The master electrician who swore zip ties were the problem, I thought he was crazy

For 11 years I ran all my runs with zip ties every 16 inches like the book says. Then this older guy, Dave, came on a commercial job with me in Boise and watched me zip everything to the studs. He told me to stop and use Velcro straps instead. I laughed and said zip ties are faster and stronger. He said sure, until you have to add one wire or move one cable later. He was right. Last month I had to trace a short on a system I installed 3 years ago and cutting all those zip ties took me almost 2 hours. With Velcro I could have been in and out in 20 minutes. I only use Velcro now for anything behind drywall or in tight panels. Have any of you gone back to rework your own old installs and cursed the zip ties? What do you use for bundling that makes service calls easier?

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patricia423d ago

Did you ever stop to think that the whole reason you didn't need to touch that install for three years is because the zip ties held everything so tight and solid? I've gone back into my own old work, and yeah, cutting them is a pain, but it's rare enough that I'd rather spend the time once than have a loose bundle of wires rubbing against a sharp edge for a decade. Velcro looks neat until it creeps open from vibration, and then you're chasing a mystery rattle or a chafed wire that never would have happened with a proper zip tie. Maybe Dave just wanted to sell you his fancy straps, you know? I'll take the two hour snip fest on a service call over a call back to fix a bundle that came undone.