dianawilson•2mo agoMost Upvoted

That week in July with the attic crawl spaces changed my mind on cable ties

Got sent to retrofit a whole street of old houses in Cedar Rapids, each one packed with blown-in insulation over the original lines. Everyone says to use velcro straps for everything now, but trying to bundle and route new RG6 through that mess with loose wraps was a nightmare, taking almost double the time per job. By the third house, I switched back to my old bag of UV-rated zip ties and a pair of diagonal cutters, and suddenly I was securing drops cleanly to joists in half the moves. Has anyone else found that the 'better' new way just slows you down in real-world spots?

4 comments

4 Comments

pat_harris2mo ago

Totally get it, man. Did a similar job in some old bungalows last fall and had the exact same problem. Sometimes the old way with zip ties is just faster when you're up in that mess lol.

tessalane21d ago

Yeah that "fancy new stuff just doesn't cut it" line is spot on @jamiesullivan. We had the same velcro failure in some old attic work last spring and it was just a waste of time. Zip ties and a good cutter are still the way to go when you're elbows deep in dust and old insulation.

jamiesullivan2mo ago

We had to rewire a whole apartment block in Davenport last year and the velcro just wouldn't hold against the old, crumbly conduit. Zip ties with a good tension tool made the runs tight and secure in one pass. The fancy new stuff just doesn't cut it when you're actually in the field.

luna_chen82mo ago

Yeah, the "fancy new stuff just doesn't cut it" line is so true. I read a forum thread last month where an electrician said velcro is great for data centers but fails in dusty, cramped attics. Sometimes the simple, tough tool is just the right one for a nasty job.