Had to choose between fishing a line or cutting a new hole in a finished ceiling yesterday

Customer's old coax was stapled tight behind crown molding in their living room, no slack at all. I could either try to fish a new line through the same path for an hour, or cut one small access hole in the drywall to get a clean pull. I went with the hole, patched it with a California patch, and it took 20 minutes total. They were happy with the speed and the patch is invisible. Anyone got a better trick for dealing with stapled cable in finished spaces?

3 comments

3 Comments

jenny3916d ago

Honestly, that's the move right there. I read a forum post once where a guy spent half a day trying to fish behind crown, wrecked the molding, and still had to cut a hole anyway. Your way gets the job done fast and the patch hides it. Tbh, most people just want their stuff working and no big mess. That California patch trick is a lifesaver for keeping things clean.

theasmith6d ago

Nah, that's just lazy workmanship.

miles9463d ago

My buddy had the same exact problem with a coax line behind baseboard. He tried for like two hours to fish it, got super frustrated, and ended up putting a tiny hole in the wall anyway. The patch took him five minutes and you couldn't even tell after paint. Sometimes the fast fix is just the right fix, you know?