Hot take: I think we over-rely on fish tapes for tight wall runs

I was in a 1920s house in Pasadena last month, trying to get a line from the basement to the second floor through a plaster and lath wall that had settled. My fish tape got stuck solid about eight feet up, and I had to cut the drywall anyway to free it and find the old gas line blocking the path. What's your go-to method when you know a wall is a total gamble?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_phoenix20h ago

My buddy swore by a fiberglass glow rod set for old houses like that. He said the flexibility lets you feel out blockages before you commit and get stuck. Watching him work made it seem like the smarter play in those tricky walls.

clairebaker13h ago

Wait, your buddy could actually feel blockages with a fiberglass rod? That's wild, @the_phoenix. I always thought they just bent around everything.