Standing on a table - how bad?

GideonF

GideonF

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Okay, heretical question here. How bad is it (for the table) to stand on the slate?

I have a fluorescent light fixture on the ceiling (about 11' ceiling) above my home table (a 9' Gandy furniture table). One of the tubes finally burned out (after about 10 years!) and I need to replace it. Other than standing on the slate, there is no way, short of building a scaffold, to open the fixture and replace the bulb.

I am having the table recovered Friday, so I'm not worried about popping a slate seam or rendering the table unlevel. But do I have to worry about damage to the slate?

Also, for those few here who know me, no it would not be my fat ass on the table - it would be a person of average build.

Gideon<----Maybe should have thought of this problem when I designed the set up.
 
Do you have a piece of 3/4" plywood you could place on the table to spread the load?

That would help, although I doubt you'd have a problem even without it.
 
Here's a cheap fix. Go buy a 2 X 10 that is 10 feet long. Cut it in half. Lay each board across the rails above the slate, side by side. This will give you a 20 inch wide platform off the slate with no chance of anything being broken. If you're concerned about scratching the rails, put a towel under each end of the boards.

Brian in VA
 
If the table is constructed well, it should be able to take a 200lb load directly on the slate with no issues.
 
Unless the slate it already damaged you should be ok. I've stood on slate lots of times changing bulbs or hanging lights. If you are worried spread your feet out a little closer to the rails where the slate is supported.
 
I stand on my GC all the time to mess around with lighting and cameras overhead. Never have had an issue. I stand between the seams, not on them. Do it in socks so you won't mess up the cloth. And you might want to put some towels down if you need to do any carpentry work overhead, incase you drop any tools they won't cut the cloth.

Your table being a furniture table is probably less sturdy, so use your best judgement.
 
CamposCues said:
Unless the slate it already damaged you should be ok. I've stood on slate lots of times changing bulbs or hanging lights. If you are worried spread your feet out a little closer to the rails where the slate is supported.
Click to expand...

Thanks to you and all the others who responded. I'll give it a shot tonight.
 
iusedtoberich said:
I stand on my GC all the time to mess around with lighting and cameras overhead. Never have had an issue. I stand between the seams, not on them. Do it in socks so you won't mess up the cloth. And you might want to put some towels down if you need to do any carpentry work overhead, incase you drop any tools they won't cut the cloth.

Your table being a furniture table is probably less sturdy, so use your best judgement.
Click to expand...

Me too. I've gotten on my GC a few times with no problems at all.
 
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