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When walls come tumbling down

Posted by Thomas Jentzsch, 16 June 2009 · 77 views

Private Stuff Damned Tag Clouds
Ok, it was "only" a big rack.

Yesterday morning, just a few minutes before I had to get up, I woke up by a loud crack noise followed by a big rumble right beside me.

When I switched on the light, I saw this. Sometimes collecting computer magazines can be dangerous... :ponder:

EDIT: New picture I made when I cleaned the room. Lock at the crack of the desk standing right besides my head! :-o

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Cybergoth
Jun 16 2009 2:22 AM
Oh, die Scheissdinger sind bei uns in der alten Wohnung auch aus der Wand gebrochen, auf der doppelten Breite allerdings, sah auch aus als hätte man eine Granate in den Raum geworfen :ponder:

Am besten auf richtige Regale umsteigen, die sind bei Ikea & co. im Endeffrekt nicht mal teurer :)
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GroovyBee
Jun 16 2009 2:54 AM
Rawl bolts are your friend!
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Thomas Jentzsch
Jun 16 2009 4:42 AM

GroovyBee, on Tue Jun 16, 2009 10:54 AM, said:

Rawl bolts are your friend!
Oh, there where 2x4 big, original Fischer (the guy who invented this stuff, you know)-bolts used. And I tested the fixtures with my own weight on both sides.

But that was six years ago. I suppose the old, pre-war wall is still moving somehow and combined with the weight of 6 years of c't magazine, it was just too much.
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Thomas Jentzsch
Jun 16 2009 4:49 AM

Cybergoth, on Tue Jun 16, 2009 10:22 AM, said:

Oh, die Scheissdinger sind bei uns in der alten Wohnung auch aus der Wand gebrochen, auf der doppelten Breite allerdings, sah auch aus als hätte man eine Granate in den Raum geworfen :ponder:
Ich bin nur froh das ich nix abbekommen habe. Kaputt ist anscheinen auch kaum was.

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Am besten auf richtige Regale umsteigen, die sind bei Ikea & co. im Endeffrekt nicht mal teurer :)
Dieses Regal habe ich seit Studentenzeiten gehabt. Ist seitdem 2x klaglos umgezogen.

Aber nächste Woche kommt Billy zu mir. ;)
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Cybergoth
Jun 16 2009 5:04 AM

Thomas Jentzsch, on Tue Jun 16, 2009 11:49 AM, said:

Ich bin nur froh das ich nix abbekommen habe. Kaputt ist anscheinen auch kaum was.

Gott sei Dank, ja! Wenn ichs mir vorstelle, ich habe auch jahrelang direkt unter so einer Todesfalle geschlafen :ponder:

Thomas Jentzsch, on Tue Jun 16, 2009 11:49 AM, said:

Aber nächste Woche kommt Billy zu mir. ;)

Sieht um einiges stabiler aus. Ist definitv besser, wenn man in so einer Nachkriegswohnung haust. Bei uns ist ausser dem Regal auch mal ein kompletter Küchenschrank von der Wand gefallen, soviel Porzellan wurde nichtmal an unserem Polterabend zerdeppert :)

Seitdem gibts bei uns fast nur noch selbststehende Regale ;)
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Thomas Jentzsch
Jun 16 2009 7:44 AM

Cybergoth, on Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:04 PM, said:

Seitdem gibts bei uns fast nur noch selbststehende Regale :ponder:
Und an der Wand festgeschraubt, oder?
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Cybergoth
Jun 16 2009 7:59 AM
Ne, Erdbebensicher sind wir da noch nicht. Wenn es verdächtig aussieht mache ich höchstens kleine Keile unter die Vorder-Füsse, damit der Schwerpunkt vom Regal Richtung Wand "fällt" :ponder:
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SpiceWare
Jun 16 2009 9:13 AM
Glad you're OK!

Some friends have the Billy bookcases from Ikea, they really like them. I got one of Ikea's modular systems for my TV room
http://spiceware.org...y/Misc/P1000010

Ikea doesn't sell it anymore and I don't recall the name. Thankfully I did a matching short shelf unit for next to the TV when I got it, it holds the AV equipment
http://spiceware.org...y/Misc/P1010083
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vdub_bobby
Jun 16 2009 10:16 AM
Damn! Glad you're ok. What a way to wake up...
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Wickeycolumbus
Jun 16 2009 10:46 AM
Wow, that really sucks! Glad you are ok :ponder:
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Thomas Jentzsch
Jun 16 2009 11:30 AM

Cybergoth, on Tue Jun 16, 2009 3:59 PM, said:

