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Saw a guy staple through a coax cable yesterday and had to walk away
I was on a job in an apartment building and this new installer just stapled right over a brand new RG6. Said he didn't think it mattered because the staple was plastic. That cable is gonna fail in 6 months when the weather shifts and water gets in there. How do you handle watching someone make a mistake you know is gonna cause problems later?
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hannah4001mo ago
That "doesn't matter because it was plastic" line is exactly what my buddy Dan said before he had to go back and redo a whole house... his plastic staple job on a cable looked fine for a few months, then the customer called about signal loss and water was literally dripping out of the jack. He spent a whole Saturday pulling new cable through the attic, stapling it all over again with the right clips, and said it was the most humbling day of his career. Plastic might not rust, but that tiny hole it makes is like a welcome mat for moisture.
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kim.jake1mo ago
Bought the guy a coffee later and just said "hey man I've made that same mistake before, but the plastic staples still let water in over time." He actually listened and fixed it.
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matthewdixon1mo ago
Did you catch that recent episode of "This Old House" where they tested different ways to waterproof fence joints? They showed how those plastic staples actually create a tiny channel for moisture to travel right into the wood. I remember the host holding up a rotted post and saying "this is what happens when you trust a plastic staple to keep water out.
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