I swore by my old fish tape for years, but a job in a 1920s house changed my mind.

Got a call for a rewire in this old brick house in the historic district. The walls were solid plaster and lath, with zero chase lines. My go-to steel tape kept getting stuck on every single nail and wood slat. I spent almost four hours just trying to get a single line from the basement to the second floor, and I was ready to pull my hair out. The homeowner, an old electrician who was watching, finally said, 'Son, you need a fiberglass rod for this mess.' I borrowed his set, and it flexed around the obstacles like nothing. What took me four hours with the tape, I finished in about forty-five minutes with the rods. I'm a total convert now for old construction. What other tools do you guys switch to for plaster and lath nightmares?

3 comments

3 Comments

clairem471mo ago

Oh man, I felt that in my soul. Did a kitchen rewire in a similar place last fall. My steel tape was just a noisy, expensive metal detector for every single nail in the wall. I ended up with a pile of bent tape and a new appreciation for how much plaster dust one person can inhale. Switched to a glow rod set for those jobs and it was like learning a whole new trade. That old electrician saved you a week of your life.

phoenix3311mo ago

Yeah, @paulschmidt is right, those rods are a total game changer. I won't touch plaster without them now.

paulschmidt1mo ago

Four hours for one run is just painful to hear. @clairem47 is right about the dust, but I'm shocked the old steel tape didn't just snap. Those fiberglass rods are a total game changer for plaster walls.