Author Topic: A Thread From Under the Floorboards  (Read 17472 times)

Pingu

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A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« on: 06 November, 2021, 11:55:42 pm »
As suggested by Snakehips.

Well, I just stuck my head down through the hatch under the front door. That was interesting. Plenty crawl space so potentially the ability to insulate the floor from below. And install cat5 cable if needed.
The photo below is of the wall directly under the front door, it's north facing. It appears to be wearing a fur coat of efflorescence. It doesn't exactly make me feel that getting cavity wall insulation would be a good idea, although that's just what I can see from the hatch, I didn't go having a crawl about. Also, IANA cavity wall insulation surveyor.
IMG_20211106_155422 by The Pingus, on Flickr

This photo shows what I assume is a clay demijohn and then on closer inspection it looks like someone's put a bagged up floor cleaning device or something under there.  ???
IMG_20211106_155031 by The Pingus, on Flickr

Further inspection some time...

Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #1 on: 07 November, 2021, 09:21:12 am »
Wow. I remember talk of my late Dad having rewired my parents' first house, by crawling round under the floor-boards. This was either before I was born or at least while I was too young to remember it. Ever since, I've lived in Wimpey-type houses, so I've suddenly got a better idea of what it probably meant.

ian

Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #2 on: 09 November, 2021, 10:35:12 am »
There was a little hatch under our hallway floor. I didn't know if it was an actual hell portal or something more mundane, when I came back with a big screwdriver to lever it open someone had dumped a layer of screed over it. I suspect they were trying to hide the truth. Or probably put the new floor in. So it remains a mystery.

Because we're on a steep hill, our house is three floors, but the bottom storey only really exists to account for the slope. I always wonder what's in that (and why they didn't just add another habitable floor). There's possibly some cannibalistic relative of the former owners locked up in there. I hear noises.

Jaded

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Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #3 on: 09 November, 2021, 10:49:25 am »
Wow. I remember talk of my late Dad having rewired my parents' first house, by crawling round under the floor-boards. This was either before I was born or at least while I was too young to remember it. Ever since, I've lived in Wimpey-type houses, so I've suddenly got a better idea of what it probably meant.

We built a room above the bread oven in the house I grew up in. Suspended floor over dust and stone. You could lift some boards in the corridor and crawl under, which I did several times to get wires to the other end of the build.

It gives me the shakes just thinking about it now. That’s age for you, I guess.
It is simpler than it looks.

Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #4 on: 09 November, 2021, 01:13:51 pm »
I think I'd have vague and irrational fears of not being able to find the entry hatch again and being stuck down there forever. And having to hold my breath as though I were under ice :o

rogerzilla

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Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #5 on: 09 November, 2021, 02:50:31 pm »
Wow. I remember talk of my late Dad having rewired my parents' first house, by crawling round under the floor-boards. This was either before I was born or at least while I was too young to remember it. Ever since, I've lived in Wimpey-type houses, so I've suddenly got a better idea of what it probably meant.

We built a room above the bread oven in the house I grew up in. Suspended floor over dust and stone. You could lift some boards in the corridor and crawl under, which I did several times to get wires to the other end of the build.

It gives me the shakes just thinking about it now. That’s age for you, I guess.
In the 1970s house where I grew up, there were some interesting voids created when the old warm-air CH ducting was removed.  By taking out a hardboard panel at the bottom of my parents' wardrobe, I could shimmy right under the bath in the adjacent room, and scare the shit out of its occupant by knocking on the underneath.  No, I have never suffered from claustrophobia.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #6 on: 09 November, 2021, 04:22:33 pm »
I keep reading the title of this as 'a Threat from under the floorboards'

Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #7 on: 09 November, 2021, 04:59:48 pm »
My secondary school was built on a steep hill, hence there was an extra basement floor on the downhill side, although unlike a normal basement, this didn't sit buried below the ground, but instead opened out onto the playground.
In the sixth form common room, which was located in the basement, we found a pair of padlocked wooden doors, which gave access to a place with no windows that could be seen from the outside of the building. It wasn't long before the padlock became the padunlocked and we entered into the darkness onto a hard-packed dirt floor, which got closer and closer to the ceiling, the further we entered and the more progress we made.
Eventually, it was in places maybe 300mm to 400mm in height, which meant crawling. We could see a light in the distance so we had to find out where this would lead to. So, more crawling which must've made our navy-blue uniforms look exceptionally crisp.
It transpired that we would emerge from a storage void behind the kilns in the pottery classroom.
The pottery teacher happened to be my form tutor and was actually v.cool 8) so we didn't get into too much shit over what we'd done.
I think she was just bemused to see three or four dust covered thirteen year-olds emerging from behind her kilns.
From entrance to exit it must be a distance of 80m or so - it was a big school, and we'd effectively traversed an entire wing whilst under the floor.

