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Tried using a fish tape on a really old house in Savannah and it got stuck for good.
I was running a new line through a plaster wall that must have been a hundred years old. The path seemed clear, so I pushed the tape about fifteen feet in. It hit something soft, maybe old insulation, and just would not move forward or back. I had to cut the line and leave the tape inside the wall. Learned that old homes can have surprises modern tools just can't handle. Anyone know a better way to fish through plaster and lath without this happening?
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west.casey1mo ago
Been there... lost a good tape in a wall that just ate it. Old plaster and lath is a whole different beast. Sometimes you just have to open up the wall.
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ryanm601mo ago
Yeah, that "whole different beast" is right. I had a tape vanish behind some crumbly plaster last year. What finally worked for me was using a really strong magnet on a string. I fished it around in the hole and managed to snag the metal clip on the end of the tape. Saved me from having to cut a bigger opening.
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grant4781mo ago
Smart move with the magnet, @ryanm60. I bet a flexible inspection camera could find it too, if the magnet trick doesn't catch.
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