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  • See my post and subsequent comments on this page: https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/178667/?offset=16625#comment14595189

    What I ended up doing was:

    1. No Nonsense super glue under all the raised bits, then press down. Use a small pin or needle to hold down if fingers aren't practical in that spot.
    2. super glue over the top of the join to seal. This will leave a raised section to be sanded back.
    3. once dry and hard repeat 1. and 2. where necessary / if bits have lifted
    4. sand back
    5. light fill with polyfiller from a tube where necessary
    6. touch up with base coat paint
    7. paint

    I had to do 3 x 2m sections of varying shittness above a rad. I would rate success level at 85%, due to some visible lines from where I gave up on steps 4. and 5 and some where I thought it looked alright so didn't intervene. None of it has lifted.

    Your area looks pretty big and in a shit location to work, so I would strongly consider whether you have the budget to have it reskimmed.

    However, I do get that you are on a budget so maybe go with wallpaper paste in small sections/steps first. If that doesn't work try my method or the other peoples suggestions in the posts I linked.

  • thanks - it will be matt eggshell, painted on with brushes, and we will sand/prime it first. we're going to use a dark primer (because the colour will be relatively dark: https://www.mylands.com/brompton-road)

  • I’ve had enough of the temporary desk (plywood on saw horses) and put together a ‘nicer’ desk. Bought some rough sawn abw and planed up/ sanded and bought some steel box section legs.

    Pleased with how it’s turned out


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  • Looks fantastic. As someone currently rocking the plywood/saw horse combo, I’m jealous.

  • You can always just score the paper with a knife. The paper tiger just makes that job easier if you are doing it all the time.

  • Not sure if this a classic lfgss #buyers question, but...

    ... can someone recommend a tape measure?

    I've only ever actually bought one (the miniature Stanley) which was to leave in the car. All the others have been inherited / stolen from my parents.

    After cutting something the wrong length on account of the end being mangled by a toddler I realised I probably need to buy a new one.

  • Top work.

    Where are the legs from?

  • I think nefarious has already answered this question pretty completely. It should be enough but I could think of circumstances where it won't be. Assuming you're priming properly and the top coat is a similar colour to the primer you should get coverage with 2 coats and 1 lt would normally be enough.

  • I’ve never used that paint so can’t comment on it’s coverage.
    I can see why you’d want to try and only use a litre tho at that price. If you’re wanting to try and stretch it, just buy 1L and go carefully, or splash out for 2.5 and have the option of doing it elsewhere. In my experience, the process of eking out paint just becomes a stress and isn’t worth the gamble (for me, YMMV), especially when you inevitably have to go and buy another small tub. Also good to have a reasonable amount spare for touch ups.

  • Thanks - I have grown quite attached to it...

  • For what it's worth, we haven't found that it has made a difference to our scraping. Either the wall paper is porous and come off with a spray with water or it has been varnished on and getting it off is just a case going at it with a sharp scraper.

  • Thanks. Hairpinlegs.com - trade discount made them approx £70.
    Whole thing cost £150 plus my time

  • Hultafors make the best ones I have. They were actually designed by a bloke who wanted to be able to measure things accurately!

    They're also available in metric only which helps if you never need the imperial markings.

    https://www.hultafors.com/products/talmeter

    Fisco are a UK firm and do some good ones too. The Talmeter is my absolute favourite and I must have about 25 tape measures including 3 Talmeters.

    BMI also make some interesting ones. Especially the one that works as a level, I have one for odd jobs hanging pictures with just a few tools.

    https://www.thetapestore.co.uk/tapes-rules/tape-measures/tape-measure-brand/bmi-tape-measures

    The tape store is made for the #buyers

  • As always it depends.
    But I usually have a few tape measures in the box.
    I have one big 10m tape, which is really useful for measuring big stuff (d’uh), it has a reinforced cover on the first 10cm for added durability. It’s wide so it has good stand out (amount of tape you can hold out horizontally before it flops down).
    I also always buy double metric as I rarely use inches.
    And then I have a 3 or 5m tape which is a lot smaller in the hand, which makes measuring small stuff a lot easier.
    I have a Stanley one that has a window on top so you can use it for internal measurements. It’s an ok feature, but I wish I’d just got a normal Stanley Powerlock a lot of the time.