Thinking about it for too long today, makes me go a bit like Jaded ^
I'm not, and for some time haven't been, overfond of enclosed spaces for any significant length of time.

Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #8 on: 09 November, 2021, 05:19:04 pm »
Back in the early noughties before this fb was oab we had inadequate carpeting and wide spaced boards in our tied cottage. Somewhere between the ground and first floors are a large number of mahjong tiles and am engagement ring. Thanks, kiddos .

Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #9 on: 16 November, 2021, 06:19:15 pm »
I'm not particularly claustrophobic, but . . .

Installing pipes and wiring in the barge really tested me. I could contort myself under a built in bench and under the floor - so I was lying on the hull, floor pressed against face, completely dark. Had to turn my head sideways to fit (big nose!). Could hear the water gurgling under the hull.

10ft from one side to the other. Makes me shudder remembering it. Being trapped in a confined space while water rises around me is one of my nightmares.
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Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #10 on: 16 November, 2021, 06:44:54 pm »
Growing up I remember a friend having a kitchen floorboard that could be lifted to reveal the river Chess flowing below. We didn’t go in.

At school I helped (largely unsupervised) with the stage lighting. The most alarming bit of crawling I did was on top of a suspended ceiling, with a lamp, to avoid having to move a load of chairs on the floor below. Good job I didn’t weigh much.

Our first house, an ex-council terrace in Southall, had a space in the attic where I could get through to next door. I only ever stuck my head through, on the basis that I’d be fairly unimpressed at someone going the other way.

Our second house was a self build (not by us) chalet bungalow. There was an eaves store / crawl space behind two bedrooms and a bathroom that I remember laying insulation and doing some electrics in. The space wasn’t big enough to turn round, or for Mrs Dan to follow me in. It was a bit awkward to work in, but I didn’t feel claustrophobic.

Mrs Pingu

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Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #11 on: 28 November, 2021, 05:46:28 pm »
I have just ordered 2 pairs of knee pads and an inspection lamp, so there will be more photies eventually.
Currently wondering if the 2 unused satellite aerial type sockets in the wall on the 1st & ground floor are linked by a cable in case we could use that to thread cat5 between the floors. Probably not, that would be too simple, but a gal can dream...
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Feanor

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Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #12 on: 28 November, 2021, 05:53:10 pm »
Currently wondering if the 2 unused satellite aerial type sockets in the wall on the 1st & ground floor are linked by a cable in case we could use that to thread cat5 between the floors. Probably not, that would be too simple, but a gal can dream...

Almost certainly not.

Satellite sockets are not simply daisy-chained together, so there won't be a cable run directly between them.
Each will be independently fed either directly from the LNB on the dish, or from a Multi-switch distribution box in the loft somewhere.

Mrs Pingu

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Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #13 on: 28 November, 2021, 06:04:05 pm »
Ah well, didn't really expect it to be thus. There's no remaining sign of a dish so lord knows what's actually in there anyway.
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #14 on: 28 November, 2021, 06:48:27 pm »
Currently wondering if the 2 unused satellite aerial type sockets in the wall on the 1st & ground floor are linked by a cable in case we could use that to thread cat5 between the floors. Probably not, that would be too simple, but a gal can dream...

Almost certainly not.

Satellite sockets are not simply daisy-chained together, so there won't be a cable run directly between them.
Each will be independently fed either directly from the LNB on the dish, or from a Multi-switch distribution box in the loft somewhere.

But it might be possible to pull a cord from each faceplate to the common point and then use said cords to pull a somewhat longer (than planned) cable betwixt both plates?

