In my house, I want to fish a network cable from one room to another, going between the 1st and 2nd floor. The problem area is the truss space between 1st and 2nd floors, of which the cable needs to traverse ~15’. I have access to this space on the west where it’s open to the attic. On the east, the cable will be going up into the wall, then out a hole which already exists.
If I feed the fish from the west (open access to the truss area) I think I could get it far enough in, but then I would have no way to attach the cable.
If I tried to feed the fish down the hole on the east, I’m sure it’d get stuck on the floor trusses/ducts/wiring/etc as I wouldn’t be able to guide it.
I’ve seen a modified RC tank being used to pull cable along a ladder-style cable tray. I’d be open to something like that, though it’d need a camera and gripper or hook. I haven’t found anything that looked like it’d be light enough for drywall yet big enough for the obstacles, not to mention a camera - and being priced for one-time use.
I can’t help with suggestions, but I do want to suggest adding a semi-permanent extra cord or thick string along with it, with an additional full length of that distance available on both sides. This way if you have to fish this same route in the future, you have something to pull on from whichever direction you opt to go.
(Networking was just fished through a wall in my house taking advantage of this string setup that had been put into place years ago)
Perhaps a combination of tape and sticks? If you could see what you’re doing, you could push a fish tape with an eye on the end down the wall, then reach in with a stick and hook from the attic to grab it and pull toward you.
Also, you can often get a surprising amount of access by popping the baseboard and cutting a handhole. Unless you’ve got super low-profile modern trim anyway
If I’m reading this right…
Drop a string with a piece of steel on it (driver bit,etc) down from 2nd floor. Horizontal rod with magnet on it from side. Make contact with magnet and feed more string as you pull rod back through the trusses. I would then feed the cable from 2nd floor. The turn will be easier going down, then across.
I second @stepho ’s idea of including a string for future feeding. I just ran a bunch of cables with that feature through the trusses between floors. But I’m not sure I have any other advice that helps; I’m doing a major renovation that will require skim coating and painting all the walls and ceilings anyway, so I just cut access holes where I needed them. I still found it a bit tricky to fish cables so that they wouldn’t snag on ducts, pipes, wires, etc., so I actually put several sections of gray PVC electrical conduit up there, which I hung with zip ties from small hooks I put in the trusses. Feeding the cable becomes fairly simple then.
So I guess my real advice is: become really good at patching drywall. This will make you utterly fearless in renovating anything in your house.
Thanks for the suggestions! I’ll definitely add a cord/string to aid in future cabling. I hadn’t considered a magnet; that will do the trick for connecting to the fish tape. Now I just need the attic to magically cool down enough for me to work in it…
