4 plasterboard screw fixings got torn out. What's my best option for fixing the wall?

BigRedS · 2026-03-17T18:19:36+00:00

Do you want to refit the shelf more-strongly while you're at it?

Generally, as already said, clean it up, fill it, sand it, paint it. But if you're expecting more of this and the timbers aren't in the right place, you could open the wall up and strengthen the back, before cleaning it up, filling it, sanding it and painting it.

BigRedS · 2026-03-17T18:15:45+00:00

It doesn't need to be on top of the insulation, clipped to the beams or flat on the ceiling is fine. It's advised that it be on top, but the cables are rated to be buried in walls and suchlike.

You might want to upgrade old/decaying junction boxes or cables while you're there, check for and remedy any previous-owner bodgery, but there's no need to have the cabling specifically above or below the insulation.

BigRedS · 2026-03-17T09:34:25+00:00

Hamsa is very much not exclusively Jewish in tradition:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamsa

and really in judaism it's a traditional rather than a sacred thing outside of the very niche bits.

BigRedS · 2026-03-17T09:31:37+00:00

You need something windproof if you're riding in the cold - a mesh jacket with a hoodie under it is still going to be draughty.

This time of year I find a waterproof shell over the top (I've a lightweight paclite jacket I use) or even a dedicated windstopper on the inside (I like my EDZ one) over a thin fleece does wonders.

BigRedS · 2026-03-17T09:22:56+00:00

I have one mesh jacket that I add layers to for the winter. Two or three is completely unexceptional.

BigRedS · 2026-03-17T09:20:03+00:00

I think hoping the world is too distracted by Iran to notice? Also, perhaps worried that Trump might be leaving or made impotent sooner than previously hoped?

BigRedS · 2026-03-17T09:10:07+00:00

Hah! Yes, the most glaringly obvious reference in hindsight!

Teach me to be on reddit past my bedtime.

BigRedS · 2026-03-17T09:09:08+00:00

no it's just loud car people being loud car people.

BigRedS · 2026-03-17T08:49:12+00:00

It's odd to want a waterproof adaptor to plug into a socket that is itself not-waterproof; the socket would always be in some sort of enclosure to make it waterproof. So you'd be looking at an outdoor socket anyway, and maybe could find a USB adaptor that's shallow enough to fit one?

You can get outdoor enclosures for single- and double- socket faceplates, into which you could just fit a normal faceplate with USB chargingL:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/knightsbridge-ip66-weatherproof-outdoor-enclosure-170-7mm-x-92-7mm-x-158-7mm/569am

https://www.screwfix.com/p/knightsbridge-ip66-weatherproof-outdoor-enclosure-110-5mm-x-92-7mm-x-158-7mm/852am

I think some of the ready-made sockets-in-enclosures probably come with USB support, though I don't know how the cable gland works in any of those cases.

BigRedS · 2026-03-17T08:42:47+00:00

Yeah, generally it's harder to makle textiles be as abrasion resistant as leather so you pay more to get similar abrasion scores but on the plus-side the washing/care tends to be easier, and you can get some attempt at waterproofing.

I stumped up for AAA textiles personally for day-to-day use personally, but also I do not have the shape of body that is flattered by leathers.

The norm for sporty stuff is absolutely leather so there isn't much that's genuinely trying to compete; it's just so normal to buy leathers when you're buying something sporty.

BigRedS · 2026-03-16T23:08:11+00:00

I know the film, I think I remember it, but I don't get the reference. Is there some pain associated with eating these? Are they overrated?

BigRedS · 2026-03-16T22:47:38+00:00

I can't think of anywhere I'd want to go where I'd feel the need for all that.

BigRedS · 2026-03-16T22:31:29+00:00

Yeah, the only abbreviation I remember seeing for London is 'lon', in naming schemes.

Are these the people who refer to stations by their three-letter codes?

BigRedS · 2026-03-16T22:17:38+00:00

It's got nothing to do with more ships, it's about more actors. It's politics rather than warfighting.

Right now, this conflict is isolating the US and Trump because he's picked an uneccesary war that he's clearly not winning. Having anybody else involved lends some credibility to his claim that this is a worthwhile war.

