where you cant get direct access either by hand or entirely by a pull rod. There have been a few instances where I couldn't run a wire because I couldn't feel or see the line.
Looking from Europe at your walls, isolation snow and strange wall cavities. And I can only think: Wow. Four years ago I needed to pull approximately 40 feet of CAT6 cable from the garage to the top of the attic. There is a empty tube -purposely installed there for this exact reason- going all the way up. What I did is attaching a small cotton piece to a very light thread and used the vacuum cleaner at the other end to suck the thread all the way through. Then attached a much stronger rope to the tread and pulled it up through the tube. Once done, connect the CAT6 cable to the rope and make sure you cover the cable with talkpowder (the powder sportsmen use to cover their hands with when pulling weights) and just pull the rope from above. Did it alone and took me about an hour. Nice vid.
They make cable pulling lube... The bucket looks like you’ve been indecent with an elephant but when you need to run 60ft of 30mm cable down a 1.5” steel conduit from a GOST motor starter to a blower motor. You’ll appreciate it!!! ...I started out in a panel shop for environmental combustion company and we sold a vapor recovery skid in Russia and spent a long 80hr week running all the cables before it was shipped.
@@peterg.8245 yeah I know there is lube available on the market. But how does that look like after being 15 years in a tube? Does it dry out and act like cement so you'll never get the cable out? Talkpowder will not do that.
Nice video, good presentation. That music at the end.......it's clearly "It's a shame" by The Spinners but changed just enough to not get sued.
Instead of the cable ferret you could also just use a endoscope, but the Magnepull seems VERY usefull.
😂😂😂 I have never laughed so hard on any of your videos....Presenting Chris with the new improved xxx network kit.
I used the Magnepull (and Magnespot) for years as an installer. The Magnepull's not always super handy (most of the time fiberglass rods are quicker and work just as well), but when you DO need it, it's invaluable. As for the Magnespot, if you ever have a need to put a hole in exactly the right spot on the inside, from the outside, the Magnespot is awesome. It uses a vibration frequency on a transmitter that you put inside where you want the hole (it uses a push pin), and you take the locator outside to find the location. It will give you a 4-point alignment, right down to the hole in the middle of the locator, where you can mark it. It also works when going through floors, but I've personally not had much need when drilling through floors (usually have an idea of where the hole will be before drilling, since I can see both sides).
(adding comments as I'm watching) Also, you could have used the included chain instead of the poly line if it's a one-off line pull, which could have saved you some time of running to the hardware store. For drilling up through the ceiling (and down through the floor from a jack location), the easiest way is to use a flex bit up (or down) through the wall, though when doing that, you don't have a way to add any fire block to the hole in most cases. If a house is balloon framed, it's a non-issue, otherwise it's something to be considered.
I like your Ethernet color code painting on the wall there... I want to get me one, just so when people come over, you will know who is a networking nerd by who comments on it, LOL.
You can use cable’s stapler to mount cables instead of nails -> Gardner Bender MSG-301 Heavy-Duty Stainless Steel Staple Gun, Low Voltage
I have one piece of advice for anyone building a house. Take profuse pictures of the building process, especially EVERYTHING before the sheet rock goes up. Get shots of all the walls before the drywall but after the plumbing and electrical and coax is installed (which installing coax is probably obsolete now, so call it ethernet if being installed). You have no idea how helpfut it is to know where a horizontal blocking board between studs exists for future wire pulling. Also, knowing exactly where the pipes are will help if there is a leak. Also knowing the best place to cut through the wall to access the bathtub and shower drains to check for termite ingress. Also take pictures of the plumbing laid out before the slab is poured may definitly help in the future.
Please tell me where you purchased that painting of the Ethernet wire colors hanging in back of you.
Flex bit is what you needed for that exterior wall that you kept hitting the top plate on
Yes!
I am amazed you didn't hit any cavity with a fire block!
The in-wall video camera would have been very helpful when I installed a 2" conduit from attic to basement in a 6" plumbing wall. I had little access to see into the wall top or bottom except with a mirror, and it was quite a challenge avoiding obstacles. I planned a path around the plumbing, but I hadn't anticipated the power lines in that wall. I doubt anyone will notice the extra holes in the doubled 2x4 header.
What do you need a 2" conduit for in a residence? What size wire you pulling? How many? Was it flex conduit? I hope it wasn't 2" EMT.
Chris... Great videos (more on that in another post)... But hey, when you first started to use the box at the top of the wall and then couldn't get through the top plate (which, BTW are probably 2x4's not 4x4's), you can get something called a flexible drill bit. They're basically a short 1/2" or so bit on a long semi-flexible rod. Like those pulling rods, you can shove that into your opening and then attach a drill to it and drill a hole through your top plate. On mine, there is a small hole in the tip of the bit that you can put your poly line through to pull it back down. I got mine like 20 years ago from Gray Bar Electric, but I'm sure you can find them even in a bix box store these days.
