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Talked to a retired installer at the hardware store about old coax runs

He was buying some fittings and we got to talking about the old aerial drops we still find. He said, 'Back then, we'd put a drip loop in every line, even if it took an extra minute. Now I see guys zip-tie it tight to the house.' It hit me because I've been skipping that step to save time on tight schedules. I've been on three calls this week for water in the line, and all of them had no loop. Anyone still making a point to put in drip loops, or is that practice gone?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamesmason1mo ago

Honestly that old timer is spot on. I see it all the time now, lines run straight into the house with no slack at all. Tbh that extra minute for a loop saves you a whole callback later when the fitting rots out from water sitting against it. It's not just about rain, it's about condensation and morning dew having a place to drip off. Ngl, I started getting lazy about it too until I had to replace the same wall plate twice in a year. Now I make my guys do it right every single time.

felix_thomas731mo ago

That "extra minute" turns into a whole afternoon of cussing when you're chiseling out rotten siding. Funny how the old ways that seem like a pain are just someone else's learned lesson the hard way. Now we get to learn it all over again, I guess. Gotta love paying the lazy tax with your own time and money.

gonzalez.anna1mo ago

Yeah, it's not just about the siding rotting. The water can run down the line and get into the wall itself, which is way worse. That's the real lesson the old guys learned.