Question about always using a fish tape for wall runs

Three years ago on a job in Tacoma, I watched a guy run a new line through a finished wall in under ten minutes without a fish tape. He used a shop vac and a plastic bag tied to a string. Everyone says you need the tape, but I've done it his way maybe twenty times since and it's faster in tight spaces. Last month I had a run between two outlets that were only three feet apart, and the tape kept getting stuck on insulation. The vac method got it first try. Am I the only one who thinks we rely on the tape too much for simple pulls?

3 comments

3 Comments

derek781mo ago

Three feet with a fish tape sounds like a nightmare.

ryanf661mo ago

My buddy Carl spent four hours trying to fish a single line through a finished basement wall. He finally gave up and cut a small access panel, which was the right move all along. Some walls just aren't worth the fight.

davis.dakota4d ago

Tell me about it, derek78. My own record for stubborn drywall is a solid two hours of swearing for about eighteen inches. Sometimes the wall just wins, and you have to admit defeat. Cutting that access panel feels like a failure but looks like smart planning the next day.