davidkim•1mo agoMost Upvoted

Shoutout to the old timer in Wichita who showed me a better seam rolling trick

Watched a 60 year old installer at a rental house demo roll a seam with a $5 wallpaper roller instead of a heavy $150 tool. Anyone else pick up a cheap hack like that from a random job site?

4 comments

4 Comments

laura_chen411mo ago

Got a similar one from a painter I worked with once. He used a drywall knife to smooth out wallpaper bubbles instead of buying some fancy plastic tool. Worked the same but cost like five bucks. That guy also taught me to use a credit card for tight edges if you don't have a trim tool handy. Sometimes the cheap stuff is all you need, especially when you're on a job and already spending too much.

alicecraig1mo ago

Love that wallpaper roller trick. I picked up something similar from a plumber once who used a rubber mallet to seat pipes instead of a specialty tool. Cost him like fifteen bucks at Harbor Freight and worked just as good. It's wild how the old school guys figured out that most fancy tools are just repurposed cheap stuff anyway. They've been doing this so long they know which corners to cut without messing anything up.

phoenix5731mo ago

And @laura_chen41 hits it, the drywall knife trick is solid too. I had an old roofer show me once you can use a cheap putty knife to pop off old shingles instead of a fancy shingle remover. Saved me a trip to the hardware store that day.

evahenderson1mo ago

Yeah my buddy had a similar thing happen to him. He watched this older electrician use a butter knife to pry off a switch plate cover instead of a flathead screwdriver. Said it worked perfect and didn't scratch the paint. @laura_chen41 that drywall knife trick is legit too, I've seen painters do the same thing with wallpaper seams. Funny how the guys who've been doing it forever always find the simplest way to get the job done without spending extra money.