Step-by-Step Instructions on Fishing
Electrical wire from an Attic Ceiling to an Electrical Wall Switch
By Mark J. Donovan
Snaking electrical wire in walls and ceilings can be a time consuming and
frustrating experience. I recently snaked an electrical wire from an attic
ceiling down to a switch electrical box in a wall in an effort to install a new
ceiling light. Half of my time spent installing the new ceiling light involved
snaking the electrical wire, however I was successful, and in the end that’s
what really matters. Summarized below are a few tips to help you in snaking
electrical wires in walls and ceilings.
Tools Required for Snaking Electrical Wires in Walls and Ceilings
First, you need a few key tools. Ideally you should have a fish tape. A fish
tape is a long thin, flat piece of steel wire. It is coiled and encased in a
plastic housing and comes in common lengths of 50 and 100 feet. The end of the
fish tape has an eye that electrical wires can be connected to so that they can
be pulled through walls, ceilings and conduit pipes.
Though a fish tape is ideal, you may be able to get away without it if you have
a short distance to snake a wire. In my recent project, I simply used a 6 foot
length of 14 gauge bare copper wire as my snake.
In addition to the fish tape or snake wire, a flashlight, hammer, drill, ¾”
spade drill bit, screwdriver, needle nose pliers, and adjustable pliers are also
helpful.
Snaking Electrical Wires
To snake, or fish an electrical wire, start by turning off power at the main
circuit panel to the electrical box you plan on snaking a wire to.
After power is turned off at the electrical box, remove the electrical switch
from the electrical box.
With the switch out of the box use your hammer, screwdriver and pliers to remove
a knockout tab in the back of the electrical box.
Next, go into the attic and locate the top plate of the stud wall that contains
the electrical switch box. This can be a tricky process. Before going into the
attic, look for some reference points that transmit up into the attic area. For
example, if there are ceiling fans or air conditioning vents in the ceiling or
walls near the electrical box make a note of their distance away from the
electrical box. You can use this information to help locate the stud wall in
question, and even the specific location of where the electrical box sits below
the top plate of the stud wall. Another tip is to look for an electrical wire
that may already feed down from the attic into the electrical box.
Once you have identified the location where you need to fish the electrical wire
down to the electrical box, drill two side by side holes through the top plate
stud wall using your drill and 3/4” spade bit. One hole is for fishing your wire
snake or fish tape down, and the other is for shining a flashlight down.
Photo by Mark Donovan
At this stage of the process it is ideal to find a helper. Have this person
positioned at the electrical box, while you fish the electrical wire or fish
tape down from the attic ceiling.
As the wire or snake slides down the
wall, have your helper watch for it at the electrical box. As soon they observe
it, have them pull the wire or snake through the electrical box knockout area
using pliers.
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Once they have pulled the wire or fish tape through the electrical box the hard
part is over. If you simply used a length of wire as your snake, attach at your
end of the snake the electrical wire. Have your partner then continue to pull on
the wire snake until they finally pull the electrical wire through the
electrical box. If you used a fish tape, then have your partner fasten the
electrical wire to the end of the fish tape, and then you pull back on the fish
tape to pull the wire up through the hole in the attic stud wall.
Once you have snaked the electrical wire between the electrical box and the
attic, you can then proceed to wire up your ceiling light.
For
information on Changing a standard Light Switch, See HomeAdditionPlus.com's "How
to Change a Light Switch Ebook".
It provides detailed, easy to understand, step-by-step instructions and
pictures, on how to replace a standard light switch.
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