Found a trick for fishing line through interior walls without cutting drywall

Was running cable in a 1970s split-level last week and hit a solid fire block between floors. No attic access above, basement was finished. Usually I'd cut a hole and patch it, but the homeowner was real picky about their textured walls. Tried using a 3/8 fiberglass rod with a magnetic tip from my magnet retriever kit and got it through on the second try by tapping the ceiling to find where the block was, then angling the rod from below. Worked way better than the glow rods I usually lean on. Anyone else use magnets for stubborn fire blocks?

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1 Comment

coleman.jade2h ago

Man, I feel your pain on those fire blocks... been there more times than I care to count. That magnetic tip trick is clever though, I gotta try that next time instead of using a glow rod and hoping for the best. I've spent way too many hours patching texture walls over a single cable run.