Need some advice on running another line in my wall

[avengence]

I recently purchased my first house. It was built in the 70's (1977) and it only has one line going from the garage to one of the inside walls where I have my tv setup right now. The cable in the wall right now is stapled to the vertical beam going up into the attic so I cant use that to pull a new line down. This is an inside wall so i cant do a directv drill through the stucco kind of setup. So I was wondering, is there a way I can/should do this? On the other side of the wall there is a kitchen with some cabinets that go to the ceiling, so maybe I could hop into the attic and run some lines down through there behind the cabinets and then drill through to the other side and run the lines that way. Also, this is on a slab foundation so no going under the house :(. Other info is also, there are about three horizontal beams (fire breaks?) that have small holes drilled in them (I am guessing) to let the original rg59 line run through them.

If needed, I can include some pictures as well.

[firefighter4evr]

I recently purchased my first house. It was built in the 70's (1977) and it only has one line going from the garage to one of the inside walls where I have my tv setup right now. The cable in the wall right now is stapled to the vertical beam going up into the attic so I cant use that to pull a new line down. This is an inside wall so i cant do a directv drill through the stucco kind of setup. So I was wondering, is there a way I can/should do this? On the other side of the wall there is a kitchen with some cabinets that go to the ceiling, so maybe I could hop into the attic and run some lines down through there behind the cabinets and then drill through to the other side and run the lines that way. Also, this is on a slab foundation so no going under the house :(. Other info is also, there are about three horizontal beams (fire breaks?) that have small holes drilled in them (I am guessing) to let the original rg59 line run through them.

If needed, I can include some pictures as well.

pictures would be helpful as i am having a hard time putting it in my mind

[avengence]

Will do! I will take them when I get home. Thanks!

[kevinm34232]

It "may" be possible to fish a new wire down the wall into the existing outlet. How do you know there are 3 fire breaks though without being able to see inside the wall?
Normally, if the previous drilled holes are large enough, you can fish a new cable in using a glow rod or chain, but if there really are 3 breaks, that will be tough since the holes won't line up from the top. If the breaks are not too far down though you can drill a new hole straight from the top using a long flex drill bit.

[joe diamond]

I recently purchased my first house. It was built in the 70's (1977) and it only has one line going from the garage to one of the inside walls where I have my tv setup right now. The cable in the wall right now is stapled to the vertical beam going up into the attic so I cant use that to pull a new line down. This is an inside wall so i cant do a directv drill through the stucco kind of setup. So I was wondering, is there a way I can/should do this? On the other side of the wall there is a kitchen with some cabinets that go to the ceiling, so maybe I could hop into the attic and run some lines down through there behind the cabinets and then drill through to the other side and run the lines that way. Also, this is on a slab foundation so no going under the house :(. Other info is also, there are about three horizontal beams (fire breaks?) that have small holes drilled in them (I am guessing) to let the original rg59 line run through them.

If needed, I can include some pictures as well.

IF you want to try it and can see down through the three fire stops you can get "drain chain" from a hardware store. This is the stuff that attaches a sink stopper to the sink. It will hang straight down and if you can maneuver it with wire or otherwise it will fall through the holes.........Don't use this to pull the cable. It is not strong enough. Use this to pull "florist wire" or other thin wire or strong string. Use that to pull the cable. Cut the cable to a point and tape it to the florist wire real well.
There are also steel tapes for this work. Same procedure.
...You may have to break the electric box to get it out of the wall if you can't get a hole into the top. The replacement plastic box is about a buck.

Joe

[houskamp]

I ran my surround sound wires by pulling the base trim.. gave me 3" to drill thru the floors..

[cjever19]

It certainly can be done, but, it sounds like it will not be easy. (wall fishing rarely is) Would be best to be able to get up there and see. If you can get up there, you may just get lucky. If you can get above the walls you need to go thru, you can drill holes with an auger bit down thru the top plate/header, stick a fish tape down it and see if it goes all the way thru. If it doesn't you may have to cut some holes in the walls to get through the fire breaks. If you can't get up there at all, that could mean more holes in the wall. You any good at drywall repair? If not, and you care what the walls look like after, it may be best to leave it to professionals. But it definably can be done!

Some pix and more info would help.

[houskamp]

Hang lots of pictures :lol:

[joe diamond]

I ran my surround sound wires by pulling the base trim.. gave me 3" to drill thru the floors..

I like the baseboard idea. You do have to know what you are doing as a trim carpenter for some stuff, There is what is called "chair rail" that is hollowed to accept wire. It goes around the wall at the height of the chairs.

At some point it is easier to cut a six inch band around the wall and drill the studs. Then rerock the band and paint the whole room. Plumbers and electricians have to do this all the time........they sub the rock & paint.

Joe

[brant]

easy job.

use a long flex-bit. you can either fish the wire back up w/ the bit, or take it out and stick fish-stix down the wall. those horizontal boards in the wall are called girts, though many people reference them as a purlin, which is the roofing equivalent.

it is certainly odd to have 3 of them in one stud bay. the only time i see that is when the wall finish is tongue & grooved or overlapped boards. on an 8' wall, you would see them at 2', 4', and 6'.

