Another Least Favorite Job To Add To My List

ron schenker

Just finished framing and drywalling a 50 year old basement that was only 5' 8" high. I'm 6 feet tall and let me tell you this was harder than it sounds! My back and neck were all contorted for 4 days. Bumped my head at least 20 times (minor bumps and bleeding) and left some skin on most of the ductwork. The basement floor was lowered years ago(and underpinned) but only about 2 ft. Why not lower it more? Taping, mudding, and sanding the ceilings was a chore, should have charged "danger pay"
Does anyone have a similar nightmare story so I can feel a little better?

jmic

Were the H.O.'s wee people?

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ron schenker

No the basement is being used for storage only. They are not Munchkins

Mike Finley

Geez Ron, 5-8 sucks, too short to not stoop and too tall to walk around on knee pads.

If it makes you feel any better I'm right in the middle of the exact opposite, doing a great room with 3d type drywall applications so I have about 300 ln feet of corner molding to apply then mud it all, sand it all, texture it all... working on scaffolding for the first time so I'm experiencing the other side of what you did.

theworx

Ron, how the hell did you board a ceiling 2'' shorter than you are. Ouch, talk about an awkward height!!! Were you able to reach the ceiling off your knees??? Not to mention why, if it's only being used for storage, do they need it taped and sanded??

theworx

Hey Mike, how high are you working on this job??? Are you able to use Baker's or are you using the full size cumbersome scaffolding??

Mike Finley

The ceiling is at 22 feet, slanted so I'm on top of a 15 foot out door rig with my drywall bench to reach the highest parts (removing popcorn too) then when I wheel it over to the lowest part (17 ft) I'm on my hands and knees. The scaffolding works pretty good though, put casters on it so I can wing it around, it was sure nice to have to remove and install the ceiling fan, the fan was on an extension pole, so when I wheeled the scaffold under it, the fan was about 2 inches off the scaffolding floor. Sure beats the juggling act on top of a step ladder!

Now what are Bakers?

theworx

Baker scaffolds are 30" wide, 6' long and 5' high. They have wheels which are detachable and you can stack them on top of each other. Have gone three sections high with them (but we have outriggers with wheels for more stability, they are only 30" wide and can get a little scary). We use them all the time and are handy because you can move them around (with body momentum because they're so light) and not have to climb up and down all the time to reposition yourself. A lot of climbing up and down seems to be what you are doing right now (that sucks)... I have 5 sections of them (two that I cut in half for different ceiling heights). Maybe you guys have a different name for them???

theworx

Mike, I'm glad your ceiling fan went well. I boarded, taped and painted this A-frame 5 years ago (by myself-no helper). The peak was 26'. Could only get two sections of scaffold up because of the the pitch (everything up high was done on a ladder on top of the scaffold). I think that's why my knees are still shaking !!

A month later they called me back to install a ceiling fan in the middle of the peak. Instead of going through the trouble of scaffolds etc... I borrowed a 20' step ladder and bought a 20' long 2"x12". Extended the 2"x12" from their loft on top of the ladder (about 15' away). Took me three attempts. I walked out on the board the first time and bounced so much I turtled and crawled back to the loft. After I shook off the shakes I tried again with fan in hand and lost it again about half way across. Last attempt, went slow and walked easy and when I made it to the spot the fan was going I was near the ladder (no more bouncing). Installed in about 5 minutes and got the hell off the plank. It was stupid and won't do it again (but at that time would do almost anything to make my company money)...

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old27

What did you charge and how much did you make? Answer that and I'll give you a few nightmare stories...

Mike Finley

Never heard it called Bakers, but then again I don't know my ass from scaffolding either. At the rental place they called Bakers- interior scaffolding and the stuff I am using exterior scaffolding. The exterior made the coward in me more comfortable since it was beefier, and I figured the much larger foot print would mean less moving it around.

I avoid the up and down as much as possible by the use of a 5 gallon bucket on a rope and somebody to put in it whatever I need. I'm also using a 6 foot step ladder, a 12 foot step ladder, an extension ladder and a dry wall bench. It's like musical chairs sometimes having to move stuff out of the way just to get around!

All I can say about your "board walk" - I couldn't do it, no way unless I had a change of undewear in the truck! I'm betting the homeowner still talks about the guy that came out to install the ceiling fan and how he did it.

joasis

I love being up there and hate the climb. That is why God invented scissor lifts. I have one that will go through a 34 inch door and has a working height of 31 feet. However, they can be heavy, and expensive. I own baker type scaffolding and standard 7 ft masons scaffold frames. Nothing like being 3 frames up, and a joker comes out of no where and starts to shake the frames....

ron schenker

Worx: Me and my helper put up all the drywall incl. the ceiling. We were both on our knees on little homemade stools holding up the drywall, ouch.
The H.O. will be selling the house next month and wanted the basement to look presentable even though it will only be used for storage. Two rooms plus the furnace room added up to about 500sq.ft.
Old27: After paying my chiropractor, and 12 stitches in my bald head, my net profit was $1200 for three 9 hour days. OK, now let me hear your stories.
BTW...I was kidding about the chiropractor and stitches, but I really did have a sore neck and a little missing skin on the top of my "chrome dome"

old27

Ron...on a brighter note, the ceiling height could have been 2'8" rather than 5'8"...


Nightmare Jobs?....excellent topic. I'm gonna think about this one...

theworx

Mike, tell you one thing, I will never pull a stunt like again. I did that years ago and will never do anything like that again (I still have nightmares about the bouncy 2'x12')... I now leave that for the circus entertainers...

Mike Finley

LOL, probably a good thing, and probably why you are still around.

ProWallGuy

Funny stuff right there!!!

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theworx

Did a job for a customer that wanted their crawl space boarded and taped (the house was a split level). Height was maybe 3' tops. They figured it would be a good play space for their toddlers. Me and my partner barely got the sheets into the space and lied on our backs on furniture doliies, wheeled ourselves around with our feet, got the sheets in place and screwed them up. We got it done, but I figure a big waste of time and money (in a couple of years their kids will be to big to even enjoy the space)... Oh Well, what the customer wants as long as thay pay !!

Mike Finley

Have you seen any of the houses with these play spaces pre-built into them? I've seen a couple that have tunnels and secret rooms for kids, little crawl spaces and nooks using normally un-useable space. Some of them are swiming in an underwater cave and coming up into a secret room that can only be accessed that way.

theworx

I would have thought un-useable space like that would be perfect for storing stuff you only need to access once in a while. Ie: Christmas decorations, etc... Great for the kids I guess, but seems to me some people have too much money and imagination (maybe associated with over use of LSD in their younger years or from smoking too much pot)... Like some of our designers !!!