Why does nobody talk about how much padding weight affects your back?

I just read on a flooring supply site that a 100 foot roll of standard 8 pound padding weighs over 80 pounds dry. I've been hauling these rolls up stairs for 10 years and never once thought about the actual weight. I grabbed a 10 pound pad last week on a job in Phoenix and my shoulders felt like I ran a marathon. How are you guys handling the heavy padding without wrecking your body for the next day?

3 comments

3 Comments

caseyw128d ago

That 80 pounds dry is no joke, especially when it soaks up moisture from the jobsite air. Carrying a 10 pound pad up three flights of stairs in the Phoenix heat sounds rough, I did the same thing last August in a house with no AC and my lower back was wrecked for two days after. The trick I've found is to just take smaller loads and not try to be a hero, or use a dolly with good wheels if the stairs aren't too tight.

richard_hall7d ago

Funny how a few extra pounds get real heavy real fast once you're on the stairs.

david8217d ago

You ever notice how the weight always seems to double when you hit that third flight of stairs? Yeah, that Phoenix heat with no AC is brutal, I feel you on that. For me, the smaller load trick works too, but I also started wearing one of those back support belts just to keep my posture honest when I'm hauling stuff. It ain't fancy, but it saved me more than a few bad days after work. And you're right about the dolly, but man, on tight spiral stairs sometimes it's just easier to bite the bullet and take it slow one step at a time.