Drilling into Apt Building Ceiling

[TromboneAl]

DD wants to hang a sky-chair type of thing from the ceiling in her apartment. She said they were liberal about hanging things, and I told her that perhaps that didn't mean she could hang furniture from the ceiling.

In any case, she used a stud finder to find a joist, which she said is 6 inches wide. When she tries to drill into it, the drill just stops after .25 inches.

I'm guessing that she's trying to drill into a massive iron I-beam. Anyone know what's likely to be in the ceiling in an old brick apartment building?

 

[TromboneAl]

Well, she pushed harder, and got through to wood now, so the situation has been resolved.

 

[REWahoo]

Well, she pushed harder, and got through to wood now, so the situation has been resolved.

Yeah - until the neighbor upstairs tries to move their sofa....

 

[Leonidas]

Yeah - until the neighbor upstairs tries to move their sofa....

Thanks, now I have to wipe apple juice off the monitor, keyboard, etc.

 

[freebird5825]

Um...Al...ask DD if there is anything dripping from the ceiling...

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

I like to check my various types of insurance coverage this time of year...

 

[Nords]

Well, she pushed harder, and got through to wood now, so the situation has been resolved.

Um...Al...ask DD if there is anything dripping from the ceiling...

Yeah, my answers were going to be:
- copper water piping
and
- metal conduit shielding electrical wiring...

If the house had any gas piping I guess that answer would also be clear by now.

 

[Helios]

skychair

This is blasphemous talk to me, as my family are landlords.
However, If I were doing this, I think I would use chain or cable to go up and over this wood/iron beam thing. It wouldnt be compromised so much structurally as it would by cutting, drilling thru it.
Hook seems like it would work loose. Either way, seems that the drywall/plaster might crack and such, when the gymnastics begin.
Might be sacrificing the deposit.

 

[calmloki]

Yeah, my answers were going to be:
- copper water piping
and
- metal conduit shielding electrical wiring...

If the house had any gas piping I guess that answer would also be clear by now.

Waiting for the first flush from above....

 

[Nords]

Waiting for the first flush from above....

Ouch, hadn't thought about that one!

"Hey, honey, what's that smell?" (*splooosh*)

 

[deserat]

Wow - as a former landlord, I wasn't too fond of holes in anything - and the different ideas of what truly was in the ceiling......aren't hanging chairs 1970's furniture?

 

[Trek]

Are you sure it's really for a skychair and not some sort of......um...er.....swing?

 

[TromboneAl]

Apparently it is like this:

The best part is that whether or not it's a good idea, or whether there will be problems with the landlord -- it's not my concern!

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

The best part is that whether or not it's a good idea, or whether there will be problems with the landlord -- it's not my concern!

Really? I can't tell you how many times we or our contemporaries have bailed out our > 18 y.o. teenager from some hair-brained catastrophe. We may have told the kids it's not our concern, but if it's something that will seriously affect their education or safety, you're there.

I think they were engaged before I really felt I was off the hook. Fortunately, they were good kids like yours so I was never really "tested" by anything too serious.

 

[W2R]

Really? I can't tell you how many times we or our contemporaries have bailed out our > 18 y.o. teenager from some hair-brained catastrophe. We may have told the kids it's not our concern, but if it's something that will seriously affect their education or safety, you're there.

I think they were engaged before I really felt I was off the hook. Fortunately, they were good kids like yours so I was never really "tested" by anything too serious.

I don't think I really felt I was off the hook until she was married, last October! But naturally like Al (and probably like you too), I had to gradually let go and let her make her own decisions and mistakes more and more, as she got older. She had to learn to take care of herself, so the "letting go" had to be at a rate she could handle. But it also had to be prompt enough that she could develop an independent spirit, too.

She always knew what I was thinking anyway!! I was REALLY surprised when I first discovered that. I could just smile and say nothing and she would articulate my objection and how she planned to handle it.

But back to the part about being off the hook - - I was never so happy as I was to see my daughter marry a kind, intelligent, caring man last October. In a private moment with him, he had the initiative to promise to me that he would always take care of her and do his best to make her happy. I will always be her mother (that never stops) but he has assumed much of the responsibility.

 

[haha]

But back to the part about being off the hook - - I was never so happy as I was to see my daughter marry a kind, intelligent, caring man last October. In a private moment with him, he had the initiative to promise to me that he would always take care of her and do his best to make her happy. I will always be her mother (that never stops) but he has assumed much of the responsibility.

Shades of Jane Austen. Mr. Knightley to the rescue!

Ha

 

[W2R]

Shades of Jane Austen. Mr. Knightley to the rescue!

Ha

I'm so old that that is my generation!! Loved it and his promise was absolutely sincere. Maybe it is his European upbringing (he is from a village near Barcelona and grew up there). I'll bet he asked her father for her hand, too.

 

[Moemg]

The best part is that whether or not it's a good idea, or whether there will be problems with the landlord -- it's not my concern!



I think if you are a parent your always concerned . My mom who is 93 still worries about us and is always giving little reminders such as "Don't forget to check the air in your tires " and " Make sure you take a vitamin " . It's kind of funny but cute !

 

[easysurfer]

DD wants to hang a sky-chair type of thing from the ceiling in her apartment. She said they were liberal about hanging things, and I told her that perhaps that didn't mean she could hang furniture from the ceiling.

In any case, she used a stud finder to find a joist, which she said is 6 inches wide. When she tries to drill into it, the drill just stops after .25 inches.

I'm guessing that she's trying to drill into a massive iron I-beam. Anyone know what's likely to be in the ceiling in an old brick apartment building?

Al,

Give your DD lots of credit. She was smart enough to use a stud finder to find a joist rather then drill trial and error

 

[calmloki]

Certain amount of tail twisting going on here - pretty sure any regular reader knows that Al has a daughter of well above average competence. Now Al...

 

[Bestwifeever]

I think T-Al's daughter will be able to compensate the landlord for any damage to the apartment without T-Al's help--she has a great job, as I recall. Along those lines, a friend of mine and I always wonder why we continue to pick up the dinner check for our kids when they make more money than we ever did....

 

[TromboneAl]

Right. If she had said "Dad, I'm thinking of taking up smoking," I might have made it my concern.

 

[Nords]

Right. If she had said "Dad, I'm thinking of taking up smoking," I might have made it my concern.

I'd like to think that when our kids come up with brilliant ideas like that, they already hear a little voice inside their heads channeling Mom or Dad's commentary on the subject...

 

[Moemg]

. Along those lines, a friend of mine and I always wonder why we continue to pick up the dinner check for our kids when they make more money than we ever did....

I wonder that myself !

 

[W2R]

I'd like to think that when our kids come up with brilliant ideas like that, they already hear a little voice inside their heads channeling Mom or Dad's commentary on the subject...

They do! They do!! My daughter often will tell me she is going to do the most awful things, that I completely disagree with. I don't have to say a thing, one way or the other. Despite my efforts to remain noncommital on the topic, she somehow reads my expression (usually somewhat like this ), or my tone of voice if we are talking on the phone. And then a few weeks later, I find out that she handled things the way I would have suggested, had I said something.

Works every time. What's even better is when it works on situations that she hasn't even discussed with me yet.