Get a cable dispenser. You can make one with a beer crate & circular tubing / trunking. This makes running multiple runs fast and simple for 1 person. You can also use a decent Rc car to pull cable off of the cable dispenser faster than you can walk in a ceiling. A drone could also be used in larger spaces
Thank you for this video. Never thought about polyline. I'm in a situation where I want to get wired ethernet through the house in some parts and I've considered using existing phone and coax wires as a pull cord. Of course they go from places I don't want ethernet to places where I don't want ethernet, so it's a waste. I had looked at the magnepull before, might be a good option.
Yup! 120 year old house here with brick walls and plaster & lathe interior - heck, mostly pre-electric. Really old 4-prong phone boxes and a couple of later phone jacks in walls where I don't need anything anymore. Early 1900s electrical wiring. I'm watching several videos seeing what people do when working without new construction or drywall situations.
If the phone lines were run during construction (i.e. when the walls were still open), then they're stapled to the wall studs, so you won't actually be able to use them as a pull line. Stapling the lines would be code in most/all locations, versus them just flopping around freely in the walls.
You're so lucky your home has easy access in the attic. Mines has a million beams everywhere
That sucks
Great Video!!!!! I have the same magnet pull unit but the "over the pond" version, works good but lots go more often than it should being less strong of a magnet. I SHOULD have spent the extra $$ and bought the REAL thing
Having a basic understanding of residential house construction will go a long way! Having a Cable Ferret would be a huge help when doing any kind of renovation or old work in-wall wire runs where you may not know what obstacles lie in your path. Some construction will not have a clear interior wall cavity to work with. Many times you will have bracing or fireblocks installed where prior electrical lines are run, or in older construction where diagonal crossing support struts or beam studs are used to reinforce a wall. These are notorious for preventing a true cable pull, but with that Ferret cam you could identify what may not be fully picked up by many stud finders. It's also good to identify if any other high voltage electrical or plumbing lines might be in the path or cross your path you wish to chase your low-voltage runs. It's important to not run your data cables near your high-voltage electrical if at all possible!
Always leave double length of the poly line parallel to any installation so that you can later run additional cables between those points. Make it that long so that you can pull the later cables from either end of the run. Don't use these methods for electrical wiring which should be stapled to the studs at intervals. A simple version of the pull rods that I've used for runs up to 8' is essentially free. I'm a landlord and often find myself replacing minioblinds in my units I save the rods used to control the slats and use bits of dowel join them as needed, with a bit of electrical tape to keep them from pulling apart. They seem to have a proper flexibility. Most of these tools can be improvised, which may be the better option for occasional occasional use.
Use a ship auger bit it works better than spade bit. Why not use low voltage rings it work better than drilling a hole in the wall plus you have more space. Doesn't cat 6 have a bend radius that you have to be careful of. Could damage cable pairs. Also did you use saddles in the attic? Or did you use electrical staples.
And there I was using a weight (ringspanner) to have my cable go down 1 floor. Now I see a big plus for the 'wooden'-houses used in the USA. Or house is made with concrete walls and floors, no way I could use those tools except the ferret.
When pulling the poly line, attach the cat6 WITHOUT cutting the line. When the pull is done, you still have poly in the wall. bundle the extra and place it in the cavity. Next time you need a wire you will thank yourself. This line can be used indefinitely for the same run since you have enough length to go back and forth.
Here is my favorite cable running tip. Let's say you want to find a first floor wall from a basement. Chuck a stiff piece of wire (close hanger or piano wire) into your drill and drill down into the basement at the intersection of the wall and baseboard. The wire should go behind the baseboard and in front of the wall. Go into the basement and find the end of the wire and just figure out where the center of the wall is from there. The hole the wire leaves is small enough that all you need is a dab of caulk or spackle to cover it. The wire should be 18 to 24 inches long and put a chisel tip on it so it will cut through wood. Be patent it is not a great drill but it will work. Obviously, this works between any two floors, just drill in the appropriate direction. ;)
interesting video. That cable pull rod looks to be the same material used for cleaning dryer vent pipe.
Loving the network pin out canvas - where was that from ?!
Could of used a Greenlee d'versibit which will drill through a 4x4 with a fished hole on the end and pulled the bit back down. Nice tool to add to your collection.
The Ferret. Helps when you have vertical noggings, or if you drop something in the wall... To make a hole in the nogging you need to be sure that there is no electrical cables near the hole point....