Why does nobody talk about the nightmare of old apartment building conduit runs?

Had a job in a 1960s building downtown last week, needed to run a new line to a third floor unit. The main vertical conduit was packed solid with old, brittle coax from the 80s. Took me four hours just to clear a path with a fishtape and a lot of pulling. The whole install, which should have been 90 minutes, took over six. Anyone else run into a conduit so full it's basically a wall?

3 comments

3 Comments

mark4362h ago

Honestly, I've had the opposite experience in those old buildings. The rigid conduit is a lifesaver compared to just fishing through open studs and fire blocks. Sure it gets packed, but at least there's a real path to follow. I'll take a tough pull over drilling blind any day.

kelly63829m ago

Bring a shop vac next time to suck out all the old dust and crud first, makes pulling new line way easier.

davis.noah1h ago

Heard about a buddy who found a vertical run so jammed with old phone wire it was basically a solid rod, totally get what @mark436 means about a real path but man that sounds rough.