Running wires up an existing small hole in ceiling????

[Negativecreep0]

So i have wires running up a hole in my basement ceiling to a bedroom wall. The hole is just big enough for the wires I have now. What type of small tool could i use to make the hole bigger without disturbing the wires. If I use a drill it will suck the wires into the spin and shred them up.

[shardian]

Box cutter or drywall saw.

[punxrus]

Variable speed Dremel...best bet besides a drywall saw...

[ChadTower]

Specify the wire type... that's pretty damn important before you go cutting around them.

[punxrus]

Specify the wire type... that's pretty damn important before you go cutting around them.

Yeah...good point! Always forget about that part!

[billf]

Widening out an existing hole may be tough depending on what kind of wire is there currently.  How about drilling a small hole right next to the current one to verify the existing wires are not in the way, then widen the new hole to the size you require.

[protokatie]

Specify the wire type... that's pretty damn important before you go cutting around them.

Yeah...good point! Always forget about that part!

Outside of safety (IE dont go cutting around mains lines), but there is also an issue of cross-talk. Too many "moderatly" shielded data cables running next to each other can cause problems that down the road may be hard to diagnose. I'd go with billf and make a second hole, so you have some distance between the wires. (Also the two holes can be combined at a latter point in time if need be)