necklace dropped between floorboards

wolfehouse

any ideas on how to retrieve this?

my dd (bless her) has managed to drop her special gold neckace right through the crack of her floorboards.

(it's 1st floor in a victorian tenemant with bare boards- she can't see it though but has an idea of where it might be).
we're thinking - hook it with a wire but i'd be grateful for other suggestions

sparky61

If the gaps are big enough, try sticking a piece of blu tak or even chewing gum on the end of the wire, this worked a treat when I did a similar thing a while back.


Good luck
:beer:

evilgoose

Can you use a torch to shine through to try and see the exact spot?

simular suggestion tto sparky, if the gaps large enough, try using a strip of duck tape, very sticky but rigid enough to pass through the boards without getting stuck to them.

(I've seen it used alot, but what does 'dd' mean please!?) I cant figure it out and its probably really obvious!

wolfehouse

dear daughter = dd

she says she can't see it visually, but has marked the spot with a bit of tape to go back later. we'll be trying to 'help' tomorrow if she has no joy.

we were trying to figure out which was more her deposit or the necklace but it's just not worth destorying the landlords property for.

ih8stress

Abit drastic but have you checked to see if the floorboards can be removed in that area or close by (eg. shorter sections removed previously for electrical or plumbing work)

Alternatively could you try using some sort of fishing line and hook.

Also, shine a torch through the gaps to try and see it better.

evilgoose

ah - of course! thanks. and good luck.

2nd idea and maybe not practical, use a long plastic drinking straw, try and put it between boards onto the necklace and suck whilst lifting the straw with necklace hopefully held on the end by the suction. Maybe put a piece of clean cloth over the mouth end not to inhale any yuckness!

belfastgirl23

Would a hoover with a fine cloth over the suction help? Not sure you might even be able to do it without if there's nothing in the hoover that would damage the chain...

adaze

evilgoose wrote: »

ah - of course! thanks. and good luck.

2nd idea and maybe not practical, use a long plastic drinking straw, try and put it between boards onto the necklace and suck whilst lifting the straw with necklace hopefully held on the end by the suction.

Wow you must have some lungs!

If its magnetic you could try a small magnet, or magnetising the bit of wire, guess it all depends on the material and the weight. If you needed a hole a bit larger you could drill out between the floorboards to make say a 10mm hole to fit one of the ideas on here through, it wouldn't be too drastict and you could always fill the hole afterwards...

evilgoose

Benifit of playing that game with drinking straws and a ping pong ball when younger

a vaccuum cleaner would be better!

Good luck with the recovery.

rizla01

BE CAREFUL when poking
bits of wire down there!!

Christ!!

Unless you KNOW the electrics are very safe there could easily be bare LIVE wires down there!!



You will end up removing the floor boards in all probability.

If it is a victorian house then most likely the boards won't be Tongue & groove (ie locked together) and will pry up (Use a 4" bolster so as not to split the wood.)

They are probably just nailed down and you may, as mentioned, find one that has already been lifted before and hopefully one that has been cut.

Good luck anyway.:)

Hitch

The trusty wire coathanger