I dont have a clue how many times Ive been crawling around in attic space but it finally happened today. Im blowing in insulation on 6 duplexes built in the 60s. Im about 3 hours into crawling around on ceiling joists in the dusty darkness and I get to the point where Im over the garage and blowing it above the kitchen. There was a small strip of plywood I could kneel down on. So Im on me knees and my toes were touching the drywall and at some point I must have put some weight on my toes. It was 1/2 on 24" so it didnt take much. Plus these places are in a wet hole so everything is damp in them. I caught myself and got out of the hole, otherwise I would have ended up on the hood of a pontiac vibe. I was hoping to be done early today but instead had to work late patching the ceiling.
Always worried about that when I'm up in the attic. At six foot 4 240 I'm not exactly in a comfortable situation up there. Glad you're okay. That's the main part
Never done that yet, knock on wood. I'm pretty much good all day with knees & toes on 16" centers. 24" is miserable; I usually grab a couple of planks for that.
I got lucky there, it was right in front of the car so nothing hit the car and it wasnt one of the unit where the tenants have the garage packed to the ceiling with junk.
That happened to me twice in the same house. This was a long time ago when I first got started.
The HO and his dad put up all new drywall, paint, texture, the whole nine yards. Ceiling, walls, you name it. Then he calls me to come in and replace all the knob and tube wiring
Plus he had an unpermitted rental in the old garage. Everything was run off a fully loaded Zinsco panel.
I needed the job and the money (after all this, I think I ended working for $20 an hour tops on this POS job).
120 degrees in the attic crawl. All unmarked, not to code wiring installed by some handyman. This was all wire nutted to K&T.
Slipped off the joists, cracked the cracked the kitchen ceiling. Same in the bathroom, although there, my leg went through. Probably lost 20lbs just in sweat on this job. Luckily, he was getting such a cheap deal from me, he just went ahead and patched it all himself.
I used to do a lot of attic work in apartment buildings. A co worker went completely through the ceiling and landed on his feet, did not smash his face on the 16 oc joists. He was very lucky.
We also had a guy who would walk directly on the plaster and lath not on the joists. He lasted 2 days.
There was roofers at the wifes dads house and one guy went through the roof and through the ceiling into a bedroom. Took out a ceiling fan and landed on a bed. He said he ankle felt like he might have sprained it. Not sure how he managed to miss all the framing to make it all the way into the house.
I would not beat myself up over that. Every once and awhile ,even a monkey will fall out of a tree and they are excellent climbers. Just comes with the territory.
I slipped on a funny joist (top was broken a bit) while showing my helper how to vacuum between the joists. Broke through into their livingroom ceiling and slammed my hip on the joist. Patched it quick but had to pay a texture guy to spray the whole ceiling.
Makes me love my really old house! :thumbup: My whole attic is boarded over with some boards removable. The insulators had no trouble at all. If you could stand up you could walk all over it. (You can not stand up, its a low ceiling)
Yup, Welland, in fact. AKA the Niagara Region, Ontario, CA
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