I am trying to run ethernet cables for external security cameras in my home.
I have drilled a hole in the exterior brick wall and pushed rods up.
I have also made a bigger hole in the breeze block wall up in the attic to try and get the rods. However, the insulation means that I cannot see anything.
Is there a way to run these cables, or do I need an alternative method?
Thanks.
I've done this and it takes a while! It's definitely easier with two people. Being on the phone / video call to the other person is so much easier than shouting.
I'd recommend measuring the distance between the holes so that you know how much fibreglass rod to feed through. That gets you within shooting distance of the target hole.
I can see why you'd want to start at the bottom, but it might be easier to start at the top, gravity is at least trying to help you, rather than trying to pull the rods off course.
Once you're near, having a bright light on the end of a stick stuck in the target hole and an endoscope camera on the feed wire, or the other way round can be a big help. The stick in the target hole can also act as a tell because it'll move if you hit it with the fibreglass rod.
A small powerful magnet taped to a bit of string at the end of the feed wire can be helpful if the target hole is small. Place another strong magnet on the end of a bit of string in the target hole. The stiffness of the fibreglass rod gets you near to the hole, the magnets on the string mean that if you got close enough for them to stick, they don't come apart again. You can put several magnets spaced apart on the strings to increase your chances of a hit.
Once you've caught the string on the end of the rods, you don't need to pull the rods through a tight bend and out of the target hole, instead, secure a long length of lightweight rope to the string and pull it back. You now have a lightweight rope between the holes and can pull through as many cables as you want.
When pulling your cables, attach them to the middle of the lightweight rope. That way if they become detached, you still have rope between the holes.
It's easier to pull cables if someone feeds them at a constant rate while someone pulls them at the same constant rate. The rate is important because it prevents the cables being pulled through tight bends and rubbing / snagging along the way.
As an alternative method, have you considered running conduit outside the house?
(click for larger image)
My electrician ran two conduits, one for normal power and one for low-power (HVAC and ethernet) from the basement to the attic. I'm currently running two POE wireless access points off of those lines.
Since this is also where the media and power from the street enters the house, it's already ugly, so an external conduit or two doesn't stick out.
If you can recruit a helper, you might be able to hear the end of the rod moving around against the wall in the attic while the helper manipulates it from outside, and thus be able to direct your helper to move it closer to the hole so you can grab it blindly.
Or, you may be able to spot movement in the insulation (possibly using your cell phone camera to see where you can't, but if the space is filled above attic level possibly not.)
Wiring in insulated cavities is [expletive omitted] miserable. Classically, you'd fish from both holes and hook the fish tapes, but that's near impossible in insulation.
Attach an endoscope to the rod they have a light on the end. Amazon has some for as low as $31USD.
Is your stud bay full of insulation or just the attic? I like using plumbers chain and dropping it down a stud bay. Typically these are non insulated areas though.
One way to try is to attach a magnet to a rope then use another magnet on the inside wall and pull it up to the attic.
After succeeding attach the cable to the end of the rope and pull it up.
There is no guarantee this will work but it is worth trying.
if it stuffed with insulation you'll have a very hard time.
if there's closets, pantries, etc. in the same position on the two intermediate floors you could install a conduit inside them to get from the basement to the attic in a place that's mostly unseen.
another option is heroicly long sectional drill bits if you can find where there there are two internal walls in the same place, (because internal walls are usually not insulated) Pick walls that don't have services inside them already.
