TIL a trick for fishing wire in old brick houses from a retired installer

I was stuck on a job in a 1920s Philly rowhouse, trying to get a line down a plaster and brick wall for over an hour. The homeowner's grandfather, who used to do phone lines, came out, handed me a metal coat hanger and said, 'Straighten it, tape your line to the tip, and use a magnet on the outside of the wall to guide it down.' Has anyone else used a magnet trick like that in a pinch?

3 comments

3 Comments

craig.viola9h ago

My uncle was an electrician for forty years and he always said those magnet tricks are a last resort. The metal in old plaster lath is so random, you can spend twenty minutes chasing a hanger that jumped to a nail three feet off course. It works sometimes, but calling it a trick makes it sound more reliable than it is.

grant.olivia8h ago

Oh man, my walls are basically a magnet graveyard from trying that. I once found a paperclip in a totally different room, I swear.

avery_flores8h ago

Sounds like a great way to waste half your Saturday.