Re: Your Favorite Install Tool?

[Sylvain Robitaille <syl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

alarman wrote:

> They're made out of 5/16" tubing cut to 30-36" lengths. Slip a glow
> rod into the tubing, ...

Hrmmm...  I suspect I'm not picturing this correctly, but it's very
likely only because I've never seen it done before.

bdolph suggested the "creep-zit" push/pull rods, whose value I can
imagine in what are probably mostly ideal conditions, but given that
wiring holes in any of the framing in my house don't appear to have been
drilled in any straight lines, I'm not sure how well they would work
(for me) in practice.

> ... and push it up through the 3/8" hole in the window frame.  When
> the works hits the roof, remove the glow rod.

These are definitely contributing to my confusion.  I _know_ that the
problem is that I'm not picturing this correctly, but I hope you can
help clear it up for me.  There's a 3/8" hole in the window frame?
(perhaps you put it there, and I simply haven't understood that?)

You're pushing this tubing/glow-rod assembly (are the rods similar to
the "creep-zit" rods pointed to by bdolph?) up an outside wall from the
top (?) of a window frame into the attic?  Are you perhaps dealing with
buildings that don't have any insulation in the outside walls?  (I just
can't imagine this in my outside walls, without imagining damaging the
insulation, but again, I wouldn't be surprised to be told that I'm
suffering simply from lack of experience ...)

> Now you can twist the tube back and forth while you push up slightly.
> Usually the tube follows the roof line and slides right past the
> insulation in the attic.

But there's a header (at least I believe that's what framing folks would
call it) where the wall and ceiling/attic/roof framing meet, no?
(perhaps you drilled another hole in this header, when I wasn't looking?
;-)

> Now you have a chase through which you can feed your wire.

The value of this I can understand and appreciate.  I've done enough
wiring (professionally for audio and lighting system installations, and
personally for telephone and computer networking, as well as AC wiring)
to appreciate its value, but I clearly haven't done enough to understand
how you're achieving it.  Is the tubing the same as flexible electrical
conduit?

> I usually pull 8 - 10 doors/windows at a time-minimizes the time I
> spend in the attic.

Another aspect I can fully understand and appreciate.  :-)

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Sylvain Robitaille                              syl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Systems and Network analyst                       Concordia University
Instructional & Information Technology        Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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