    The 10m tape

    5m with window

    5m power lock

    Ironically, I’d also recommend trying to buy it in person. Fit in the hand counts for a lot.

  • thanks (and @Airhead) - I would normally get colour matched johnstones but covid means I don't have access to my usual lift... so for the sake of ease am going to buy the #spenny paint which I can get delivered straight to my door. and yeah, I try not to go full #buyer so am trying to limit my exposure by only buying 1L

  • I’m just going to ignore this post before I fall into the tape store rabbit hole again.
    Those BMI tape rules always look dead handy. And their version of the window measure looks a lot handier than the Stanley one I’ve got. They made them for Festool as well IIRC.

    I’ve always eyed the talmeters but a few mates have smashed theirs quite easily it seems. Will likely buy one when I do manage to kill my current tapes tho.

    Also, don’t buy the yellow and black Stanley tapes. They’re they absolute worst. Almost every one I’ve ever picked up has a buckled end.

  • I think you already have most of the answer but there are some additional bits that might help.

    Border paste, it's a kind of ready mixed wallpaper adhesive, bit stronger than the usual.
    Syringe, you can get a big one for decorating. Use it to squirt wallpaper paste under those edges.
    Decorators sponge and clean water in a bucket. Use the sponge to smooth out the paper and make sure you wash all the excess paste off otherwise you might have trouble painting it.

    Small gaps and damage can be filled with something like Toupret TX110 if you really need to. There's also a tape made by Tesa called crack cover which can be useful in these cases but is not a necessity.

    If you are super careful you can get away with decorating afterwards and have it look half decent. Usually needs a couple of coats of paint though, best to use something with a lot of solids in like a specific ceiling paint or high cover paint.

  • I'm quite happy (so far) with Fischer DuoTEC, they've managed to keep our kitchen cupboards on the wall for a couple months now.

  • Speaking of, our kitchen is about as done as it's going to be for a while now. Still need to do fill the gap between the dishwasher door and the wall, but to do that the door needs to be level first and I just can't be arsed. Don't use a Bosch dishwasher in an Ikea Metod kitchen, it can't be adjusted high enough and there's not enough room for a full height front to open if you shim it. Could also do with a built-in oven, but we're using the cheap jobby from our previous apartment for now. Don't think we'd have enough drawer space left if we'd go for built-in oven so it might never happen.

    Pretty happy with it, it's very functional for the amount of room we have and didn't go much over €2k including appliances which is nice because it's likely to be scrapped in two or three years when we leave this apartment as Germans apparently bring their kitchen when moving.


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  • I've worn a Talmeter out and cracked one along the centre line of the tape, that's a lot of use and some abuse though. The other downside to them is the sharpness of the end of the tape and the point where it meets the case but you need that for the marking feature. The accuracy and reliable retraction is great though and the marking without a pencil is very useful.

    Fisco are great for durability and visibility but the one I have doesn't do internal measurements as well as the Talmeter and I do a lot of those.

    The 2 x BMI one that Festool rebranded stopped retracting after a fair amount of use but they're next to useless for me like that as my tape measure is in and out all day long. The good BMI ones are the open reel ones where the tape sits flat on the surface or the spirit level ones.

    Fisco tuff lock 3m is probably the best allrounder at a reasonable price. No sure if it's available metric only though. The soft locking mech and damping for the retraction on the Fisco is lovely.

  • Love the sick fadez!

  • Rattlecanned Häggeby fronts, €50 worth of doors and €20 worth of paint. We didn't want a boring white kitchen and also didn't want to shell out big bucks. Not very durable, but will probably look nice enough for a year or maybe two. By that time we might sand them down and go for a different colour scheme.

    @nefarious Thanks!

  • buckled end

    That's what happened to mine.

    I put in this reinforcing cross piece on Friday to take up any potential sag from the mdf shelf.

    Despite measuring several times, as well as adding a bit extra* it came up 3mm short. I was totally perplexed until I looked at the tape measure.

    *I figured I could sand and/or hammer it in place if it was a bit long.

  • You’re not helping to assuage my desire for more tape measures!

    I’d also say that having 150 and 300mm stainless rulers make many measuring jobs a lot easier.

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Home DIY

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