Used to fish lines through ceilings the hard way. Now I'm convinced the old method was better.

Back in 2019 I was all about those glow rods. Thought they were the future. But after a job last week in Austin where the ceiling dropped a foot on me, I went back to the old steel fish tape. Glow rods are great for visibility but they bend too easy in tight spaces. Steel tape is heavier but I can feel every stud and joist. Which one do you guys stick with for residential drops?

3 comments

3 Comments

oliverhernandez1mo ago

That tool philosophy always shifts after a drywall patch job.

jana_shah1mo ago

Your pride did" is the REAL casualty here, not the tool. I've been there with broken glow rods and it's just a reminder that some tools are only good until they aren't. Steel tape is the way to go for any rough work.

knight.felix1mo ago

Last time I used glow rods I ended up feeding them through a hole and they just kept coming out like a magic trick gone wrong. The ceiling didn't drop but my pride did. Steel tape all the way now. You can beat it against joists and it still works. Glow rods just snap and leave you staring at broken plastic.