Door dent, hole in wall easy to fix

"Honey, I'm home!" Done with a little too much enthusiasm, it can leave a dent in your wall behind the door! It's a common problem that when a door is pushed open too fast or too hard, it can hit the wall behind it and break through the drywall. It's not that hard to fix, so pay attention and learn how to take care of that dent.

The first thing you should do is clean away the broken drywall. Be careful not to peel away the paper and paint while you are doing it. Use a utility knife to cut the damaged area rather than just pulling it away. Keep the hole to a minimum.

Once you have the damaged area cut away, cut a piece of window screen that is larger than the hole. Tie a piece of string or heavy-duty thread right to the center of the screen wire and leave a long tail on it. Fit the screen through the hole and spread it out flat against the back of the hole. Use the string to pull it tight against the back of the hole. A good way to keep it taut is to tie the string around a pencil or dowel stretched across the front of the hole. It will hold the backing for you so that you can get ready to apply your patch.

Use a wide putty knife to spread some drywall compound over the hole.

Apply enough of it to touch the screen behind the hole. Keep the first layer thin, and don't worry about filling the hole completely. Allow it plenty of time to dry. Once the drywall is set, remove the pencil and string holding the screen to the back of the wall. It should stay on its own at this point. Now it's time to add a second coat. This coat should fill the hole and be feathered over the edge. After this layer has dried, sand it smooth and apply a third layer designed to match the existing wall texture. Allow this texture coat to dry, then simply apply your touch-up paint.

This is a simple way to do the repair. You also will find a variety of repair kits available at your hardware store or home center, and these kits work well, too. While you are there, why not pick up a door stop and make this your last repair?

Keep the bag in place

There are many frustrations to being a "super handyman," so why not eliminate the ones you can whenever possible? One such challenge comes when trying to keep a plastic trash bag pulled up and over the edge of the trash-can top and not falling down inside the can. This is easily remedied by simply taking a couple of garden-hose scraps, cut about 2 or 3 inches long and slit down the side. These are clipped over the edges of the can once the plastic bag is in place. They will hold the bag there no matter how much garbage you put in the can. They are easy to remove when the bag is full, too. You can use these indoors in the kitchen, and nothing is more perfect for holding a large bag of freshly raked leaves!

Super hints

• If you have to cut through a piece of copper pipe, take care not to crimp it, or it will probably leak. Insert a dowel to keep the pipe round when cutting it to avoid this problem.

• If your kitchen sink is on an outside wall and you sometimes find that your water pipes freeze, keep your cabinet door under the sink open when it's freezing outside. This way, the warm air from the house will help protect your pipes from the cold outside air a little more. Sometimes that's all it takes.

• I go crazy when I see a crooked picture. It doesn't matter where I am, I feel compelled to straighten it. In my home, I had put a dab of silicon caulk on the bottom corners of each frame on the back side. When the caulk sets up, it's rubbery and grabs the wall. The picture stays straight even through moderate vibrations.

Q. My wife thinks the flame on our stove is not as good as it used to be. I am wondering if I can clean it or do something else to fix it for her?

C.N.

A. If only one or two of the burners are low, they might be dirty. You can clean deposits from the holes around the burner with a piece of wire or a straightened-out paper clip. Check the air mixture on each burner (see your owner's manual for help), and adjust it if needed. If all of the burners are not operating as they used to, you should have a plumber check the gas line to make sure it hasn't developed restrictions in the line.

Q. I have to remove a brick planter that is attached along my kitchen wall. What is going to be the best way to chip the mortar out without ruining the adjoining wall, which needs to stay intact?

D.G.

A. We suggest using a masonry bit and drill to clean away the mortar right up next to the house. Once it's separated there, you can use a chisel or something else to get rid of the rest.

Q. I have a gas oven, stove, water heaters and furnace. How can I protect my family from problems or the dangers involved?

R.J.

A. The most common problem would be a buildup of carbon monoxide. It's odorless, so it's hard to detect and could cause many health problems, including death. Install carbon-monoxide detectors throughout your home, just as you would smoke detectors. In fact, you can replace your smoke detectors with units that sense both smoke and carbon monoxide. Both should be installed in your home for your family's protection and should be maintained and tested periodically.

Reader tips

• I helped my brother-in-law paint my sister's house. He is a semi-pro, and I learned some good tips from him. One that I had never known was to start painting at the light source and continue away from it. For example, if the windows are exposed, start there and work your way into the far corners. This allows you to see any spots you might have missed. You can spot them really quickly, before the paint has dried. If you don't have a sunny window, you can use a high-wattage lamp.

K.M.

• We painted all of the windows in our dining room, and there were lots of them. We have three windows and a French door, all with many individual panes of glass. I ran some Chapstick (or some type of waxy lip balm) around the edges of the panes. This kept the paint from sticking to the glass where the paint slopped over on it. It was easily wiped away with window cleaner once the paint had dried. It was much faster than masking would have been, for sure!

L.P.

• I had a repairman come out to check my dryer because it wasn't drying like it used to. He cleaned the vent hose out, which was pretty dirty, and sold me a tool so I could do it myself from now on. I knew I should have done this myself, but I just never got around to it. The one thing I didn't know was to clean the sensor inside the dryer drum. The repairman said that some dryer sheets will clog up the sensor and cause it not to be able to "sense" anymore. I learned to clean it with soapy water and a rag every few months. It's easy to do, and I'm glad to know these things.

S.G.

• I spend a lot of time in my car -- more than an hour each way to work and back. I really enjoy listening to books on tape and other recordings rather than my radio. I've taken to recording some of my DIY shows from TV on an audio tape and listening to them on my daily commute. It's great. I find that I don't really need to "see" the shows to get the gist of what they are talking about, and I get inspired to do more things around the house. After all, I don't need to hear a disc jockey tell me how bad the traffic is; I can see it firsthand!

H.R.

• My back door had slowly been getting harder to turn the key in for the past year, and I was afraid it would eventually stop working altogether. I rubbed a pencil on the key to get the graphite on the key, and I inserted the key into the lock to lubricate it. I know I should have probably used store-bought graphite for this, but I thought I would try the pencil first. Sure enough, it worked. The lock actually turns more smoothly than I remember it ever working.

E.W.

Shop talk

• BullFrog tool wipes are a super-fast way to keep tools free from rust and other damage. The wipes come in an easy-to-use dispenser, and one wipe is all it takes to clean and protect your nice hand tools from rust and corrosion. The wipes are environmentally safe, and they can be used on other metal surfaces, machinery, parts and even electronic boards. These wipes are available at many discount stores and in many catalogs. To learn more or to find a local dealer, visit www.bull-frog.com.

• iRobot, the folks who created the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner, also have the Dirt Dog Shop Sweeping Robot. These battery-powered, rechargeable vacuums are truly amazing. The Dirt Dog is designed to run around your shop or garage picking up dirt, nuts, bolts, sawdust and just about everything else. When it's finished cleaning, it automatically docks itself on the charger to be ready again the next day. Please visit the company's Web site to learn more about these super little helpers for the shop, home and even the yard. The Web site is www.irobot.com. You also will be able to find a local dealer, so you can check one out in person.

© 2007, Cowles Syndicate Inc.