Save us from bumping our heads

10 years ago

Silly question. Looking for some ideas.

Finished basement. Portion of ceiling a bit lower because of support beam. My son is basketball player size. He bumps his head on this portion of the ceiling frequently.

We thought of padding of some sort, on the corners somehow but not sure on how to go about this.

Any ideas on how to pad this?

Featured Answer

ionized_gw

10 years ago

I've had this kind of problem from time to time. The problem is usually that the lowered part is above my sight line, but just in my head's path. I make a turn or straighten up within a distance that does not allow me to see the obstruction and, bang, I see stars. One memorable one was next to a dryer. I'd typically bend down to remove clothes into a basket, pick it up, turn around to go back up the stairs and it would be nearly at my head as I straightened up. After knuckling my head the first time, I hung some ribbons from the beam that hung into my sight line. I did not hit it a second time. I need to do that with my overhead garage door right now.

This post was edited by ionized on Tue, Aug 20, 13 at 10:10

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

sdello
10 years ago
give him a hardhat.
Related Professionals
Pearl City Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Tempe Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Pooler General Contractors · Randolph General Contractors · Rohnert Park General Contractors · Signal Hill General Contractors · University Heights General Contractors · Brookfield Painters · Chicago Painters · Lawrenceville Painters · Crest Hill Painters · Del Aire Painters · Everett Painters · Ewing Painters · Newport Beach Painters
bus_driver
10 years ago
This condition existed when you bought the house.
randy427
10 years ago
Aerosol adhesive applied to the back side of some fairly dense closed-cell foam, and then the foam pressed into place at the head-ache points.
grandmum
Original Author
10 years ago
the hardhat idea would be best but I dont think I could convince him to wear it!

We threw some ideas around involving blue gymnasium mat and also the cylinder foam that is used to insulate hot water pipe.
Keep em coming, I am listening!
ionized_gw
10 years ago
Another idea that you might consider is some kind of warning device parallel to the beam that sticks out from it a foot or so. He will hit some flexible or movable material first giving him time to duck. A long, thin dowel in held in some large hooks or rings would work. What kind of length are we talking about here?
justinjk
10 years ago
1/2 in foam Pipe insulation and cut quarter of it out. Then you can glue it in place. You can spray paint it white so it doesn't look so tacky.
sdello
10 years ago
I like ionized's idea about hanging something so he can see where he needs to duck. Put a banner or piece of fabric that hangs low so his face needs to go through it. He'll lower his head to go "through" the cloth and hopefully avoid banging his head. Padding it will just provide some cushion, but he'll keep banging into it.
graywings123
10 years ago
Could you put a piece of furniture in the area under the beam to prevent him from walking there?
ionized_gw
10 years ago
I am leaning more toward the "warning strip" approach. A low-mass, or flexible object hung on the side(es) of the beam that would move easily when struck. A dowel hanging in front of the beam would do. Something else might substitute. Someone with a creative mind might make it look like it was purposefully placed there as a decorative element.