Took a fall through a rotten attic floor in a 1950s house yesterday

I was running a line through a crawlspace in an old house near downtown and stepped on a board that just crumbled under me. Ended up dangling with one leg through the ceiling drywall, covered in insulation and dust. Has anyone else run into surprise rot in older attics, and what do you look for before stepping?

2 comments

2 Comments

jana_hernandez26d ago

It's wild how we just trust that the stuff we walk on is solid until it isn't. This isn't just an attic thing, its the same with old furniture or even the sidewalk cracks you skip over without a second thought. We get so used to assuming things are fine because they look fine from the top. The real trick is to get a good look underneath or at least poke around before you commit your full weight. What did you end up doing once you pulled yourself out of that hole?

wren_carr26d ago

Same thing happened to me in a 1960s ranch last year. I tapped ahead with a screwdriver before every step after that.