re-wiring house cable, stuck

Posted by MMark on October 24, 2009, 12:39 pm

Hi...

Our house was wired for cable when it was built in the 70's with old
rg59. On top of that, they horseshoe nailed the cable to the studs.
I started re-wiring it with rg6 but ran into a snag in the back
bedroom.

The wiring starts in the basement, runs up the center of the house to
the attic, then through crawlspaces, etc back down to the bedrooms.
One bedroom that we're using as an office has a drop, but the jack is
in the mid-line of the house, so it runs back and forth under a lot of
sub flooring.

My problem is those damn horseshoe nails. I broke the top out of the
wall box and was able to pull out one of the horseshoe nails with a
coat hanger, but there's another one somewhere up there in the wall.
Because of all the zigging and zagging under the subflooring, a snake
wouldn't work to run a new line. My understanding is that snakes work
okay if you have essentially a straight shot, which I don't.

Any ideas on how to free up the line/get rid of the horseshoe nail
somewhere up the stud without taking all the drywall down?

Thanks
Mark

Posted by RBM on October 24, 2009, 2:32 pm

> Hi...
> Our house was wired for cable when it was built in the 70's with old
> rg59. On top of that, they horseshoe nailed the cable to the studs.
> I started re-wiring it with rg6 but ran into a snag in the back
> bedroom.
> The wiring starts in the basement, runs up the center of the house to
> the attic, then through crawlspaces, etc back down to the bedrooms.
> One bedroom that we're using as an office has a drop, but the jack is
> in the mid-line of the house, so it runs back and forth under a lot of
> sub flooring.
> My problem is those damn horseshoe nails. I broke the top out of the
> wall box and was able to pull out one of the horseshoe nails with a
> coat hanger, but there's another one somewhere up there in the wall.
> Because of all the zigging and zagging under the subflooring, a snake
> wouldn't work to run a new line. My understanding is that snakes work
> okay if you have essentially a straight shot, which I don't.
> Any ideas on how to free up the line/get rid of the horseshoe nail
> somewhere up the stud without taking all the drywall down?
> Thanks
> Mark

Typically, you cut the old stuff off and abandon it, and run the new cable
in whatever fashion works best now that there is sheetrock up

Posted by on October 24, 2009, 3:05 pm

>> Hi...
>> Our house was wired for cable when it was built in the 70's with old
>> rg59. On top of that, they horseshoe nailed the cable to the studs.
>> I started re-wiring it with rg6 but ran into a snag in the back
>> bedroom.
>> The wiring starts in the basement, runs up the center of the house to
>> the attic, then through crawlspaces, etc back down to the bedrooms.
>> One bedroom that we're using as an office has a drop, but the jack is
>> in the mid-line of the house, so it runs back and forth under a lot of
>> sub flooring.
>> My problem is those damn horseshoe nails. I broke the top out of the
>> wall box and was able to pull out one of the horseshoe nails with a
>> coat hanger, but there's another one somewhere up there in the wall.
>> Because of all the zigging and zagging under the subflooring, a snake
>> wouldn't work to run a new line. My understanding is that snakes work
>> okay if you have essentially a straight shot, which I don't.
>> Any ideas on how to free up the line/get rid of the horseshoe nail
>> somewhere up the stud without taking all the drywall down?
>> Thanks
>> Mark

>Typically, you cut the old stuff off and abandon it, and run the new cable
>in whatever fashion works best now that there is sheetrock up

But being able to use the old stuff as a "fish tape" sure makes the
job easier.

Posted by RBM on October 24, 2009, 3:41 pm

>>> Hi...
>>> Our house was wired for cable when it was built in the 70's with old
>>> rg59. On top of that, they horseshoe nailed the cable to the studs.
>>> I started re-wiring it with rg6 but ran into a snag in the back
>>> bedroom.
>>> The wiring starts in the basement, runs up the center of the house to
>>> the attic, then through crawlspaces, etc back down to the bedrooms.
>>> One bedroom that we're using as an office has a drop, but the jack is
>>> in the mid-line of the house, so it runs back and forth under a lot of
>>> sub flooring.
>>> My problem is those damn horseshoe nails. I broke the top out of the
>>> wall box and was able to pull out one of the horseshoe nails with a
>>> coat hanger, but there's another one somewhere up there in the wall.
>>> Because of all the zigging and zagging under the subflooring, a snake
>>> wouldn't work to run a new line. My understanding is that snakes work
>>> okay if you have essentially a straight shot, which I don't.
>>> Any ideas on how to free up the line/get rid of the horseshoe nail
>>> somewhere up the stud without taking all the drywall down?
>>> Thanks
>>> Mark

>>Typically, you cut the old stuff off and abandon it, and run the new cable
>>in whatever fashion works best now that there is sheetrock up

> But being able to use the old stuff as a "fish tape" sure makes the
> job easier.

Not where it's drilled horizontally through studs and stapled

Posted by on October 24, 2009, 10:32 pm

>>>> Hi...
>>>> Our house was wired for cable when it was built in the 70's with old
>>>> rg59. On top of that, they horseshoe nailed the cable to the studs.
>>>> I started re-wiring it with rg6 but ran into a snag in the back
>>>> bedroom.
>>>> The wiring starts in the basement, runs up the center of the house to
>>>> the attic, then through crawlspaces, etc back down to the bedrooms.
>>>> One bedroom that we're using as an office has a drop, but the jack is
>>>> in the mid-line of the house, so it runs back and forth under a lot of
>>>> sub flooring.
>>>> My problem is those damn horseshoe nails. I broke the top out of the
>>>> wall box and was able to pull out one of the horseshoe nails with a
>>>> coat hanger, but there's another one somewhere up there in the wall.
>>>> Because of all the zigging and zagging under the subflooring, a snake
>>>> wouldn't work to run a new line. My understanding is that snakes work
>>>> okay if you have essentially a straight shot, which I don't.
>>>> Any ideas on how to free up the line/get rid of the horseshoe nail
>>>> somewhere up the stud without taking all the drywall down?
>>>> Thanks
>>>> Mark
>>>Typically, you cut the old stuff off and abandon it, and run the new cable
>>>in whatever fashion works best now that there is sheetrock up

>> But being able to use the old stuff as a "fish tape" sure makes the
>> job easier.

> Not where it's drilled horizontally through studs and stapled

That's why he's asking how to get the staples ohy. I've found
sometimes just giving it one H of a pull pops the staples out, and the
cable can then be pulled out. The cable itself is good for close to
1000 lbs of pull. Doesn't take that much to pop cable staples.

Sometimes you get lucky - sometimes you don't.

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