It was a while ago I said some people were coming to run network wiring in places I could not get to. Well, that day came and went. They had other, more important work to do. We rescheduled for Thursday. Again, more work. They said they’d let me know.
A week went by and I decided to just call an electrician to get a quote. The tech came out and was looking at the places I wanted and was pretty blunt and direct: they will need to cut the drywall. And they don’t do drywall repair. So basically, we’re going to fuck up your walls and you’ll have to pay someone else to fix it.
I brought up the concept of using a flex bit to snake up the wall and drill into the header. They said they don’t have that. So anyway, they said they’d get me a quote in a couple of days.
Ironically, a few hours later I get a text from the cabling people. Do you want it done tomorrow morning? Well, I have an electrician who says they will definitely be cutting my walls and a guy who hasn’t said anything yet. What do I have to lose?
So they came out the next morning and immediately went to work on one of the exterior walls. They ran the fishing poles up the wall and one climbed into the attic to try and find the location. After about an hour, they gave up. Again, I asked about the flex drill bit. They didn’t have one that long. Only a 4ft bit. Sigh.
So, they ended up doing the “easy” ones in the interior walls and had a look at the other locations and declined to try them. I ended up paying them for 2 drops and they said they’d give me a contact for a security installer who might have more tools for getting in tight walls.
I go back online and look some stuff up. Should I just fucking do this myself? The pros don’t seem to be able to do it. So then, I would need poles. I would need a set to push up through the wall and a set to hook the wire once it’s poking up into the attic. Maybe $30 for those. Then I would need a flex bit. Those run around $50. And probably an extension piece, too – $30. So far, a little over a hundred bucks in tools. My expectation for the electrician quote is $1k. Plus I would have to hire someone to fix the drywall. Turns out my expectation was damn spot on. The quote came in at $1080 the next day.
So is this something I’m willing to attempt on my own? To accomplish something two professionals won’t or can’t do, yet multiple videos online demonstrate how to do it successfully? What’s the worst that can happen? I have to call the professionals to fix it anyway.
Let’s do this.