Being a general contractor (and one-man band), I frequently run into situations that require either wasting a lot of time running down specific tools or making do with whatever is at hand.
Recently, I had to add a light in a hallway as part of a remodel. Because the light was to go on the first floor and I had the upstairs flooring torn off, I thought it would be a simple matter to drop the switch leg down one of the stud bays and wire the switch.
Downstairs, I cut the drywall for the switch box. Much to my amazement, this interior wall was stuffed with fiberglass insulation. It was evidently installed to deaden the sound from the bathroom on the other side of the wall. I went back upstairs and tried to push a fish tape through the insulation. No such luck. I needed something flexible yet sturdy enough to bore its way through the fiberglass.
Looking around the site, I spotted a leftover length of BX cable — the armored type of electrical wire used in exposed locations. I fed the BX through the insulation from above, and in just a few seconds, it popped out right where I wanted it. The BX became the fish tape I needed to pull the switch leg.
John Horger, Twin Peaks, CA