Mrs Pingu

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Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #15 on: 29 November, 2021, 10:36:49 pm »
Mmm maybe. That's making my brain hurt thinking about it.
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #16 on: 30 November, 2021, 08:36:12 am »
If you are looking to thread cables under a floor void, this type of cable threader may seem appealing, but actually IME the most effective tool is a length of plastic mini trunking (either the "lid" or the body as appropriate). With a length of light string tied to the front you can, by means of jiggle and turn get over obstacles and around bends, the string can also be used to lift. if the run is too long, then you may have to have an access  hole in the middle, and then it is easier to thread both ways from the middle. Creating a "rest" from one piece of trunking to raise the second is another useful technique.

Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #17 on: 30 November, 2021, 10:17:19 am »
If Mr Smith were still around here, he would tell you about how they used kittens and treats to thread things under the floorboards way back when.

But he's not so I did.

Quote from: Mr Smith
That was Gemma. We tied wool onto her collar and enticed her from one room to another in the upstairs subfloor (between downstairs ceiling and upstairs floorboards). And also in the cavity wall, which was much more risky as she could have literally wandered off anywhere.

Kim

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Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #18 on: 30 November, 2021, 11:53:05 am »
I believe the former Mr-Barakta's-Mum (who is a large man not suited to working in confined spaces) had form for using child labour to similar effect.  I don't think there were collars or treats, though.

Indeed, I can recommend a barakta for those awkward "hey, you've got fewer bones than me, see if you can reach into that narrow gap and grab the frustratingly-non-magnetic wossname" situations.

Pingu

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Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #19 on: 04 December, 2021, 11:43:55 am »
Mrs P grubbing about:


IMG_9282_01 by The Pingus, on Flickr

Stuffs dredged up:


IMG_9285_01 by The Pingus, on Flickr

Mrs Pingu

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Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #20 on: 04 December, 2021, 12:22:08 pm »
So, in inspection news, the steps at the front door in the pic above are where the wall with the fur coat is in the first post. I didn't go through the whole house as my appetite for commando crawling on my belly was wearing thin by then, but in the front (north facing) part of the house most of the walls didn't look too bad, there was the odd small patch of efflorescence but nothing like the bit under the front door step.

Other thing of note, besides all the garden tools. It seems someone's tried to do some sort of damp proofing but it just appears that they've laid a load of plastic sheet on the ground and then covered it in a layer of sand. So now you have damp soil (it's moderately clay round here) with a load of plastic on top and a layer of damp sand on top of that. I'm not sure what it's achieving. At least all the joists and floor boards look good though.

I've just remembered I wanted to look under the kitchen floor to see if there was any evidence of gas to where the cooker is located but that'll have to wait for another day.
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Bluebottle

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Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #21 on: 05 December, 2021, 12:26:20 am »
A bit apologetically tangential to the thread, but the discussion of grubbing about in confined spaces reminds me of the placement i did before the final year of my degree. I did this with the computational chemist of the parish, a small, wiry cyclist. The first thing he got me to do was install network cards in Pentium PCs. The second thing was to get borrow his boiler suit and take some coax cable into the false roofspace of the basement labs and get the labs networked. It was then I found out I don't like enclosed spaces: my feet were larger than the space in which I had to crawl, I was dressed in the boiler suit of a 5' 5" Fifer, I was a 6'4" lang streak of pish. Lying fully extended (as it were) in that boiler suit hurt.

On reflection, I don't remember how much support there was in the false roofspace...
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Kim

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Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #22 on: 05 December, 2021, 12:31:06 am »
Well it's marginally more fun than terminating coax, I suppose.

Bluebottle

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Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #23 on: 05 December, 2021, 12:44:39 am »
Fortunately, as a chemist, that was not my job!
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Wowbagger

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Re: A Thread From Under the Floorboards
« Reply #24 on: 05 December, 2021, 10:05:55 am »
A bit apologetically tangential to the thread, but the discussion of grubbing about in confined spaces reminds me of the placement i did before the final year of my degree. I did this with the computational chemist of the parish, a small, wiry cyclist. The first thing he got me to do was install network cards in Pentium PCs. The second thing was to get borrow his boiler suit and take some coax cable into the false roofspace of the basement labs and get the labs networked. It was then I found out I don't like enclosed spaces: my feet were larger than the space in which I had to crawl, I was dressed in the boiler suit of a 5' 5" Fifer, I was a 6'4" lang streak of pish. Lying fully extended (as it were) in that boiler suit hurt.

On reflection, I don't remember how much support there was in the false roofspace...

I wouldn't have thought you would have needed support if the boiler suit was that tight.
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