Conversations with my husband

[flick]

"If I start using the drill, will you fret?"
"No, I don't think so. Why do you need a drill?"
"Because we haven't got any corks, and the internet says that I need either a drill or a cork to get nails into the wall."
"Oh.... You want to use the drill on the wall?"
"Yes...."
"Ok, that might make me fret."

I have to wonder what the non-fretful, non-wall-related use of a drill was. Trepanning the horses?

(Most of our walls either are or used to be external, so it's hard work hammering anything into them. When we moved in, we made a couple of attempts to put a new picture hook up (result: bent nail) or to take down an existing one (result: lump of plaster falls off wall), so we just gave up and put things on the hooks that were already there. Now that we've had the hall decorated, though, we need to put things back up on the wall. Well, *I* need to. Mike is blessedly unconcerned and keeps muttering about getting around to it at some point.)

Comments

[voidampersand]

It is reasonably safe to drill any piece of material where you know what it is, and it's not glass, metal, ceramic or concrete. Drilling into the wall may be cause for fretting because the wall may be plaster (fine) over wood (fine) or concrete (fretful) or electrical wiring (very fretful) or wood with a nail in it (moderately fretful). Drill bits are very hard which means they are brittle. Please wear safety glasses. Proceed gently. If the drill encounters resistance, stop and try elsewhere. Fretting should not stop you from creating a nice collection of holes in the wall. When done safely, you will get all the holes you want, and more!

[flick]

[g] It's not that I've never drilled a hole in the wall, it's just that Mike Worries.

(It is, in fact, a plaster skim on a probably-brick wall that has a flint outer layer: no wires or suchlike. He just doesn't trust me to use a drill, except when I'm just randomly waving it around the place. Or something.

[voidampersand]

There are bits for that. With a good arsenal of bits you can drill anything.

A drill is just a handy portable electric motor. My dad used one to power a hand-cranked mill when he wanted to stone grind a bunch of wheat. Just take the handle off, put the end in the chuck, turn it on and hang on for dear life. (My job was the last part.) Need to whip up some vinaigrette? Stick a whisk in the chuck and away you go.

jonsinger uses a piece of coat hanger wire as a drill bit when he needs to repair a guitar. Not sure I would do that myself. But he makes his own lasers so okay.

[bibliofile]

Do your walls have moulding around the top, with a gap between in and the ceiling? If so, that's picture rail, for hanging pictures. Generally needs a fancy S-hook (at places that do custom framing, plus some hardware stores) to hold the wire that goes to the picture itself.

It's common here in the States in older buildings, especially ones old enough to have started with plaster walls.

[flick]

If it were a properly old house, I would probably go for that (if it didn't already have it). As it is, I don't think that it would be properly in keeping (although I have been adding random wainscoting, so who knows!).

Plus, we don't have *that* much stuff to put on the walls: Mike's mother has a picture rail in her living room, but she has pictures all the way around. I'm more of a one picture per wall person, maybe two, and it seems like overkill!