Found a trick for running coax through fiberglass insulation without snagging

After fighting with a job in Austin last week where the insulation kept grabbing my lines, I tried wrapping the first 6 inches of the cable in electrical tape to make a smooth tip and it slid through clean on the first pull, anyone got other tricks for dealing with stubborn insulation?

2 comments

2 Comments

miles_grant351mo ago

Adding a little dish soap to the tape helps even more, it cuts through that fluffy insulation like butter. You tried pulling from the attic side yet?

thomas_young1mo ago

Yeah but dish soap is gonna dry out eventually and leave a sticky residue that collects dust, I'd rather use something like a silicone spray on the tape if anything. @miles_grant35, I get what you're saying with the attic side pull but sometimes that's not an option if the attic's sealed or there's no clearance. I've had good luck with just rubbing a dryer sheet on the cable end, it cuts the static cling and doesn't gum things up later. The tape trick works solid for the first foot but if you hit a sharp bend in the insulation that's where it still snags.