Vent: Tried the 'quick' governor rope trick on a 12 story building. Did not go quick.

Had a job downtown last week, needed to replace the governor rope on an old Otis. Heard from another guy you could feed the new rope down the hoistway with a weighted line, skip pulling it up floor by floor. Sounded good. Tied a heavy wrench to a pilot line, dropped it from the 12th floor. Got stuck at the 7th floor guide. Spent four hours fishing it out with a hook. Learned that old buildings have way more junk in the shaft than you think. Anyone have a better method for a tall drop without a rope reel?

4 comments

4 Comments

calebd821mo ago

Oh man, that's the worst. Did the exact same thing in a 10 story bank building. Used a heavy magnet, thought it was foolproof. Found every single conduit strap and old bolt in the entire shaft. It was like the thing was collecting souvenirs on the way down. You start to think the building is just eating your gear.

fiona_west211mo ago

Collecting souvenirs" is the perfect way to put it, @calebd82. That magnet turns into a rolling history lesson of the whole build. You just have to laugh or you'd cry.

seth_singh201mo agoTop Commenter

It's like the universe just loves to add its own little tax to any project... always some hidden cost.

the_diana9d ago

But that's how you find the real building bones.