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On one side of the tabletop, mark an opening for the charging base, around 15 centimetres long, and peel off the laminate with a utility knife. Set it aside for later.

★★★★ LIKES: Colour-accurate right out of the box. The crisp resolution, four USB ports, and ultrathin bezel make this an exceptional value. DISLIKES: Compatibility issues with Macs lead to slightly pixellated fonts. ★★★ LIKES: The stand and thin bezel are modern art. Black levels are visibly darker than others in this price range, and the image remains sharp regardless of viewing angle. DISLIKES: Doesn’t include a Displayport-to-thunderbolt cable, so older Macs need an adaptor. The Acer’s stand cannot be height adjusted. You can control only the tilt, which means you’ll need books to get the level right.

want to know how close the wall is to property lines. If there’s a chance the wall could encroach on a neighbour’s property, they’ll ask for a surveyor to mark the boundary lines. Assuming your wall is nowhere near a property line, you’ll just fill in some paperwork, submit a sketch, then post the permit in your front window and get to work.

For the actual construction, use pressure-treated timber rated for ground contact. (Some of it is rated for aboveground use.) Your fasteners should be hot-dipped galvanised, stainless steel, or rated by the manufacturer for construction with pressuretreated wood. And, finally, if the retaining wall is holding back earth that receives a lot of runoff, or you live in a wet region, use perforated pipe, gravel and drainage fabric behind the wall to keep it dry. That’s it. Your wall should last for years.