Said It Here

How to run a cable through a tight crawl space without entering

Tight crawl spaces and low-clearance attics are often too hazardous or cramped to physically enter, and standard tools like fish tape or fiberglass rods bend and get blocked by ductwork and insulation. This makes it nearly impossible to route cables between floors without cutting into finished ceilings.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

  1. 1
    cutting access holes in the ceiling
  2. 2
    using a crossbow
  3. 3
    trying to put a magnet in a tennis ball
  4. 4
    using standard fish tape
  5. 5
    using fiberglass rods
  6. 6
    getting used to it over time
  7. 7
    exercising the right to refuse work if it is too small
  8. 8
    keeping the lights dim
  9. 9
    wearing a tyvek suit for safety

In their words

Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.

“I needed ideas on how to run a cable through the attic / crawl space above the finished part of my basement between the basement ceiling and first floor of the home.”source ↗

“The space is only about 3 feet tall with questionable bracing under insulation, so getting in there wasn’t going to happen.”source ↗

“Fish tape didn’t work as it was too flimsy after about 5 feet, and same with the fiberglass rods as I couldn’t guide them over the duct work and insulation more than a few feet.”source ↗

haonconstrictor · r/HomeImprovement · 21 upvotes

“I was scared of crawl spaces when I first started plumbing, especially because spiders have always freaked me out.”source ↗

Similar_Tension_3323 · r/Plumbing · 3 upvotes

“I still hate crawlspaces, but most are not nightmares, just some.”source ↗

jacobsme96 · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“I still wear a tyvek suit and all that before I’ll enter a crawl space.”source ↗

Brave-Employ4503 · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

Where this came up

r/HomeImprovementr/Plumbingdiyhome improvementplumbingwiringworking conditions

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