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 ff1070
 |  | Sounding Floors & Stairs
< on 7/17/2011 12:12 PM >
|  | | | sure most experienced UE's would agree, many upper level floors and stairs can be unstable in older and even some newer locations. Especially in poorly lit environments and nightime excursions, decaying floors and stairs can seriously injure you or others or even kill you.
A good safety tip would be to use a walking stick or similar tool, preferably one with a little weight to it. When ascending or descending a staircase you are unsure of, take your tool and hit each stair before you step on it to 'sound' it for structural integrity. The same can be said for flooring on all levels. It can be annoying, tiresome, and even noisy, but remember, you usually only get one chance with unsafe stairs/floors.
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MrSivalls
This member has been banned. See the banlist for more information.
I'll be a-surfin' in yer blood on Saturday night
| | Re: Sounding Floors & Stairs
<Reply # 1 on 7/17/2011 2:30 PM >
| | | | Best to stay close as possible to the anchor points, usually the wall, and directly over support beams. Each case is different. The amount of give to wood floors gives an indication of their soundness, but only that.
Structures in poor repair many times fail with little or no warning (most times those warning signs are being ignored in order to explore anyway). Concrete is and steps anchored to it are especially dangerous. These will fail with zero warning leaving you hanging in midair like Wylie Coyote, hanging briefly that is.
Your security measures were inadequate.
How unfortunate for you. |
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ff1070
| | Re: Sounding Floors & Stairs
<Reply # 2 on 7/17/2011 5:36 PM >
| | | | yes it will. and unlike our fine Coyote, you won't have time to hold up a little sign before you careen down to the hard ground. lol
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Weirdlig
  
Gender: Female
| | Re: Sounding Floors & Stairs
<Reply # 4 on 7/18/2011 3:05 PM >
| | | | I remember when I was young [like fourteen] and we checked out some old houses, probably a decade before I got into urbex.
Our bright idea was to throw a big rock into the center of the living room to see if the floor was stable. I just wanna point out how stupid of an idea it is to stress test the floors!
Aside from making noise to draw attention to yourself and potentially damaging the site, you'll also possibly further weaken the floor for an extremely inaccurate finding.
After that cinderblock hit the floor my buddy fell into it up to his thigh.
http://www.flickr....irdlingphotography |
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MrSivalls
This member has been banned. See the banlist for more information.
I'll be a-surfin' in yer blood on Saturday night
| | Re: Sounding Floors & Stairs
<Reply # 5 on 7/18/2011 11:49 PM >
| | | | Posted by Weirdling
I remember when I was young [like fourteen] and we checked out some old houses, probably a decade before I got into urbex.
Our bright idea was to throw a big rock into the center of the living room to see if the floor was stable. I just wanna point out how stupid of an idea it is to stress test the floors!
Aside from making noise to draw attention to yourself and potentially damaging the site, you'll also possibly further weaken the floor for an extremely inaccurate finding.
After that cinderblock hit the floor my buddy fell into it up to his thigh.
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Yes, they tend to collapse rather quickly. It's unnerving to see the floor move like a wave and disappear. That's the warning.
Your security measures were inadequate.
How unfortunate for you. |
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Valkyre
Location: Niflheim
Gender: Male
Its not the end of the world, but you can see it from here.
| |  | Re: Sounding Floors & Stairs
<Reply # 6 on 7/19/2011 12:43 AM >
| | | | Posted by Weirdling
I remember when I was young [like fourteen] and we checked out some old houses, probably a decade before I got into urbex.
Our bright idea was to throw a big rock into the center of the living room to see if the floor was stable. I just wanna point out how stupid of an idea it is to stress test the floors!
Aside from making noise to draw attention to yourself and potentially damaging the site, you'll also possibly further weaken the floor for an extremely inaccurate finding.
After that cinderblock hit the floor my buddy fell into it up to his thigh.
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Rather clever. But then I'd try placing (or throwing,  ) something that's of my weight to see if the floor can support it at all.
Once things get political, they want us to stop shooting and start dancing.
I don't dance. |
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barefootpoetry
Location: PA
Gender: Female
| | | Re: Sounding Floors & Stairs
<Reply # 7 on 7/19/2011 1:07 AM >
| | | | I try to hang onto the walls at all times if a floor looks unstable. But then I get excited and tend to forget. I made it through the first floor of a very decayed house from the 1920s without incident by holding the walls and support beams...then I got to the stairs, forgot what I was doing, went up and immediately put my foot through the second floor. D'oh.
She who hesitates, sees bulldozers. |
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jeepdave
  
