Running another cat5 wire...

[Neurorad]

If you ever buy 'fish sticks' - fiberglass rods, as linked above, make sure you get the really thin ones, that glow in the dark. I bought thicker ones, and I will replace them soon. Too stiff, and I've already trashed 1 of them. Much better than fish tape, if you only buy 1 or the other.

I would remove one of the bottom knock-outs from the box (don't know if that's against code), attach a string to the existing cat5, and pull out the existing cat5 from below, pulling the string down. Then pull 2 new cables together, with the string.

That magnet/noodle trick sounds pretty awesome!

But I would use the existing cable, without sticks.

The existing cat5 is probably behind the bat insulation, all the way from the box to the hole.

If you screw up, and need to cut drywall, make sure it's to the side of the existing box. Then, add a scene switch to the existing bank of switches - make it a triple gang, using a retro-ring

Or just repair the drywall.

Edit - I don't know if the ALC scene switch is OK to go in a LV box.

 

[beelzerob]

Scene switches requires full HV connections too, as it communicates with the controller.

What you said made me think about it...if it really gets bad, I can rip out the existing gang box, and then I'll have a massive hole to work through, and then just put in an old work 3-gang box.

I wondered what fish sticks were. I figured I could grab some from my 5-year old's lunch on Saturday, but I had no idea what I'd be doing with it.

 

[Neurorad]

Scene switches requires full HV connections too, as it communicates with the controller.

What you said made me think about it...if it really gets bad, I can rip out the existing gang box, and then I'll have a massive hole to work through, and then just put in an old work 3-gang box.

I wondered what fish sticks were. I figured I could grab some from my 5-year old's lunch on Saturday, but I had no idea what I'd be doing with it.

If you run into trouble with the fish sticks, just call this custom installer

 

[beelzerob]

Well, it is done.

I went to Lowes and got the fish sticks. Stick 'em in the over @ 350 for 20 min, and they're ready to use.

Of course, as is often the case, I was thwarted right away in my attempts to do this task, by the lack of something ELSE I could have bought while I was there. It is obvious that when I drilled that existing hole, I did it from upstairs, down into the basement. Why? Because downstairs in the basement, there is a beam blocking access to the bottom of that hole, such that I can get my hand through there, but (of course), the space between that beam and the basement wall was juuuust small enough that my drill wouldn't be able to reach. So I spent a good hour looking for the drill bit extensions I swore I had....no good.

So instead, I reached up to the existing cat5, and gave a little tug. It pulled free of the foam surrounding it rather easy. So, I freed up the cat5 so there was plenty of slack below....got my 22/4 wire, stripped some of the jacket away, and taped the wires of it around the cat5 in as tight a package as I could, and then pushed it up the hole as far as I could from below.

Upstairs, I just put a decent amount of effort into it, and it popped right through. Pulled it all the way up, undid the tape, and there ya go.

So, thanks for all the suggestions. In the end, I did the only thing that was available to me, and thankfully it worked.

 

[mdesmarais]

Always try the easy solution first, unless you think something might get busted. ;-)

 

[Sandpiper]

Always try the easy solution first, unless you think something might get busted. ;-)

Nice job. Impromptu intelligence prevails again.