Allot of contemplation went into whether or not I should share this but I figured, what the heck.....we could all use a good laugh.

Last week I posted "Found the other Culprit" in the Preamplifier section about pulling out a damaged 35' HDMI cable and running a new one. The last time I called my local HT guys, they charged a me a whopping $160 for about 30 minutes of work. I always said, "you pay for what you don't know!"

Well this time I wasn't going to pay because I was going to do it myself. I have a single story home so this should be a piece of cake...right? So I pulled out my trusty ladder and in the attic I went....on the hunt for this cable. I'm in the attic, hand radio in tow, radioed down to the wife...."honey I think I found the cable." She radios back, woohoo! By now you can feel the laugh coming on..... :p

Straddling two beams, I reach for the cable and the next thing I hear was my wife asking me was I ok....and she didn't have to use the radio because I'm now sitting in the back row of my theater.

No physical injuries but I was REALLY PISSED OFF! I remained pissed off for about a day, then began calling sheet-rock repair folks. So not only do I have the cost to repair my ceiling, I still haven't pulled the darn cable.

Lesson learned....."Know your limitations!" "Paying for what you don't know is OK sometimes!"

Ooooppss!
Glad you are ok.
Yep, Clint Eastwood said: "A mans got to know his limitations."

Lonster

Ouch! Having run speaker cable and network cable around in the attic of our one-story house, I can certainly relate to the hazards of walking on ceiling joists. My wife always worries when I do anything like that. It's good that you're not hurt. A little sheetrock work is easy compared to stitches, a broken bone, or other unpleasantness.

There's a funny patch in the flooring of our attic in front of the AC unit where an attic fan used to be. Apparently the previous owners added the patch as part of some other repair work - the husband went up into the attic to change the filter one evening and stepped through the place where the attic fan had been. At the time, there was no flooring over that location, so all he had to step onto (and through) was the ceiling sheetrock. He didn't fall all the way through, though - instead he wound up with his legs sticking out of the hallway ceiling and his torso still in the attic.

This also reminds me of the slide I took down the fold-down attic stairs last month. After dragging all the empty boxes of Christmas decorations into the attic along with some old baby clothes and a high chair, I was finally done and came down the stairs a bit too fast. When my heel slipped off a step, I grabbed the railing above to catch myself. No problem, right? Well, I happened to grab right at a knot in the railing board and snapped the board cleanly in half, which led to me sliding all the way down the attic stairs with one arm up over my head to drag along the attic opening and the hinge mechanism along the way. Our daughter was pointing out the "boo-boos" on my right hand for the next week. Needless to say, my wife was a bit anxious when I finally added some extra insulation over the kitchen and den while I was on vacation the following week.

Don't feel bad. It took me 3 years to "almost" frame my basement, then a nasty injury (laceration) made me seek professional help (no, not a doctor, a carpenter). After the poor guy was done laughing at my handy work, he ripped everything out and finished my basement from scratch in 4 weeks.

Now every time that Geico commercial comes on, you know, the "so easy a caveman can do it" one, my wife looks at me and chuckles, all while sitting in our pink..., excuse me, Velvet Plum (or something) colored home theater.

I am glad you were not physically hurt. It's those emotional home theater injuries that so often go unreported. It sounds like you are on target for a full recovery.

It's nice to do things yourself around the house, but we all have our limits. The only actual work that we did on our kitchen renovation was demolition and painting - the electrical, sheetrock, flooring, plumbing, and cabinet work was all left to contractors.

Talk about documenting everything....Gonk you are on it! Kitchen looks great......love those cats.

I must be in the minority, I am in the process of finishing off my basement(the part that I didn't have finished (1400sqft.) when I built) and I am doing everything myself...framing, electrical, most of the plumbing, sheetrock, painting, flooring..etc...etc. The only things I backed off on were the plumbing and the HVAC. I did parts of both, but had friends who cut me a deal and were 10X faster than I was. I will also have the ceramic shower done and the carpet done. Other than that, it's all me.

It's taken an incredibly long while, but i haven't done much in the past year due to a nasty divorce. I am just getting back into it now. I have it all framed, electrical and plumbing lines run, and 1/2 the sheetrock up. I might have to take a small break to build boxes for my new speakers. An acoustic suspension 3-way. I will probably order the drivers today or tomorrow.

It's alot of work, but is rewarding when you are done. The other thing is you know it has been done right!!

Tim

ej,
Good to hear you are good to go w/ only your ego bruised..... nothing like biulding memories.
I can't say i have broken thru a ceiling or walls ....
For me, I walk in the same area as tkolody - a handy man around the house, farm, flight-line, clean-room .....

Been there done that EJ. Was at a friends house doing some electrical demo for a major renovation when I was called to come over and look at something. I mis-stepped and wnt all the way through to the floor! I too was unhurt, but I hated looking at the writing on the ceiling "bragging" about my "special" hole for the next 3 months!!!

Gonk nice job on the kitchen. My wife and I are in the process of updating the last 2 rooms and a bath from 1952 as we speak. God I hate construction dust!!!

its all about knowing your limitations. I know now I got a good chance with anything below the ceiling

Ceiling's finally fixed and it only cost me $300. Would've shared the before and after but was too embarrased. However, I will continue updating EJ's Home Theater as it evolves. Next upgrade will be the addition of sound panels by GIK Acoustics and 2 level risers for my seats. This time I'll be sure and post the before and after pics.

Sorry for the broken link....I'm still a rookie at this UBB stuff
GIK Acoustics

I swear I did it right :-)

http://www.gikacoustics.com/product_info.html