Pre-wiring an old house vs new construction is a whole different beast

Did a retrofit in a 1920s house last Tuesday where I had to run wires through a crawl space that was maybe 2 feet high. Took me 5 hours to do what I could have done in 45 minutes if the walls were open. What made the difference was using a glow rod kit with a magnetic tip it saved me from fishing blind for 30 minutes. Got the job done but my back is still sore. Has anyone found a faster way to snake walls with old knob and tube wiring in the way?

3 comments

3 Comments

evan_campbell19d ago

That crawl space sounds like pure misery, I feel you on the back pain. What kind of glow rod kit were you using, the fiberglass ones or the steel ones? I've heard the steel ones can sometimes mess up old wiring if you're not careful, especially with that knob and tube stuff that's all brittle...

verar2119d ago

Yeah the steel ones are brutal on old wiring. @evan_campbell I got the fiberglass kit actually, still a pain but at least it's flexible. Did you have to deal with any knob and tube stuff yourself?

kim37318d ago

The fiberglass rods are the way to go for sure. I read a tip somewhere that said to tape a small LED light to the tip of your rod when dealing with knob and tube, helps you see where the wires are going without touching the old stuff. Tried it on a house last month and it saved me from poking through some ancient cloth wiring that was basically dust. Your back is gonna hate you for a few days though, that's just part of the deal with retrofits.