max388•3mo ago

Question about those magnetic camera inspection kits

I wasted $450 on one last month because the magnet kept detaching from my rods inside a flue in a tight 1920s colonial, leaving me fishing for an hour and missing my next job.

3 comments

3 Comments

grace9263mo ago

My 1920s colonial taught me to use a safety tether on that magnet.

mark_fisher483mo ago

What kind of magnet are we talking about here? @grace926 is totally right, the old plaster walls are a different beast. I learned the hard way when a heavy picture frame took a chunk out of the wall because the magnet just let go. Now I treat every magnet like it's about to betray me.

taylor_barnes5911d ago

You're onto something, Mark. The "wait for it to betray you" approach is basically how I handle any home project now. It's like that rule where if something can go wrong, it will, but with old houses it's more like if something can break, it's already halfway there. I've got this one cabinet knob that's been "temporarily" glued on for six months because I know the second I actually tighten that screw, the whole door will split in three. Same thing with those magnet mounts, they work perfectly until you trust them with something heavy, then it's like the wall remembers it's 90 years old and just gives up.