Tools....'grunt'

[mrossco]

Last year, I married a terrific woman, and in the process, we decided to keep her house and consolidate. When we first met, she had nothing more than a circa 1999 Sony Vaio laptop and AOL dial-up. Keep in mind that we meet in 2008. Moving into her house has been a cornucopia of adventure. It was built in the '50s, so much of the original wiring is cloth-wrapped, and it has been supplemented with some rather interesting DIY projects by the previous owner.

 

So far, I've managed to add a couple of grounded outlets, and I wired the home with brand new RG6 (television) and CAT5e. Having lived in an apartment in downtown St. Louis for so many years, I actually missed doing this type of work. But, it has made me think. Some of my tools I love, but others seem to make the job harder rather than easier.

 

One of my favorites has been my 6' auger fish bit. I can fish it through walls and floor joists. It makes things incredibly easy when adding new ports to any room. They make them longer, but I've found the 6' length to be the most versatile. They also make metal guides, but I've also found that wearing a thick leather glove on your guide hand to be the easiest!

 

What tools have stood out in your own DIY projects good or bad (wiring, computer builds...whatever)?

[CookiePuss]

Had a problem with the subwoofer on my Klipsch's. You cant get those repaired anymore sadly. So I whipped out the good ole cheapo $10 soldering iron and fixed it!

Also, the dremel is so versatile with cutting cases. Love that tool.

[ImTheTypeOfGuy]

I am fond of the following: fluke, sledge hammer, duck tape, and I am sure others I can't think of right now.

[mrossco]

I am fond of the following: fluke, sledge hammer, duck tape, and I am sure others I can't think of right now.

 

I hope you use them in that order!

[linearg]

Here is a neat page for beginners as well advanced I refer to it all the time.

http://www.swhowto.com/index.htm

Edited June 17, 2010 by linearg

[Guest no-control]

Should only need 2 tools ever

 

If something doesn't move and should use WD-40

 

If something moves but shouldn't move use Duct Tape

 

http://ducttapeguys.com/

[britishbob]

I usually bring in my two best friends to assist "Brute Force" & "Ignorance"

[brennok]

The only tool I couldn't do without is my friend lol. He is my personal installer. He knows nothing about building PCs or working on computers so leaves that up to me, but he is the person I call to do any runs and installs. I live in an older house that has been through several remodelings and it seems no one ran cables during these times. As a result I have had to run network cables and coax and he has done all of them. It is one of those reasons if I ever build my own house I am going way overboard.

[cskenney]

About the only way to be really prepared for the future when you build a house is to home run conduit from all of your rooms. You can put in multiple runs of coax, ethernet, or even fiber but then someone comes out with another technology or advancement and you are left out again. You are also stuck with how big of a conduit and exactly where do I place it...I don't think you can ever be fully prepared for what is coming in 10 or 15 years.

[Alvin Ramard]

About the only way to be really prepared for the future when you build a house is to home run conduit from all of your rooms. You can put in multiple runs of coax, ethernet, or even fiber but then someone comes out with another technology or advancement and you are left out again. You are also stuck with how big of a conduit and exactly where do I place it...I don't think you can ever be fully prepared for what is coming in 10 or 15 years.

 

I've been thinking that if I built a house I might want to use the space behind the baseboards as a wiring channel. Combine this with pre-installed conduit runs and there's virtually no place that you couldn't easily get to.