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Debate: do you trim slack or leave loops on residential drops?
I had this interaction with a homeowner over in Rockford last month that still bugs me. I finished running their new cat6 line from the basement to the living room, leaving about a 2 foot service loop near the wall plate like I always do. The guy saw it and said I should cut it flush because loops look "unfinished" and collect dust. I tried to explain that the loop gives room to re-terminate if the connector gets damaged, but he wasn't having it. He said he's paid installers before and none of them left loops. So now I'm wondering, is the loop an old school habit that's unnecessary for residential work, or is that homeowner just wrong? Has anyone else ran into a customer who pushed back on standard practices like this?
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west.claire12d agoTop Commenter
Wait, has nobody mentioned the actual physical wear and tear issue here? That loop isn't just for re-terminating, it's also to stop the cable from getting yanked or pinched when someone moves furniture or the kid trips over it. If you cut it flush, any stress goes straight to the connector and the jack, and those things break way easier than people think. I've seen too many cables fail because there was no slack to absorb that little pull. Plus, that homeowner's past installers might have just been cutting corners to save time, not because it's better practice. I'd rather leave a loop and have a happy customer in five years than save ten seconds now and get a call back later. It's like that old saying, you can always cut more off but you can't add it back on.
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