I have a modern stucco home and want to run a phone extension line
from the phone box up to a second story bedroom.  I have done this
many times in the past on wood exterior homes using the "half-moon"
staples that the telco uses.  What is the procedure I should use to
secure the phone line to the stucco's exterior.  And, while we're at
it, what is the "trick" when drilling through the exterior wall to the
interior for not hitting studs, wires, etc.?  Seems like the telco
guys are either very lucky or know how to avoid hitting hidden goodies
in the walls.

Hello Mtb_Man,

Both of the comments have good suggestions. First I will answer the
question related to attaching to the exterior and address getting the
wire through the wall second.

There are a variety of masonry pins or similar items that can do the
attachment.

  http://www.biconet.com/birds/stealthNetAcc.html
look about one third to one half of the way down or search for "Kwik
Tog". There is a caution about attachments to stucco due to the
weakness of the material.

Some of the references later have other suggestions. I would also ask
your local hardware store to see what they suggest as well.

The hot glue idea is also a pretty good one. I have personally used
hot glue to attach hooks to brick for a heavy garland with christmas
lights. This actually worked pretty well - I might lose one out of ten
each year but they were easy to reattach. In your application - the
wire is a lot lighter so it should last several years. A spot of glue,
say 1/2 inch in diameter, every foot will do just fine to hold the
cable. Press the wire into the hot glue until the glue cools (use the
wire or a stick to hold it steady).

On getting through the wall. Perhaps the best suggestion I found is
at:
  
  http://www.barovelli.com/radio/scan/scanant.htm
which has a note about nylon clips with stucco nails as well as a
suggestion on going through the external wall (do a small hole / probe
with wire to make sure the path is clear / then drill through).

A few other good references includes:

  http://www.gmrsweb.com/gmrshomeantenna.html
has suggestions for getting cables through the wall (for an antenna in
this case) as well as reminders to waterproof the entry point.

http://216.239.51.100/search?q=cache:SwAqz1dulJEC:www.centralalabamahomeinspections.com/images/Sample%2520EIFS%2520report%2520info.PDF+attach+cable+stucco&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
The company doesn't have the original PDF available - this is from
Google's cache and describes a number of things that can go wrong with
stucco walls. Perhaps this could be a good guide to inspect the work
once it is done to make sure you don't have problems later.

Another idea is to include a "drip loop" just prior to going into the
wall. The water that runs down the cable will drip below the entry
point into your home (reducing the chance of water damage). Also,
before drilling any holes - a stud finder (really a nail finder) would
be helpful.

In case this all sounds too hard - you might want to look at an
interior alternative. The NetDay web site
  http://www.netday.org/install.htm
has a number of constructive suggestions on how to get wires through
existing buildings (in this case - schools) that may be better for
you.

Don't hesitate to ask for clarification if needed.

  --Maniac

Depending on where you live, you can get most of the things you need @
the local hardware/home center, etc. In order to avoid hitting the
stud(s), every home constructed to code in the USA, is built upon 16
inch centers, the studs usually are 2X4's, except in the far north,
where 2X6's are used. Every corner will have a corner post, so avoid
the corners when drilling a hole. As for attaching to the stucco, with
some type of fastener, you may need to draw a small hole, with a
masonary bit and put some type of plastic anchor into the hole, so you
can securely attach the wire to the wall. Ask your local home center,
in Florida, or the South, USA, this should be no biggie. Hope this
helps.

Ordinary cable clips with masonry pins should be more than adequate.
Because the pins are only about half an inch long, they're not going
to go through the stucco far enough to damage anything inside the
wall.

You could also consider sticking the cable to the wall using glue -
something like a hot-melt glue gun should do a good enough job. This
could be less visually obtrusive than clipped cable, but more
difficult to remove the cable later should you need to.

Owain