Posted on 07/13/2006 4:47:16 PM PDT by Rte66
A 3-year-old child died from injuries she suffered after a TV fell on her at 134 Woolworth Wednesday at about 4:30 p.m., according to HPD.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
And I just don't understand the Freepers that are coming on the thread and making jokes. As I said, I learned on FR how to use an eye bolt to connect it to the wall so the monstrous TV bookcase couldn't be pulled over. If it hadn't been a serious thread and everyone was making fun of kids dying, no one would have learned any tips.
Another suggestion.
If you have more then one bookcase, attach them together invisibly by screwing them together with screws inserted in unused shelf holes ( if the holes have a sleeve, it can be removed).
Once the units are all attached you can add a couple of angle brackets to attach the entire wall system to wooden wall studs.......Also when installing bookcases on carpet, adjust the front levelers a tad higher the the rear ones....so the case tips back toward the wall. Then, shove the case flat against the wall, having cut out a clearance for baseboards and receptacles.
If you don't have levelers, just shim the fronts with a piece of cedar shingle.
Well, maybe we got the last one then. :-P
I was a little surprised, too.
The poor little girl lingered a while in the hospital, I believe. It happened yesterday and they just announced this afternoon that she had died. Makes me wonder how many of the other 17,000 injuries weren't also pretty serious, life-altering tragedies that just didn't result in death.
Thanks for your input. I know about the front-heavy properties of fat-tube TVs - and monitors - just from moving them around so much. With the old consoles I used to have, I couldn't re-arrange my living room "at will" unless my then-hubby or some other guy was around to help.
I don't even remember what happened to my last one. Goodwill or Salvation Army, I guess.
They are. On everything you can think of. Even ovens come with brackets now because of some tip over deaths. Of course the brackets aren't helpful if they're not mounted or if an oven is bought used. You have to try to think of everything. It only takes a second for these things to happen.
Great tips! I had a ton of bookcases in my last two houses and often did those kinds of things.
It was so nice having hardwood floors, though. Carpet really was a pain with those bookcases. I still always did the tilt backward thing a bit, because you almost have to.
I know someone else said not to have casters on the big bulky furniture when there are going to be young kids around - I just have to say that I bought a bunch of teflon "tacks" for my bookcases, just so I could move them around more easily. Honestly - one finger and I could push them all around. I put them on the bottoms of everything. But, that would be a tip for people without kids or visiting children.
I've always tied my Christmas trees to the wall or ceiling with fishing line, too. I had one tip over, for no reason at all, at a friend's house where I was spending Christmas and it broke several of my very delicate, special ornaments. Grrr. I'm sure cat people have to tie-down every year.
Stoves! That's right. That was one of those media clusters, too.
You just reminded me...more about carpet problems...it's difficult the cases to be snug up against each other because just a few carpet fibers can create a gap. If you can't have a common base for all the cases, the the next best thingis to put a piece of Luan ( masonite) over the casework foot print. You then can easily slide the cases laterally so they are snug. The weight of the cases will force the masonite to sink into the carpet hiding it from view.
What a neat idea. I have carpet where I am now and the dents themselves are driving me nuts - I had *forgotten.* Luckily, in that regard, but unfortunately for me, I don't have any bookcases here.
Where can you buy that big of a sheet? Or what about the heavy acrylic they make office floor mats out of? Would that stand up to a full bookcase? Probably not.
Poor baby. :-(
They will both hold up for the purpose we are talking about but the masonite is really cheap and Home depot will cut a 4x8 sheet for you.
Assuming your cases are 18" deep you could get 16 liner feet + waste out of a 4x8 sheet. I would undercut them just a tad to help them become concealed.
Don't forget smooth side up.
Thanks, I wouldn't have known that. Hope to have home things back some day and it may have to be on carpet. Appreciate your know-how!
one can easily install screws on furnitures to stop tipping over, but for tv's it's different story. My 260 lbf TV doesn't even have handles let alone an eye-lug for tying to the wall.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.