I was inspecting a home today, and while inspecting the attic I took a bad step and fell throught the ceilng. The realtor assured me that I wasn’t the first inspector to have such an accident. I believed her, but GOD, how embarrassing!
Aside from that, the inspection went fine. Aside from the basketball-sized hole in the ceiling I left the house exactly as I found it.
I have called the client, who was in another state, I have also called the listing agent. I am prepared to pay for the damage, meaning I will likely make nothing on the inspection.
My questions are these: if this has happened to you, how did you handle the situation?
And
What advice would you have for me to not have this problem again?
Sounds like you weren’t injured. Good advice from Brian.
Always use the “3 point rule” in the attic. Always know exactly what your stepping on. With the 3 point philosophy you have a better chance of catching yourself if you do misstep.
I’m sorry to hear about your dilemma. Hopefully you are not injured (except for your pride a bit ).
If you are going to traverse an attic with no suitable walking platform, you must EVALUATE. EVERY. SINGLE. STEP.
If there is deep insulation (as is the case in my area), think twice about trying to navigate the attic without a suitable walking platform, as you cannot see what you are stepping on. Even if you hit the trusses, you may also hit light fixtures, exhaust fans, electrical wiring, gas piping, etc.
Keep the response at arms length, meaning don’t fix it yourself or refer anyone. Just pay their repair bill (validate it for price, etc.). That way you’re out of any issues that might come down the road later.
For me, it has happened twice in 30 years. Once was pure stupidity on my part trying to walk an attic when I could not see the joist through the insulation! Second time was when I stepped on a homeowner installed OSB attic flooring and it crumbled and one leg went through! Each time I was lucky that I only got some scratches, etc. My size 13 shoe makes a good size hole. About $400 dollars later for repairs on each one and everyone was happy! Each time was about ten years apart.
One of my employees stepped through by not paying attention and forgot he took out a part of the ceiling. He was lucky as well, and only one foot went through. It was about five years ago on the day before Thanksgiving! The owners were not happy but were understanding and that fix cost around $500 due to the height in the entry hall.
It will happen if you do enough inspections! If it does get it repaired ASAP and keep everyone informed!
After 20+ years inspecting I have only stepped through one ceiling from the attic MY OWN DAMN HOUSE! I beat myself up, my Wife beat me up, the Dogs beat me up. Then I repaired it myself (not hard).
I really can’t add to the advice already given to prevent a recurrence in the future. Some real good warnings too about finding components under high insulation!
I stepped through once. It was in a tough place on the vaulted ceiling but the homeowner (who hired me) was very understanding. I was able to fix it myself so mostly took time.
It’s kind of a rite of passage. I did it a couple of years ago. One of the walk boards kicked out and there was nothing to grab onto. Getting my foot back out of the hole did more damage than actually going through it. I was on the phone with the agent before even leaving the attic. He asked if I wanted to handle it or have his guy do it. I had his guy do it for $550.00. I didn’t think it was a bad price and agreed that the whole ceiling had to be painted.
Happened to me on a hot day. I don’t think I should have stayed in there and may have been disoriented by the heat. But my foot slipped and went through the ceiling. I bit the bullet and paid $800 to have it professionally fixed. Sometimes it’s the risk of doing business and being professional. I’m more likely to disclaim a hot attic now.
Glad you were not hurt. It could have been bad. Everybody here has had some great advise, the only thing I would add is the type of shoe. Smooth bottoms seems to slip on things more, so if you are on the side of the truss it could slip. Gripping shoes will collect the insualtion but will hold you up better. Just move the insualtion around before you step to make sure you are in the middle of the truss and not something else.
I did it once in 2017. It was an early 1970’s house with trusses and brittle sheetrock ceiling. I was focused on a (homeowner) damaged truss and did not closely observe the walk boards that had been laid down. One was particle board and instantly vaporized when I stepped. Ended hanging by my armpit from the truss web for about 10 minutes before help arrived. Took a while to heal and about $900.00 to fix.
So…1) 3 points of contact, always!
2) Never trust walk boards in attics!
If there are no walking boards, I don’t walk the attic. I then inspect it from the hatch and disclaim areas I cannot see. As a retired builder and as a home owner too, I don’t want someone slogging through the attic insulation. I can imagine the same expectation from a seller. What a huge insulation mess one makes when reappearing from the attic! Creating damage like that (fixed at the inspectors expense), I can also imagine losing a lot of credibility from the parties involved; realtor, seller, and buyer. If I did damage like that, it would be over the whole county within a week or less, forever tarnishing my credibility.
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ndegaris
(Neil DeGaris, CMI KY License # 102167)
16
This is a dangerous business, and it can happen to anyone. It is good to inspect the attic. I would not stop just because of one issue. It is important to keep the three points of contact. Try to have a fall back. It is hard to keep thinking about your footing and also enter into your report software, but it is too important not to. Stay focused on footing first and when you get a comfortable position then take your notes. Notice if the ceiling joists are on 16" or 24" spacing and try to stay in that area but don’t fully trust it. The ceiling joist can even change direction at any time. Pay for it quickly and try to make it a number not a job. You don’t want to guarantee the quality of the person who fixes it. Be safe out there. Eric
Yep! Did it a few years back. Me and cockroaches…it’s a “thing”. Anyway, brand new house…infested with roaches (crawlspace, walls, ceilings, attic). Was inspecting the attic and one dropped on my arm…I moved to brush it off and well…all 225# of me went through the ceiling…at least until my hip caught the joist. Bruised from way down my leg up my back. Thankfully the listing agent still had the builder and drywaller needing to do some other things so it was taken care of but man…what a lesson. Like what others said…3 point and I don’t step anywhere I don’t feel comfortable. Lessons learned.
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