Spent 3 hours fighting a single coax run in an old house

Everyone says old houses are easy because the walls are open, but I hit a fire block that was poured concrete. Took me 3 hours to drill through it with a standard bit, should have just grabbed a rotohammer from the start. Anyone else run into random solid concrete in 1920s framing?

2 comments

2 Comments

sean_foster521mo ago

Yeah, did you check if that fire block was actually part of the original foundation? I've seen old houses where they poured concrete right into the stud bays to seal off the basement, and a standard bit just won't cut it. Grab a rotohammer with a masonry bit next time, it'll save you that headache.

the_seth1mo agoTop Commenter

Always figured concrete was just for footers, but this makes total sense.