I finally gave up on my old way of taping down cables in attics

For years I'd just use a few strips of duct tape to hold bundles against joists, thinking it was fine. Then last month in a 1970s house in Dayton, I found a whole run of RG6 melted and stuck to the tape from summer heat. The homeowner had no signal in two rooms. Now I only use those plastic J-hook clips, even though they cost a bit more and take an extra minute to install. It feels way more solid and I know it won't fail in a year. Has anyone else had a tape job come back to bite them?

2 comments

2 Comments

burns.phoenix9d ago

Honestly, duct tape gets a bad rap it doesn't always deserve. In a lot of attics that stay climate controlled or in cooler regions, that tape will hold for a decade with no issues at all. Those plastic clips can snap if the joist wood is too hard or if you overtighten them, leaving sharp edges. Sometimes the old way is just faster and good enough for the job at hand, especially on a quick fix where you're not planning for the next thirty years.

reese_hill9d ago

That melted RG6 is the perfect picture of "good enough" coming back to haunt you. I've seen the same thing with old electrical tape turning into a sticky mess. It's funny how we all learn the hard way that the extra minute and few cents for the right clip is just cheaper than a callback. Your future self will thank you every time you don't have to peel crispy cable off a joist.