I was running wire in a crawl space wrong for years and a new guy showed me why

I always thought the best way to pull wire through a tight crawl space was to just push the spool ahead of me and feed it out. Did it that way for maybe eight years. Last month, I was training a new helper on a job in a 1950s house in Springfield. He watched me struggle for ten minutes, then just said, 'Why don't you unspool the whole run on the grass outside first and then just pull the whole line through?' I felt like an idiot. I was fighting friction and snags the whole time because the spool kept catching on joists. His way took half the time and no cussing. It was such a simple fix for a basic task I do all the time. Has anyone else had a 'duh' moment like that with a routine part of the job?

3 comments

3 Comments

elizabeth2209d ago

My dad always said the simplest fix is the one you miss because you're too close to the problem. It's like spending ten minutes looking for your glasses when they're on your head. What's the last simple fix you missed?

holly3329d ago

That's so true about being too close to the problem. It's like muscle memory takes over and your brain just stops looking for a better way. You get stuck in a tunnel. Last week I spent an hour trying to fix a printer jam, pulling out little bits of paper. My kid walked over, opened the back tray I forgot existed, and pulled the whole crumpled sheet out in one go. Felt my whole face get hot.

harperschmidt9d ago

Man, that hits close to home. You get so used to doing something one way that you just stop seeing the problem. It's like your brain goes on autopilot and shuts down all the common sense. How many hours do we waste just because we never stop to question the routine?