# walking on beams and joist



## 415frisco (Oct 25, 2014)

Im a first period apprentice carpenter out of sf. do you have any tips on walking on the joist/beams?


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## VinylHanger (Jul 14, 2011)

Don't fall.


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## Rio (Oct 13, 2009)

Make sure they're attached as in fastened.


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

Yea, don't....

fast way to get fired and an OSHA ticket....

read here:

http://www.contractortalk.com/f14/walking-plate-193169/


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## Railman (Jan 19, 2008)

Walk softly, & bend knees.


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## thehockeydman (Dec 19, 2012)

griz said:


> Yea, don't....
> 
> fast way to get fired and an OSHA ticket....
> 
> ...


There isn't a single crew around here that doesn't walk on joists. I can't imagine framing a floor without doing so. How else would you install blocking between i Joists?

To the OP. You gotta trust your feet. Ever play that game when you were a kid where you only walk on the cracks in the sidewalk? That requires more precision than walking 16 OC joists. Your body knows how to to walk the joists, your brain is psyching you out.

Get used to feeling the joists underneath your feet. When walking perpendicular to the joists, I like to step on them with the balls of my feet (the part right before your toes). And keep a nice steady rhythm. It looks stupid and sketchy as hell when you see a guy wobbling on a joists and jumping one foot to the next joist as fast as he can as he struggles to keep his balance, all because he thinks he's going to fall. They're 16 OC. Even if you fall, it be pretty impressive to slip between the joists and fall right through the floor. Still, don't fall.

We had a new guy a while back who was terrified of walking on joists. He figured it out soon enough. If it's truly something you can't bring yourself to do, perhaps framing isn't for you.


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## thehockeydman (Dec 19, 2012)

One bonus tip: 

If you're clipping an air tool on to your belt while moving around, make sure you have plenty of slack. Walking on joists than being yanked backwards as your hose goes tight is a lousy feeling


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## Calidecks (Nov 19, 2011)

If you ever get a disoriented feeling, stop and look off into the distance for a second. Helps me get my bearing again.


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## kwunch (Apr 27, 2014)

thehockeydman said:


> There isn't a single crew around here that doesn't walk on joists. I can't imagine framing a floor without doing so. How else would you install blocking between i Joists?


This.

I know my buddy said he had a really hard time not walking on joists when they were doing a big commercial job, but as soon as they were back to firing out houses everyone was back on the joists.

It's not as bad as you think it is, just move carefully and deliberately, you'll have it down in no time. It always feels sketchy to me now, but I haven't framed in awhile and I guess it keeps me from being too comfortable/getting too cocky when I do have to walk them.


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## Easy Gibson (Dec 3, 2010)

Only time it's sketchy to me is in remodeling work.

This morning I was checking out a site that was midway through having the subfloor ripped and replaced. Boards were up but the nails were still in. Everything has 100 years of grime on it so it's hard to see the nails. Watch out for those.

hockey has it right that your feet already know what to do, but your brain is messing with you. Same for walking on a roof or a ridge. You could probably walk a mile balancing on a railroad track and think nothing of it, but if you put it 10 feet off the ground it's something else entirely. Eyes on the horizon!


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## Texas Wax (Jan 16, 2012)

Easy Gibson said:


> Only time it's sketchy to me is in remodeling work.


A bit more at stake there. Like the time we had a guy step off a joist in bathroom remodel. Right through a panel in a tray ceiling. 100 year old plaster with linen covering. A quick $1100 ooops. And a good laugh to offset that. 'Dorf' does remodeling. Luckily for him, the Dude had a little "offset" of the goods when he went down to the inseam of his jeans.

Or when the new guy fell all the way through and landed, doggy style, on a family heirloom coffee table. Butt clencher waiting for the fallout on that one. Fortunately the home owners we very cool about it. First and ongoing concern, by them, was that nobody was hurt. The table can be fixed people not so much.


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## kiteman (Apr 18, 2012)

I remember my first boss saying "You're not getting paid to be brave"


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## C2projects (Jan 9, 2013)

Why are you sleeping on them in the first place?


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## Warren (Feb 19, 2005)

Take your time, look where your foot is gonna be, and do it with confidence. Losing confidence will put you down really fast.