[Brannayen]

This is similar to a wall fish I had to do a few weeks ago. We came down through the ceiling in the kitchen straight into a cabinet, came down through the cabinets, behind the stove, then straight through the wall into the other room with a cut-in box and wall plate.

[armophob]

is there a way I can/should do this? On the other side of the wall there is a kitchen with some cabinets that go to the ceiling, so maybe I could hop into the attic and run some lines down through there behind the cabinets and then drill through to the other side and run the lines that way. Also, this is on a slab foundation so no going under the house :(. Other info is also, there are about three horizontal beams (fire breaks?) that have small holes drilled in them (I am guessing) to let the original rg59 line run through them.

If needed, I can include some pictures as well.

I ran into this running alarm wiring on my exterier walls with the pt firing strips. First determine 100% that you have the fire breaks in the wall. You may get lucky and the carpenters were not up to snuff. Use a stud finder sideways and trace up the wall.

If you get a long 1/4' drill bit (8"-16") you can do what I call sewing the wall. Use a string line to complete the path before pulling the cable. It is easier to fish. Drop the string from the attic to the first break. Drill up through the wall at an angle so you will bore through the horizontal stud. Then bore back into the wall below it. THen fish the string through and push it back in to drop again to the next break. Each time you hit a fire break, do it again. You will have to spackle all the drill holes and tears from fishing it. But it will be in the wall.

[avengence]

Thank you for all the input everyone! Here are some pictures I took real fast this morning. Sorry for the low res I took it on my iphone, and the camera on it sucks.

funny how small the tv looks in that last picture lol

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/2460/img0188cp6.th.jpg (http://img155.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0188cp6.jpg)

http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/9328/img0187ph5.th.jpg (http://img363.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0187ph5.jpg)

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/2351/img0189zr8.th.jpg (http://img504.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0189zr8.jpg)

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/609/img0190qw0.th.jpg (http://img504.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0190qw0.jpg)

[BattleZone]

If you can get up in the attic, you should be able to drill right through the top plate and into the wall.

How I do a typical attic wallfish:

Items needed:

- Stud finder
- Blue painters tape
- Corded drill
- 3/4" spade bit
- 5/8" 4' long flex bit
- 4' flex bit extension, if needed
- 1/16" drill bit
- Work light
- Extension cord with splitter (for drill and light)
- 2-3' of cheap, 5/8" half-twist-link chain
- A strong magnet
- RG6
- Wall plate with high-frequency-rated barrels.

What I do is use a stud finder and some blue painting tape to locate the wall section I want to fish into. The stud finder should also be able to tell you if there are any fire blocks in the wall, and where. Either cut out a 3"x2" rectangular hole, or cheat and use a 2" hole saw with your drill, where your wall plate will go. If you want to go "all the way", you can install an "old work" low voltage wall plate frame.

Then I drill a 1/16" hole in the ceiling, 2" away from the wall, centered between the two wall studs. I strip a piece of coax so it has a long stinger (10" or so), and I bend a couple of "bumps" in the stinger at the base. I insert the stinger in the hole, and the little bumps at the bottom hold the coax in the ceiling hole. The whole purpose of this is to give me a landmark once I'm up in the attic. I also take note of where any power outlets are, as you can use the Romex that feeds them as an additional landmark.

I take a CORDED drill and a 3/4" spade bit and drill a hole in the top plate. If there's no fireblocks, you're nearly done. If there'a a fireblock, you'll need to use the flex bit to drill through it (this is where the job really starts to suck). You'll need to be very sure you are drilling as straight down as possible from your top-plate hole, and you're better off drilling as close as you can against the inside of the sheetrock where the TV is.

Once you've got your hole, attach the end link of your chain to the cable by stripping a long stinger and using the stinger to attach the coax to the chain. Then, feed the chain down the hole, with the coax going with it. If you have someone in the TV room, they should be able to tell you to stop once the bottom of the chain is about 6" below the wall plate hole. If they can't reach in and grab the chain, they can use the magnet to bring it to the hole. If there's a fireblock, it'll take a bit of work to get the chain through the hole (the magnet can help), or you might need to use the flex bit backwards, with the coax attached to the drill end, to feed it through the fireblock hole.

Pull your coax through, give yourself 18" of slack, install your connectors, and screw on the wallplate. Done.

[avengence]

Thank you everyone for your help and advice. I had someone come over to help me do it and he had the graphite poles that you can hook together. He thought it would be pretty easy. So he went up in the attic and drilled a bigger hole in the top plate to give him room. Ran the pole down, I grabbed it at the bottom and taped the line to it. It went up pretty easy and he was able to grab it at the top! No modification or anything needed to the wall. I now have both lines connected! While we were up there I also ran 2 lines to the bedroom. Very excited that I was able to do both of those and align the dish in a matter of a few hours. Was a lot of fun doing it too.

Thanks everyone!

[doctor j]

Lucky is always better than good!

Congrates on a job well done.

Doctor j

[avengence]

Oh and I could get signal on 99 and 103 for the longest time when I was trying to do it myself. Turns out I wasnt doing it wrong, my dish was BENT! He brought a spare dish with him (just the actual dish part) and he replaced it. He aligned it all and I get 90-100 on every transponder on every sat! Time to start recording all those HD movies. Also, is there a way to search the online directv guide? I thought there used to be a way to do that.