Make up your mind: Whats even better is the tongue used between sheets of particle board decking. Much smaller cross section and much more flexible so its much easier to get past obstacles in the ceiling void and past joists etc.
The classic way is something like the lid from some 15-20mm trunking - it's rigid enough to poke, but flexible enough to go through holes. Tape the cable to the end and push.
But hope you haven't got any cross pieces between the joists for plasterboard to nail/screw into, or sections of herringbone strutting to navigate through.
Saves waiting months for them to appear in LidAldi
Or shorter, without relying on evil link tracking
Same objection as the measuring tape...although I have used that. Better to use something insulated - top of trunking (as mentioned) or a proper fish tape (look out for offers in Aldi, where I got mine).
Thanks for all the (inventive) suggestions to date!
I have a strong magnet that was used for cleaning the thick glass of an aquarium so I'm liking that idea. Also the trunking lid suggestion.
I'll be avoiding the bare metal options just in case there's something there that I'm not expecting. And fingers crossed there's no silly obstacles on the way.
I just need to wait until Management is out of the house: if she sees me poking holes in the ceiling...
No, the classic way is to send a cat through the void with string tied to it. But that's easier from above, if you can take up some floorboards
- would otherwise need rather large holes in the ceiling. I suppose you could try a mouse . . .
Fish tapes are perhaso a bit too flexible for this.Better would be a set of insulated rods - available from TLC. My suggestion of a measuring tape was based on the fact that I've done it myself many times and I thought the OP didn't want to spend much.
when we moved into our first house, my 6yo brother in law was only too happy to crawl under the floors pulling cables. His mothere thought he should haaav been wearing old clothes ;-)
Presumably you want something that is *very* flexible so you can feed it up through a small hole in the ceiling and then turn it through a right angle so it goes along the narrow space between ceiling and floor of the room above - but once it is in place, you want it to go rigid so it will carry the wires, then you want it to go flaccid again so you can withdraw it. Sorry, I've just realised that this sounds very phallic :-)
Two METERS?!?
Good point. I have those too!
I always keep some fairly thick galvanised wire around for such things. Not used it for its real use ie fixing garden fences for hears, but very handy for hiding cables or fishing things out of inaccessible places. Brian
I know you meant years - y is adjacent to h, but so is b for bears.
Owain
En el artículo , Max Demian escribió:
You read Viz's Top Tips, don't you.
One trick I've used.
Get a metal, retracting, tape measure and make a big loop. Make a hole, about 1/2 inch, at one end of the run and push loop into void. Allow it to 'unfold'. At the other end of the run, make another hole and push a curtain wire (the stuff like a spring covered in plastic used to hang net curtains) with a string taped to the end you push in.
Feed in the curtain wire, get someone to hold the loop, they will generally feel it touch the curtain wire. Feed in some more then withdraw the tape measure.
It may take a few goes but you should be able to see and 'hook' the string.
Obviously, remove tape, curtain wire, and use string to pull you wire through.
Also works for cavity ways, if you drop a string with a small weight.
I can't claim to have invented the idea, someone I used to work with mentioned it.
Thanks, and it worked a treat!
2.5" oval nail taped to some nylon thread and eased along the 2M using a large old aquarium cleaning magnet. It took longer to tape the nail to the thread than it did to drag the it.I've cut the thread at three times the distance between the holes so I can leave it in and reuse it backwards and forwards should the need arise later.
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