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## Spencer (Jul 6, 2005)

My sister in law had a bad wreck a month and a half ago. I stayed at the hospital a couple nights. There was a menonite lady there that I met. Her husband fell framing up some kind of barn. Landed on his feet on concrete. Shattered ankles...exploded vertebrae...his days of manual labor are over. Be careful. Never become overconfident, that's the second your life can change.


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## Calidecks (Nov 19, 2011)

kiteman said:


> I remember my first boss saying "You're not getting paid to be brave"


I remember having to go up many feet to the top of a gymnasium and straighten rebar sticking out the tops of the block walls they just poured. I was pretty scared as an 18 year old. My boss told me I can either get up there and straighten them or go home. I went up there and straightened them.


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## Warren (Feb 19, 2005)

I never force it with new guys. I have known some guys who just have a natural knack of doing it. I am not one of those. My old boss was one of those guys. He would go months without doing any framing, show up on site and hop right up there. He could actually jump up, grab the plate, and pull himself up onto the wall. I think I recall one time that he walked off the end plate, realized his mistake, and just calmly hovered around and walked back on. At least that's how I remembered it.


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## C2projects (Jan 9, 2013)

Walking on joists is much easier than walking on walls, you have to commit though with every step. The second you doubt yourself is when things can go wrong. 

There are days where I feel I can pretty much run across plates. And other days I can barely take the first step. Usually though after that first step it becomes a whole lot easier. 

I never have a problem walking across joists. Make sure you're 100% positive they have been nailed down to foundation at the very least. But its better to wait till rimboard is on. You forget to do this you'll be on the way to the floor below whether you like it or not.


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## Deckhead (Dec 9, 2010)

Warren said:


> I never force it with new guys. I have known some guys who just have a natural knack of doing it. I am not one of those. My old boss was one of those guys. He would go months without doing any framing, show up on site and hop right up there. He could actually jump up, grab the plate, and pull himself up onto the wall. I think I recall one time that he walked off the end plate, realized his mistake, and just calmly hovered around and walked back on. At least that's how I remembered it.


Your a good man. I learned from a guy who was a forcer. Turned out I was really good at it. Just helped him frame a job a week ago, he laughed and said how I was originally scared to walk 2x6 walls and now I scare him when I walk them.

Set your mind to it, you know you are capable of keeping your feet within 6" so you just walk. Bending over is the harder part. People say dont look down but you'll lose balance if you look up. Focus on the place you should be walking and not where youre walking, your body will take you there.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Don't throw a loose 4 foot piece of 2x12 not nailed down across a few joists to step on...you will step on the end and fall straight into the basement like I did.


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## TimelessQuality (Sep 23, 2007)

If you're gluing the second floor deck, don't step on the joist after you glue... 

It's slippery, and hard to get off your clothes and skin after you catch yourself with your forearms..:whistling


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## Xtrememtnbiker (Jun 9, 2013)

Inner10 said:


> Don't throw a loose 4 foot piece of 2x12 not nailed down across a few joists to step on...you will step on the end and fall straight into the basement like I did.



I have a hard time believing you fit between the joists... :whistling:


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Xtrememtnbiker said:


> I have a hard time believing you fit between the joists... :whistling:


It was a few years ago and I got stuck at my shoulders. Hurt like a bastard.


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## muskoka guy (Nov 16, 2013)

Look only where you are stepping. Don't look up and don't look down, it will disorient you. Walking at heights takes practice. Take your time until your comfortable. Soon you will be walking 2ft center trusses.


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## asgoodasdead (Aug 30, 2013)

griz said:


> Yea, don't....
> 
> fast way to get fired and an OSHA ticket....
> 
> ...



on a union job, sure. on a residential job you'll get fired for not walking them.


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## kiteman (Apr 18, 2012)

I would never fire anybody for not walking walls or beams, but I appreciate those who can. I was never the greatest at it, but passable. 

I was trying to demonstrate the right way to run bridging and was disappointed at how hard it was to bend over that far.


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## thehockeydman (Dec 19, 2012)

kiteman said:


> I would never fire anybody for not walking walls or beams, but I appreciate those who can. I was never the greatest at it, but passable.


Agreed. It's still possible to frame efficiently without walking on walls. Sometimes not quite as fast, but often the added time of setting up a scaffold or plank gets made up because you can move back and forth faster than you would walking on a wall plate.

