That time I dropped a bundle of coax down a customer's stairwell

I was working on a second-floor install in a old house in Portland last Tuesday (the kind with super steep stairs). My hand slipped while I was hauling the spool up, and the whole 500-foot roll went bouncing down into their living room. The customer was nice about it, but I spent 20 minutes untangling the mess while her cat kept trying to play with the loose end. Has anyone else had a coil get away from them in a tight space like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_elliot3h ago

Wait, 500 feet?? That's a whole spool, not a little patch cable. I had a 100 footer get loose on me once in a crawlspace and it turned into a birds nest nightmare. But a whole 500 foot roll bouncing down stairs has got to be some kind of cable work record. At least the cat found it entertaining, mine would have been trying to eat it too.

evan_jenkins2h ago

Oh man, @the_elliot, a 100 footer in a crawlspace sounds bad enough but 500 feet bouncing down stairs? I'd probably just stand there and watch it happen, honestly.