I did a lot of reckless bullshit during my time working framing. I stood on the top of open doors instead of ladders, I climbed into the rafters to drop nails onto my unsuspecting co-workers, and on one particular incident, I used a reciprocating saw whilst hanging upside-down from a floor joist by my feet.
The fact remains that it was a miracle that I reached my last day of work without serious injury, and particularly how I managed to keep the one golden rule up to that point:
DON'T FALL THROUGH THE FLOOR
I was told on my first day that should this happen, even if I was completely uninjured, I would be re-assigned to another work-site. Another girl had broken two ribs on that floor system the month previously, and management were more than anxious to not have it happen again.
It was a rule I diligently obeyed day-in day-out for months, and over time as the house was leveled out, we added floorboards over the open system removing the risk completely. In fact, on my last day there were only two joists remaining at the very rear of the house, and I was working to attach the very last sheet of plywood.
Of course I fell through the fucking thing.
The sheet of plywood I had just cut on the circular saw (most likely in a way that showed complete disregard for my own safety)did not quite fit in the space I was trying to put it, and I needed to trim a bit off. Irritated, I stood up and stepped forward onto what looked like solid floor. That fact I should have known it was not solid floor because I was in the process of building the fucking thing did not save me, and the next thing I knew I was tumbling into the basement.
I must have hit the plywood on the way down as I suddenly saw my sunglasses spring from my head and fly off in one direction, the tape measure from my belt fly off in another, and the chalk-line I was holding get tossed in a random direction into the yard.
I laughed out the pain to stop myself from crying. Well, fuck. At least they couldn't re-assign me.
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