Lifting a piece of glass covering a well

[Nightjar]

Assuming it is 4ft in diameter, it would weigh about 225 kgs. At 6ft diameter, it would be getting on for 500kgs. You would need one of these per 100kgs:

That is, of course assuming that it is held down only by its weight and not also by sealant.

I suspect that the base arms of an engine hoist would get in the way of lifting the glass. You might need a gantry like this:

which can be adjusted down to 2.1m high, plus a hoist and some slings:

As already mentioned, I would look at replacing the lighting with good quality LED lighting, to avoid having to do this again for the foreseeable future.

Colin Bignell

[alan]

I've walked over the glass floor at the top of the Spinnaker Tower - they do ask you to remove your shoes. A visit up the tower is something I'd recommend if you are in Portsmouth on a clear sunny day.

(not my video)

There is also a glass walk at the Grand Canyon

[Tim Watts]

OP - can we have some pictures please...

[dennis]

If its a piece of glass I wouldn't walk on it. If its a composite structure I would.

Glass is brittle and breaks far to easily.

[dennis]

Scary, you might drown on the way down if it broke.

[Huge]

And at the CN Tower in Toronto;

(BTDT)

[Johny B Good]

Not forgetting the CN Tower, Toronto which the XYL and I visited back in 2005.

I took a similar styled photo (feet in view) but rotated 180 deg to include the tower structure for added 'context'.

This picture is a closer match in quality to my 35mm film shots (I didn't buy the 3.2Mpxl Nikon until a day or two later). The difference being mine showed the rail tracks below.

I got the XYL to take a photo of me stood on the glass, unfortunately the shot was a little out of focus. I tried to get a picture of her doing likewise but the best I could do was to persuade her stand on the concrete beam between the glass panels immediately in front of the large red "Happy Birthday 28 10 CN tower" placard. The 28 and the 10 were split by an icon of the tower so I'm not quite sure what those numbers are supposed to mean.

I must say, despite my confidence in the strength of the glass floor, I still felt a shiver of fear at being 'apparently' suspended over such a large drop (1,122 ft).

[Bob Eager]

Perhaps tunnelling in from the side would be easier...

[fred]

In article , Tim Watts writes

He was going to but it's dark :-D

[Tim Watts]

On Saturday 15 February 2014 17:14 fred wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Cue Three Headed Knight:

"He's buggered off!"

[jgh]

Is that the one on DIY SOS(*) last week? They used a pair of those glass sucker handles to put it in place.

(*)Or one of them programmes.

jgh

[James Harris]

Rather than a hoist how about a joist? ;-) Or, rather, how about a board to protect the floor and a length of wood pivoting on the first and used as a lever? A lever should allow you to get any lifting power you want. Rememer Archimedes Boast?

For suction, if the surface is smooth how about tile lifters?

The glass may be stuck down and may at least need to be scored around the perimiter?

James

[F Murtz]

This post is annoying me. I wish there was a picture. Why a well with a glass lid. if it is a well how do you get at the water?Where is the piping access? Why is the poster deliberately not showing picture or at least describing this unusual thing in a form understandable.

[alan]

There have been a few house designer and DIY programs where an old well[1] has been used as a feature rather than a practical solution to obtaining water. The well is only built up to floor level and has a glass cover so that you can walk on it. It is lit so that you can see the water at the bottom.

I seem to remember that it was a multi-man task to get the cover in place.

[1] I think Tommy Walsh had a project with a well. Another may have actually been a mill stream running under the property but treated as a feature with a glass floor.

[alan]

It seems that covering wells in glass is quite popular

Note: They suggest LED lighting. I suspect that they know lifting the cover will be a PITA.

These covers seem to be around 35mm and not the 3"(75mm) the OP suggests so the cover may be a more manageable 100kg - but still not a one man lift.

[Sam Plusnet]

To be fair (ish) to the OP, it could be pretty hard to estimate the thickness of the glass if you can only see it from above.

[jgh]

That's the one. And in answer to people who say "pah, why do you need libraries, everything's on the internet", I've just spent 30 minutes searching trying to find a picture or video of the Tommy Walsh covered well in question, with no success. Everything's on the internet my arse.

jgh

[Adrian]

So how long would it take you to find a picture or video of it in a library, then?

[chrisj.doran%proemail.co.uk]

I'm sure it would be sealed in some way to prevent damp, or at least a smel l of it. If not silicone, perhaps a rubber ring which has gone gooey. Have you looked under the floorboards where the cable enters? Mayne there's an a ccess panel?

As a lateral solution, how about drilling one of more half-inch slanting ho les into the wall below the glass so that you can drop in a weighted string of LED fairy lights (very appropriate for a well :) or a rope light? Bung the end of the hole with blue-tak to keep out damp.

Chris

[Vir Campestris]

It's Devon 5, the episode you want. 5 minutes googling...

"challenge tommy walsh" covered well devon

Andy