Joists are another story. I don't see how it would be possible to frame efficiently without walking on joists.


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## Gaboy (Mar 30, 2014)

I fell through a deck few weeks back....not fun. Problem was I did a 180 forgot I was on joists an down I went main thing take time an pick ur steps....I try an keep the arch of my foot on the boards....

I'm not afraid of heights I'm afraid of the fall.....


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## Gaboy (Mar 30, 2014)

Oh yeah new guys crawling across floor joists is funny to me I did the same thing...guess u crawl before u walk lol


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## parkers5150 (Dec 5, 2008)

it really is just a state of mind...and like every other facet of your career choice, practice and CONFIDENCE will take you anywhere you choose to go:thumbsup: as for tips... grabs some scraps from a job and frame some mock ups on the ground (joists, plate limes, rafters) now that you're only inches or a few feet off the ground...dance all over them for practice!!!!
To be truly comfortable up high you have to "understand your out" what i mean by this is always know your "out move" or what your gonna do in the event of a fall...
lastly, never wear boots with heels... flat soles only:thumbsup:


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## framer55 (Jul 21, 2013)

Guys i the US better not be walking joists and beams. As Griz said, it is an automatic ticket if OSHA catches it.

I walked walls and joists for many years until my balance went. 
I got to the point where working off a ladder I could run bridging faster than the fellows walking the joists. it is a fallacy to say you can do it faster..

Somehow us carpenters that feel we will never get hurt, need to change our thinking as a lot we do is dangerous and can shorten life and careers.


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## NJGC (Apr 5, 2014)

framer55 said:


> Guys i the US better not be walking joists and beams. As Griz said, it is an automatic ticket if OSHA catches it.
> 
> I walked walls and joists for many years until my balance went.
> I got to the point where working off a ladder I could run bridging faster than the fellows walking the joists. it is a fallacy to say you can do it faster..
> ...


No fallacy about it.....I can absolutely work faster walking walls and joists than from a ladder. If you can't do it anymore, you can't, no shame about it but let's not pretend moving a ladder 100 times a day is faster.


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## Framer53 (Feb 23, 2008)

NJGC said:


> No fallacy about it.....I can absolutely work faster walking walls and joists than from a ladder. If you can't do it anymore, you can't, no shame about it but let's not pretend moving a ladder 100 times a day is faster.


I am not pretending. Trust me, it can be done faster.....

It's just a state of mind over matter.
Not to mention a large fine if caught.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Gaboy said:


> I fell through a deck few weeks back....not fun. Problem was I did a 180 forgot I was on joists an down I went main thing take time an pick ur steps....I try an keep the arch of my foot on the boards....
> 
> I'm not afraid of heights I'm afraid of the fall.....


I'm not afraid of the fall I'm afraid of the sudden stop at the end of the fall.


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## JAH (Jul 27, 2014)

We were standing monster gables with a crane. After the gable was braced one of our guys would set up a ladder to the flying rakes. Then free climb the rakes and unhook the crane. Better him than me. 
We use to run on plates. Now that falling hurts, I'll just walk walls, if I have to. :laughing:


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

Don't look up.


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## Calidecks (Nov 19, 2011)

jlsconstruction said:


> Don't look up.


Good to hear from you Jesse.


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## Spencer (Jul 6, 2005)

jlsconstruction said:


> Don't look up.



I've been wondering what you're up to. Hope all is well.


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

Spencer said:


> I've been wondering what you're up to. Hope all is well.


Living the dream


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## Spencer (Jul 6, 2005)

jlsconstruction said:


> Living the dream



Amen to that.


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## B.D.R. (May 22, 2007)

Don't worry too much about falling through joists. 
Your balls will hold you up.


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## B.D.R. (May 22, 2007)

There is a reason I do interior work.


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## Contractor Joe (Sep 28, 2011)

thehockeydman said:


> There isn't a single crew around here that doesn't walk on joists. I can't imagine framing a floor without doing so. How else would you install blocking between i Joists?
> 
> To the OP. You gotta trust your feet. Ever play that game when you were a kid where you only walk on the cracks in the sidewalk? That requires more precision than walking 16 OC joists. Your body knows how to to walk the joists, your brain is psyching you out.
> 
> ...


What a terrible way to go honestly.


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