What's the typical method for working on the ceiling of a stairwell? The only reason why I ask is that even with an 8 foot ladder, it's simply not possible to reach the ceiling safely, especially when the staircase effectively lowers the floor by 6 feet and turns that 8 foot ceiling into a
14 foot ceiling.
I'm thinking the easiest solution would be to build an L shaped platform to lay on the stairs but wasn't sure if there's a simpler solution that doesn't involve creaky underdesigned platforms that give way right as I climb up on the ladder I set down on the platform.
I did the walls all the way up to the ceiling once. This would only work if you had the open kind of stairwell I have, only a wrought iron railing separating the hall from the section of stairs from the landing down to the floor below.
Wow, it's only been 10 years but I can't remember. I had a lot of depressing news 10 years ago, and there are several things I can't remember from that period, but I think I took 2 6-foot ladders and put some 3 or 4 2x4's from one to the other at about 4 or 5 feet high. I know that I eventually put 3 2x4's from the first set of 2x4's or from a ladder, to the floor of the hall. And then I put a piece of 1/2 or
3/4 inch plywood on top of the 2x4s, to make a pretty big platform, and to spread my weight over all the 2x4s. I guess the ceiling everywhere was now 8 foot high. I used a roller with paint in the handle. Can do a lot that way, without looking for more paint.
Maybe if I had an extension ladder, I would have just used that.
I haven't done it yet but it is coming to the top of the list, the ladder is in the stairwell. My plan it to use an 10' step ladder and a long running plank from the top step to an equivalent step on the ladder, should end up at around 8'. I'm 6' so + the 8' from the makeshift scaffold, = 14' that should be just right, maybe a bit too tall. Maybe I'll just send the wife up, she is 5'4".
it is a model 26.- Hide quoted text -- Show quoted text -
Yepper,,a ladder(stepladder if possible) and plank is what I do.. Had a plank on a clete once,,the helper did'nt nail the clete well and it came loose with 3 of Us on it hanging a 12' sheet of rock!! I fell farthest but landed lucky,,the helper that nailed the clete fell medium distance and hit the wall with minor injuries,,3rd guy was on the plank but near the sawhorse on the stairwells' landing so did'nt fall at all..The sheetrock jammed sideways before it could hurt Us..I was so pissed nobody told Me Who nailed the clete for a looong time!! I re-did it Myself and We went right back up.. Stretchplanks can be rented and are adjustable length,,they generally rate to support about 250lbs more or less depending on how far the User stretches it..Very handy items.. Dean
. Would it be safest and most flexible to rent one of those 'little giant' ladders advertised on TV that can be offset (unequal legs) so as to adjust to the slope of the stairs? If/when I can afford I might buy one! Cos other uses. Another alternate to just paint up to that 14 foot above floor height might be a self made ladder (2 by 4 etc.) about ten feet long? with the bottom of the legs unequal by the height of one step?
Well, that's exactly what I did in a similar situation: built an L-shaped platform from 2x3 angle iron bolted together, with more of the same as diagonal bracing (probably over-engineered, but the previous owners left a huge pile of the stuff in the garage -- it was there, it was free, might as well use it) and a cut-down sheet of 3/4" plywood across the top as a platform. Very, very sturdy.
I realize you jest, but for all the DIYs on here doing a project like this for the first time-
You ain't 18 any more. Keeping your balance on a bouncy plank while doing careful painting or other work, will be harder and more tiring than you think. And if you fall, it will take a long and irritating time healing up, assuming you don't do permanent damage. If you don't have the skill set and experience to site-fabricate a safe comfortable work platform, either rent the proper scaffolding at the rentall store, or hire the work out.
This is said in all kindness. Last year, in my immediate circle of coworkers, 2 different middle-aged guys were seriously injured in falls of less than eight feet, from improper work platforms, while helping friends or relatives work on their houses. Lots of time off work, lots of expense, lots of pain. They are both damn lucky to be walking, and both will have fun at airport security for the rest of their lives from all the metal added to them. It ain't the short fall that is the problem, it is how you land, and what you land on.
And just like confined-space work, high work has a number one rule- NEVER WORK ALONE. You always want someone there to call the ambulance and rescue squad.
On Sun, 28 Jan 2007 12:28:11 -0800, "Eigenvector" wrote:\\
I was up to 240, but lost weight down to 170 by the time I did this. It made it a lot easier. It was almost as if it was planned that I would be down to that weight by the time I had to do this, and to use an extension laddeer on the 2nd floor and gable outside too.
Hey I was up to 308 last year, so at this point I'm just shy of 30 lbs lighter. I'm none too proud of 280, but I'll shout across the sky that I've lost 30 lbs and dropping.
Safety tip; a C-clamp on the junction of the step ladder and plank makes a world of difference, it removes the tipping and rock and roll. I use a running plank which has sides made of 2X4s on edge, which makes it muck more stable and less bouncy
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