Coax cable trapped in cavity wall

Longshanks · 28 Jun 2021

Hi

Hoping someone can help me. Had previously drilled hole in internal cavity wall to supply tv signal to tv in conservatory. I then decided to remove cable, so that I could feed Ethernet, then original coax throetc. (Made a bit of a horlicks with original hole. Was awkward to drill, v low down and long masonry drill bit etc)

Long story short, tried to pull coax out of the hole, and it seems to have got stuck. Upon examination, it looks like the cable must have twisted when I pulled it through originally. God knows how, as a straight line. Can provide pictures, but definitely a lot of cable, higgledy piggledy in hole.

I’ve given up on rescuing current coax and happy to replace. Just concerned about removing the twisted section. Would you suggest cutting at both entry holes and then trying to remove?

Thanks.

lostinthelight · 29 Jun 2021

Pictures would be good. It may be friction locked due to the angle if the holes through the walls .If so it may need one person pushing the cable back into the cavity while someone in the other end gently pulls ,

Longshanks · 29 Jun 2021

Hi

Thanks for response. It’s much worse than I thought, and I now recall how I must have caused this. Prior to trying to remove cable, I inserted long drill bit into hole to see if that might create space to get RJ45 in, without coax removal. It didn’t work, but obviously pulled the cable every which way, possibly creating new holes

lostinthelight · 29 Jun 2021

Cant tell from picture, its out of focus

Longshanks · 29 Jun 2021

If you touch the picture snd magnify, you’ll see that the cable seems to be bent double inside the hole.

lostinthelight · 29 Jun 2021

Still cant see, but is this whats happened?

Longshanks · 29 Jun 2021

Hi again

Yes, think so.

lostinthelight · 29 Jun 2021

Ok, when I go in for lunch Ill draw you a diagram that may help

Longshanks · 29 Jun 2021

That’s great. I don’t mind sacrificing coax (think I’ll have to). Just want to remove it.

Longshanks · 29 Jun 2021

Sorry, just to be clear. The view you see is horizontal, not vertical down the cavity.

lostinthelight · 29 Jun 2021

Take a pic in the correct orientation from slightly futher away

Longshanks · 29 Jun 2021

lostinthelight · 29 Jun 2021

Can you bend a small eye on a length of stiff wire around the cable , lube the eye, push it along the cable into the cavity at the same time as jiggling the cable out. The idea is to change the angle of pull and reduce friction if that makes sense? Its a case of working both in and out until it moves.
A similar thing would be to grind a smooth semi circle notch out of the end of a screwdriver blade

lostinthelight · 29 Jun 2021

Is this the route of the cable?

Longshanks · 29 Jun 2021

Hi again.

Managed to eventually shift it. Used a similar method with thin round file. Hooked it into one of the loops and it came out. Cable probably useless now. I would never have dreamt a few pulls snd pushes with the drill bit could have achieved such an entanglement. Not helped by two holes, with one off on a tangent, like a motorway slip road.

Never again.

Thanks for your time.

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Coax cable trapped in cavity wall

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