14
My dad watched me try to hang a shelf for 20 minutes before he said anything
I was in my garage, trying to get a 4-foot floating shelf level using my phone's bubble app and a bunch of shims, and he just quietly sipped his coffee. He finally put his mug down and said, 'Kid, the wall's not flat, you're fighting a ghost.' It was such a simple thing but it totally flipped a switch in my head about checking the surface first. Anyone have a good trick for finding high spots on a wall before you start?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
wren8062mo ago
Honestly, I just use the shelf itself. That 4-foot shelf is the only straight edge that matters for its own bracket. I'll hold it right against the wall where it's going and shine a flashlight behind it. The light shows every gap perfectly. @perez.barbara's method with a separate level adds an extra step I usually skip. If the wall is really bad, you're going to shim the bracket anyway, so finding every single high spot first can make the job seem harder than it needs to be.
5
spencer6642mo ago
Oh man, that's a classic dad move lol. My buddy did the same thing trying to mount a TV, he was going nuts with the level until I pointed out his whole plaster wall was wavy. A long straight edge, like a level or even a board, shows the gaps real quick.
2
perez.barbara2mo ago
Yeah, that long straight edge trick @spencer664 mentioned is the way to go. I keep a 4-foot level just for checking walls, you slide it around and any big gaps are super obvious. A quick pencil mark on the high spots saves so much headache before you even pick up a drill.
0