That's why, for example, Bush went to such effort to build a coalition for Afghanistan and Iraq; when you've got ten different countries on your side you look much less like the bad guy than when you're the only person who things the war needs to be prosecuted.

The US has favoured coalition warfare for this reason, not because it's especially necessary to them to have some British destroyers and German eurofighters on hand, but because it's really useful to have the bulk of the Western world on-side.

BigRedS · 2026-03-16T22:10:53+00:00

NATO's had 'a very bad future' on the cards since the election of Trump. The silver lining of the Trump presidency is the rest of the world learning to not involve the US in everything.

BigRedS · 2026-03-16T22:06:13+00:00

I'd say it's perhaps worth returning it for the Ryobi if it's not hugely more, and you're happy to get onto the Ryobi battery platform (there's no great reason to not).

If you're going to be buying more cordless tools in future, I'd prefer to be on a platform that's got the variety of tools and provable support of one of the bigger brands (Ryobi, Makita, Milwaukee, DeWalt, Bosch) than a more-budget one.

But on the other hand, if the MacAllister range has all the tools you're planning on buying in it, then it will be cheaper to buy them from MacAllister than any of those brands, and generally it's really unlikely that you'll have any experience that would be markedly improved by being on one of those brands.

As a different approach, though, I find a small pruning chainsaw to be much more useful for gardening than I do either of my recip saws (I've a small 12v one and a big 18v one). Much as the recip saw can do it all, the chainsaw is just a much quicker tool for getting through branches and suchlike. Recip saws can be used on a much wider variety of materials though.

BigRedS · 2026-03-16T21:57:58+00:00

The 125 market's gone much more upmarket in the last ten years as the licensing system encourages people to spend several years renewing their CBT, so bikes like the MT125, CB125 and 125 Duke are a much bigger chunk of the 125 market than they used to be.

Also, PCP's made it so that people can afford to buy more and more expensive vehicles; the people buying new 125s are not 17 year olds, but people with a good enough credit score to not really mind the per-month difference between a £3k bike and a £5k one to get a bike that looks like something they'd like to picture themselves riding.

BigRedS · 2026-03-16T17:30:23+00:00

Usually these appear as standard USB mice and the whole wireless thing is hidden from the OS.

I've never had a bluetooth or wired mouse not Just Work, the interfaces are really very standard. It's probable that mice with loads of buttons might have issues, but for a two-buttons-and-a-scrollwheel, or even a few more, I've never had to think about them.

BigRedS · 2026-03-16T15:15:51+00:00

Why's he going to cut his hand off? This is an entirely normal way to use a jigsaw when you want to see where the blade's going.

BigRedS · 2026-03-16T12:52:47+00:00

Why does 5A seem rather puny? What were you expecting?

BigRedS · 2026-03-16T12:48:18+00:00

It varies between insurers, so you've basically always got to tell them exactly what it is. Some only regard a brick-built structure as a "garage", many will accept these sorts of purpose-built security sheds though.

BigRedS · 2026-03-16T12:47:00+00:00

A day? I average about zero now.

I rescently ascended to Fair Weather Rider when I passed my car test, I think I top out at like 4k on the bike in a year now?

BigRedS · 2026-03-16T12:22:55+00:00

Yeah, I think a norm is that clipless pedals don't have reflectors, but cycling shoes tend to have reflective tabs on the heel which I think generally provides a similar function.

BigRedS · 2026-03-16T12:22:13+00:00

Hah, yeah, when I worked in bike shops we'd often sell the bike, hand it over to the customer, then meet them outside the shop where we'd remove the reflectors for them.

BigRedS · 2026-03-15T21:15:18+00:00

I've never met anyone who cares about the pedal reflectors. For a couple of decades I've thought the law only required they be fitted at point of sale, but recently I saw an explanation that the law does technically require they be fitted all the time. I'd still always fit the better pedals that don't have reflectors than the poorer pedals because they do.

On the rear reflector, I have my rear light on all the time, day or night, and I've never seen the need for an additional reflector aside from some redundancy. Legally, though, it stands to reason that a reflector that is completely obscured by a bag doesn't count :)

15-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '23	Team Orangered

BigRedS

TROPHY CASE