Prewiring during new construction made easier

Brian Ford, Safedisc Remote Data Backup Services

Problem

When you are prewiring during new construction, hauling a ladder to each outlet location so you can push the cable down to the outlet box can be time-consuming.

Solution

You can use a time-saving technique for bringing the cable to the outlet box without a ladder by looping the cable through the hole in the plate at the top of the studs and pulling it down from floor level.

Procedure

1) Pull several extra feet of cable to the desired location. Make sure the cable is routed above all studs and is in its final location, ready to be dropped into the hole in the plate and fed down to the outlet box.

2) Fold a loop in the cable with 8 to 10 feet of slack on the cable`s loose end.

3) From the floor, push the loop up through the hole in the plate, as shown in the first illustration. The loop should protrude approximately 8 inches through the hole.

4) Push the loose end of the cable through the loop that protrudes through the hole in the plate, as shown above.

5) Pull the loop back down through the hole toward you on the floor. The loose end of the cable will be pulled through the hole by the loop.

6) Pull the loose end of the cable out of the loop, as shown below, and pull the slack toward the outlet box.

Brian Ford is president of Safedisc Remote Data Backup Services (Arlington, TX).

Once the cable is pulled to the work area, the installer should make a loop with 8 to 10 feet of slack and push the loop through the hole in the plate atop the studs. The loop should protrude approximately 8 inches through the plate.

Next, the installer pushes the free end of the cable through the loop.

Finally, the installer pulls down the loop and pulls the loose end of the cable out of the loop, then pulling the slack to the outlet box. This entire procedure lets installers prewire during new construction without having to haul a ladder.