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My Store: Hickey's TIMBER MART (Conception Bay South)
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My Store: Hickey's TIMBER MART (Conception Bay South)
canada's building center
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There’s nothing more frustrating than mismeasuring and needing to redo a critical step in a project… especially if it means buying more materials.

So, in the spirit of “measure twice, cut once” – well, make that “measure once and get it right the first time” – we’d like to pass along some of our favourite measuring tips and tricks:

  • Upgrade your tape measure. You know when you’re measuring something and you finally get the tip of the measuring tape exactly right? Maybe you’re teetering at the top of a ladder or leaning precariously over a railing to get the digits you need.
    That’s the problem Task Tools set out to solve. With the world’s most accurate measuring and marking instrument: the QuickDraw. It may look like a regular tape measure, but it’s anything but.With just one hand, you can measure and mark exactly the right spot. There’s a roll-mark wheel loaded with graphite (pencil lead) that allows it to neatly mark the area you need to remember. A huge time-saver!


  • Quickly find the center of anything. If you’re installing hardware in the centre of a drawer, it can be tempting to eyeball it. Grab a ruler and draw two quick diagonal lines – forming an “X” across the surface. You’ll know the exact center in less time than it would take to stand back and squint at your “guesstimate” to see if it looked right. If the hardware has two holes, draw a straight line through the center of the “X” and measure out from the center to determine where to drill. Done!

  • Transfer markings with ease. It can be a huge pain to hang photo frames and shelves with keyhole slots because you’re likely to wind up with screws that hit different levels of the opening – or miss the holes entirely. Instead of struggling to make even pencil markings, place a piece of paper over the slots and lightly rub the surface with a pencil. Tape the piece of paper to the wall and gently punch a nail through the exact spots where the screws should be, and then you’ll know exactly where to drill. Pretty neat trick, isn’t it?
  • Add or subtract fractions without frustration. If math isn’t your strong suit and you need to add up not-so-standard measurements – like 7/16” or 3/16” – line up two different rulers side by side, with the second ruler starting at the point of the first measurement. If you were trying to total up 2 13/16” and 4 3/16” you’d place the second ruler at the 2 13/16 mark of the first ruler, look at where the second ruler reads 4 3/16” and check the first ruler to see the exact total – which would be 7 3/8”.

We love hearing about new measuring tips and tricks. Be sure to share yours with us the next time you’re in the store so we can use it for a future post!