Ne, Erdbebensicher sind wir da noch nicht. Wenn es verdächtig aussieht mache ich höchstens kleine Keile unter die Vorder-Füsse, damit der Schwerpunkt vom Regal Richtung Wand "fällt" :ponder:
Es geht ja dabei auch mehr um Kinder, die daran hochklettern wollen.
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Thomas Jentzsch
Jun 16 2009 11:33 AM

SpiceWare, on Tue Jun 16, 2009 5:13 PM, said:

Some friends have the Billy bookcases from Ikea, they really like them. I got one of Ikea's modular systems for my TV room
http://spiceware.org...y/Misc/P1000010

Ikea doesn't sell it anymore and I don't recall the name. Thankfully I did a matching short shelf unit for next to the TV when I got it, it holds the AV equipment
http://spiceware.org...y/Misc/P1010083
Yes, I remember that system from the catalog. It sucks, when they stop selling just after you decided to buy it. I would be nice if they would produce a bit extra, so that you get a chance to buy them, after they got out of production.

I am going to buy some Billy shelfs. They are pretty cheap and its only for the sleeping room anyway.
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Thomas Jentzsch
Jun 16 2009 12:32 PM
BTW: :ponder:
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batari
Jun 16 2009 1:28 PM

Thomas Jentzsch, on Tue Jun 16, 2009 5:42 AM, said:

But that was six years ago. I suppose the old, pre-war wall is still moving somehow and combined with the weight of 6 years of c't magazine, it was just too much.
At least here, walls of that era are usually lath and plaster, and standard fasteners for drywall just don't work.

The only fasteners I've found that are reliable are toggle bolts:
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Impaler_26
Jun 19 2009 5:13 PM
Holy Shit! I'm glad you're OK!
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Nathan Strum
Jun 19 2009 6:05 PM
I used to actually have bookshelves directly over my bed when I was a kid. Not very bright in retrospect. Fortunately all I had on them were either plastic model kits or Atari 2600 games, which didn't weigh very much. :ponder: Since the Northridge earthquake though, I've been rather fanatical about over-attaching things to walls.

Now I always put the screws straight into the studs, even if I can't put the shelves exactly where I want them. If I have to, I'll use toggles like in batari's post, and a lot of them. But I always try to at least get some screws into the wall's structure.
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SpiceWare
Jun 19 2009 8:13 PM
I happened upon the instructions for my Ikea shelving unit, it's the Journalist. Googling Ikea Journalist turns up people looking for parts.

Must be time for falling shelves - while not as dramatic as yours, it did startle me when it happened as I was putting a letter on the shelf.
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batari
Jun 20 2009 10:51 AM

Nathan Strum, on Fri Jun 19, 2009 7:05 PM, said:

I used to actually have bookshelves directly over my bed when I was a kid. Not very bright in retrospect. Fortunately all I had on them were either plastic model kits or Atari 2600 games, which didn't weigh very much. :ponder: Since the Northridge earthquake though, I've been rather fanatical about over-attaching things to walls.

Now I always put the screws straight into the studs, even if I can't put the shelves exactly where I want them. If I have to, I'll use toggles like in batari's post, and a lot of them. But I always try to at least get some screws into the wall's structure.
The problem with studs in old houses is that stud finders don't work on lath and plaster. Also, with modern houses, you can often rely on studs to be spaced at 16" on center, but older houses usually aren't built like that, so finding one stud by accident doesn't help you.
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Thomas Jentzsch
Jun 20 2009 11:09 AM

batari, on Sat Jun 20, 2009 6:51 PM, said:

The problem with studs in old houses is that stud finders don't work on lath and plaster. Also, with modern houses, you can often rely on studs to be spaced at 16" on center, but older houses usually aren't built like that, so finding one stud by accident doesn't help you.
That's the advantage here. Our houses are build complete with concrete and massive stones, no fragile wooden walls.

Though, even that doesn't always help... :ponder:
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batari
Jun 20 2009 11:27 AM

Thomas Jentzsch, on Sat Jun 20, 2009 12:09 PM, said:

batari, on Sat Jun 20, 2009 6:51 PM, said:

The problem with studs in old houses is that stud finders don't work on lath and plaster. Also, with modern houses, you can often rely on studs to be spaced at 16" on center, but older houses usually aren't built like that, so finding one stud by accident doesn't help you.
That's the advantage here. Our houses are build complete with concrete and massive stones, no fragile wooden walls.

Though, even that doesn't always help... :ponder:
At least on the west coast of the USA, the flexibility of wooden structures is actually an advantage as it leads to better earthquake resistance than stone, brick and (unreinforced) concrete.

As for attaching stuff to concrete/stone walls, I'd imagine your best options are drilling with a masonry bit, and attaching fasteners in epoxy?
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