Location: Anderson, SC
Gender: Male
It's also a gun.
| | Re: Sounding Floors & Stairs
<Reply # 8 on 7/19/2011 1:19 AM >
| | | | When all else fails, spread out your weight. Lay down. If your on a floor, and it starts to feel less than happy to have you on it, lay down, and spread your weight out. It may suck to crawl on a dusty dirty floor, but its still WAY better than falling 15' to another dusty dirty floor at about 20mph.
Ezekiel 25:17 |
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Valkyre
Location: Niflheim
Gender: Male
Its not the end of the world, but you can see it from here.
| | | Re: Sounding Floors & Stairs
<Reply # 10 on 7/19/2011 10:00 AM >
| | | |
Holy shit, that's brutal.
Once things get political, they want us to stop shooting and start dancing.
I don't dance. |
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Weirdlig
Gender: Female
| | Re: Sounding Floors & Stairs
<Reply # 11 on 7/19/2011 1:40 PM >
| | | | The stress test mostly failed because we discovered a square foot of a 20x20 room could handle the cinderblock. Even with that 'info', as we saw it, my buddy stepped on the wrong section and was thigh deep in potential crotch splinters [he was alright].
Normally when I don't trust a floor I hold onto something [in a way that even if the floor gives I'm okay] and gradually put down weight. If I'm feeling okay I trace what seem to be the strong points for the duration. Normally I don't run into these situations, though.
I'm also about 145 now so it's not a good judge for others to follow me. Keep the weights of others in mind.
http://www.flickr....irdlingphotography |
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barefootpoetry
Location: PA
Gender: Female
| | | Re: Sounding Floors & Stairs
<Reply # 12 on 7/19/2011 3:55 PM >
| | | | Another tip that has worked for me is to try to step on the supporting beams of the floor, if they are exposed. A house I went to recently was missing large parts of the second floor, and I didn't exactly trust the floorboards themselves. Granted, the support beams were probably just as decayed as the rest, but they seemed to appear to be more stable and able to hold my weight better. I managed to tightrope-walk on the support boards, and try to put more weight on them than on the few remaining flat parts of the floor when I had to maneuver with my tripod. It didn't help that the entire second floor had been used as a raccoon latrine, so there were very few places to stand. But, I successfully shot the house without incident.
She who hesitates, sees bulldozers. |
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RescueMe1060
 
Location: San Francisco
Gender: Male
Radioactivity, its in the air for you & me
| | Re: Sounding Floors & Stairs
<Reply # 13 on 7/19/2011 5:21 PM >
| | | | If a floor is unsafe you should have no reason to even attempt it. No picture is worth your safety or health.
http://www.flickr....rescueme1060/sets/
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Jonno23
Location: Phoenix, Az, Sector zz9 Plural Z Alpha
Gender: Male
This space for rent
| | Re: Sounding Floors & Stairs
<Reply # 14 on 7/22/2011 12:00 PM >
| | | | Posted by rescueme1060
No picture is worth your safety or health.
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I know a few people on here that would challenge your statement. A certain photo at an abandoned nuke cooling tower comes to mind.....
Blah Blah Blah. Shut up and open the damn door.
"It's ok Officer, I watch a lot of cop shows on tv, so i am practically one of you guys." - sadly, that didn't work.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonno23/ All my photos suck. |
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citrusleak
Location: Indy
Gender: Male
Indy Explorer
| | Re: Sounding Floors & Stairs
<Reply # 15 on 7/22/2011 4:53 PM >
| | | | A missing floor never stops me.
[last edit 7/22/2011 4:54 PM by citrusleak - edited 2 times]
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Valkyre
Location: Niflheim
Gender: Male
Its not the end of the world, but you can see it from here.
| | | Re: Sounding Floors & Stairs
<Reply # 16 on 7/29/2011 12:17 AM >
| | | | Posted by citrusleak
A missing floor never stops me.
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Neither, but hopefully all explorers can define the fine line between stupidity and thrill.
Not having a go at you, just saying. 
Once things get political, they want us to stop shooting and start dancing.
I don't dance. |
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