Dear Plasterers (and Budding "Would-Be's" such as Your's Truly...:-),

I just noticed that these Hand-Jacked, Ceiling-Props are showing up at Aldi from this coming Thursday for only $17! For what they are, that's definitely "Cheap As", because I paid $40 for mine when they were "On Sale" at the CSR Gyprock Trade Outlet...:( (and they're almost certainly all coming out of the same factory): http://aldi.com.au/au/html/offers/2827_6947.htm

You can't really see the business end of them (ie. the top) properly from the photos at the link, but think of a sort of Caulking-Gun-type Hand-Jack-setup - except in reverse - so that the Prop lengthens as you squeeze on the Jack handle. They also have a "quick release" lever (again, just like a Caulking Gun...)

You're not going to be able to lift a whole sheet up with it, but I've found mine to be very handy for attending to "Popped Fasteners" (ie. where a nail has been originally driven through wet adhesive, and the adhesive has shrunk as it has cured over the following weeks, thereby pulling the plasterboard - but not the nail - upwards with it towards the ceiling battens, and in doing so "popping off" the compound that the nail was covered over with. Hope that makes sense...:cool:)

Anyway, to repair a "Popped Fastener", you really have to push upwards on the plasterboard at the Nail in question, and then drive a screw into the plasterboard on either side of the nail. These Prop-Jacks make it so much easier, because you can jack the thing up directly under the nail in question, and then drive your screw in on either side of the nail at leisure - without having to strain yourself with one arm forcing the ceiling upwards, and the other arm doing the drilling (hope you understand what I mean...:D)

Highly recommended if you've got a lot of "Popped Fasteners" to attend to...

Best Wishes,
Batpig.


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