Question about using a toner for tracing lines in old buildings

I know a lot of guys swear by just using a tone generator and probe for every job, but I've changed my mind on that. For years, I'd clip on the toner and walk around poking holes in walls, thinking it was the only way. Then I got a job in a 1920s apartment complex downtown, full of plaster and lath. After three tries and a ton of patching, I switched to just using my meter and a good map of the building's phone lines from the basement. It took less time and made no mess. I think we overcomplicate things sometimes because that's how we were taught. The toner is a great tool, but it's not the only answer for every single trace. Has anyone else found simpler ways in old places where you can't just go fishing blindly?

3 comments

3 Comments

viola_lopez302mo ago

Sounds like you learned the hard way that plaster hates toner probes. Been there. Watched a chunk of ceiling come down once. Now the toner stays in the bag unless it's a last resort. A good map and a meter is the way to go in those old places.

angelaw782mo ago

That toner probe is basically a plaster demolition charge with a warranty sticker. Saw a guy set one off near a lath wall and it looked like a cartoon explosion, just a perfect cloud of dust and regret. Now I treat those old walls like they're made of tissue paper and hope.

riverh492mo ago

My old boss used to say a toner in a plaster wall is just a really loud way to find a stud. He'd just follow the baseboard heat pipes in those old buildings, they usually ran right alongside everything.