Installing new Cable tricks in attic

[woltert1 0]

I have a question for any installers. I was forced to get into CCTV because I have been robbed 7 times. The problem I have is that we just had 14” of blown insulation in the attic this spring. I have a hip roof with 3ft eaves and getting from the eaves to the attic is very difficult to say the least.

Does anyone have a good trick to get the wiring into the attic with out having to crawl all over the insulation? I know that I will have to get into some of it but I don’t want to crawl all over the attic and have to get it re-blown.

In the past I have used a 15ft piece of PVC and slid it into the attic and crawled to the end and ran a satellite line but with the blown insulation now in place it is more difficult.

I will be using RG59 siamese cable and making 12 runs total, 6 outside and 6 inside.

[Birdman Adam 0]

So there is so much insulation, it covers the beams going across the ceiling of the level below? I would say lay some plywood down in there - although if it compresses the insulation significantly, it will reduce its R-value. The upper-attic of my house I can stand up in (I'm 6'4"), but only at the very center. Otherwise it is walking only on the beams going across.

 

Does a hip-roof have less space that that?

 

I'm a DIYer too - have done plenty of attic climbing, crawling, and head bumping. I bought a long snake for pushing/pulling wires through walls. I have found it useful in these situations.

[woltert1 0]

So there is so much insulation, it covers the beams going across the ceiling of the level below? I would say lay some plywood down in there - although if it compresses the insulation significantly, it will reduce its R-value. The upper-attic of my house I can stand up in (I'm 6'4"), but only at the very center. Otherwise it is walking only on the beams going across.

 

Does a hip-roof have less space that that?

 

I'm a DIYer too - have done plenty of attic climbing, crawling, and head bumping. I bought a long snake for pushing/pulling wires through walls. I have found it useful in these situations.

 

Yes. The insulation was blown on top of the existing insulation and is now 14" above the rafters.

I am trying to not crawl all around and crush the insulation, but if that is the only way I guess that I will have to get the insulation company back and have it reapplied.

 

Yes the hip on my roof is very low the higest point is around 4ft and the lowest is at the end which is 6".

[rory 0]

What I used to do with the average smaller home at least, drill hole in eave then push snake through until it reaches near to the attic hole inside the house ... didnt always work as planned though due to beams or storage items here and there.

[Numb-nuts 1]

I have a wondeful set of wiring rods that screw together and come supplied in a conveniient tube

I drilled a hole at a suitable place in the eves close to the wall.After that I poked a rod through the hole and went into the loft space with a torch to locate the place where the rod passed through. The idea is to know where and in which direction to pass the rods with cable attached. I then returned together ladder, added a couple rods and taped the cable to the end feeding the rods in an approximate direction into the roof space. It works better if there are two of you because of the insulation snagging and the direction with someone the re to guide you. Leave lots of slack in the roof space it cost very little in comparison with re running the cable in the future. These rods are great for all kinds od wiring jobs and pay you back very quickly

There are some clever ones with magnetic ends but they are unnecessarily expensive. My rods cost me about £10 or about $17 incl tax.

 

I don't mean to suggest my way is the best but it did work for me. I have seen a method which uses a 3m lenth of pVC conduit but I thought it to restrictive. The flexible tape is also a method I've seen used by skilled electricians with great success.

 

Don't forget to have some good stretchy PVC tape handy

 

These are the rods I use a lot. Sorry about the tree

 

Edited August 5, 2011 by Guest

[Soundy 1]

^I have that same set (actually, I have three - two of the one-foot rods, one of the three-foot rods). My dad picked them up at Grizzly Tools in WA... I think the one-foot packs cost about $2-$3 each They're very handy but I've found the threads can be a little sloppy and I've taken to putting a quick wrap of PVC tape around them to keep them from unscrewing while in an inaccessible place

[Numb-nuts 1]

^I have that same set (actually, I have three - two of the one-foot rods, one of the three-foot rods). My dad picked them up at Grizzly Tools in WA... I think the one-foot packs cost about $2-$3 each They're very handy but I've found the threads can be a little sloppy and I've taken to putting a quick wrap of PVC tape around them to keep them from unscrewing while in an inaccessible place

 

Thats also sometimes an issue where PVC tape comes in handy you could also use PTFE or plumber's take on the threads

[woltert1 0]

What I used to do with the average smaller home at least, drill hole in eave then push snake through until it reaches near to the attic hole inside the house ... didnt always work as planned though due to beams or storage items here and there.

 

Thanks Roy.

The problem that I have is not getting access to the attic from the eavs. The eaves are vinyl so I will pull the siding down and have a 6" hole to go thru. My problem is the blown insulation, I don't want to pack it down by having to crawl all over the attic. I am wondering if there might be a better way. I called the insulation company and asked how much they would charge to fix or re-blow the attic afterward, the responce was $400-600 depending on how much work they had to do.

[SDM Group 0]

A combination of the snake and rods should work, happy fishing!

 

Is the property one storey or two, are there floor boards or basement. You may have another route using closets etc. if some areas are too difficult to get to via the attic.

[Numb-nuts 1]

I am not sure you are following wolter. Your would work the rods around the insulation vertically.

Any insulation you displace is bound to be above the eaves so it won't significantly affect your insulation

(I hope not) and feeding the rods in the direction of a more accessible area of the roofspace such as the

area around the attic hatch, you need not disturb the insulation further as the cable rests on top of it.

 

Slternatively yo could drill a hole through the sidings and vapour barrier into the upstairs room. It's very haphazard though and you have to be really acuulate. I hate breaching a vapour barrier unless I have access to the hole to stop it up with silicone ut even then.... it's not great.

 

Alternative suggestion

 

What about feeding the cable under the sidings along the eaves line until you reach another spot that is more accesible? It will be a longer run but it can sit under the sidings on top of the fixings for the second row. Assuming you have aluminum or plastic sidings.

[Birdman Adam 0]

Yea, that could be the easy way out for you. Run your wires inside the eaves until you can pop in at a convenient place. Then go down to wherever your recording/power equipment is!

[Numb-nuts 1]

see what a nice British cup-of-tea can do for you Adam?

[Birdman Adam 0]

I see! Well I do enjoy a cup of tea every once in a while...

 

One time I had some asian sort of tea with ginseng and something else in it.. Let me tell ya, it was crazy!

[EarlT 0]

I found that 1/2" PEX can do that kind of job. If you have a hole big enough to push it up, it can usually hold it's form and reach quite a long way. You can also reach across your insulation to the eve. I keep a 15' piece just for that purpose. You can bend a little curve in the end to help if it hits something. Just spin it around. It usually finds it's way. Once I can get to the other end, I feed the wire into it and pull it and the wire on though. Works nice if your pulling romex or several cat 5's.

[Numb-nuts 1]

Actually, thinking about it, I remember I used to use a length or RG58 as a fish wire, that was quite effective.

[SecurityGeeks 0]

 

I use these.... they tend to glow.... we call em glow rods

 

same as your copper colored ones.