Q. My house has had no heat for four days, and now I see some cracks in the ceiling, usually following the edges of the tape that was applied to the drywall seams. They aren’t wet and are in a part of the house that is only seven years old. The cracks are in the kitchen and family room ceilings. What’s wrong? How can I fix them? A man said I could just retape over the old. Can I?
LORI HALL, Needham
A. If you retaped over the old, using the proper three coats of joint compound, you would have a small hump along each seam. So, no you can’t. The tape, and all the compound under it, must be removed, and the ceiling sanded smooth. Then do it over again, but this time do it right. The technique, in one of my books, is this: 1. Fill the depression (where two drywall panels meet) with joint compound. 2. Embed the paper or nylon tape, smooth it over with a smoothing blade (such blades are about 12 inches wide, and essential to this work), and as thin as possible. Let dry, and sand if necessary. 3. Smooth on a second layer of compound over the tape, wider than the first application and thinner than ever, tapering along the sides. Let dry. 4. Smooth on a third layer, thinner than ever. This sounds tedious, and it is, but it is the only way it works.
Q. We bought some open-backed iron bookshelves from Restoration Hardware. There are no shelf backs, just two metal strips in the back, crossed like an X. They are over 8 feet tall so I’m thinking they should be anchored to the wall. They do have a foot rung in the front which might provide stability. What’s the best way to anchor these to the wall?
GUEST, in Hotton’s chat room
A. I looked up the shelves in the Restoration Hardware catalog. Did you pay $1,245 for them? Yikes! So take good care of them. You can make a U-shaped steel strap with a flange at each end of the strap to screw into the wall. You may need Molly bolts if you can’t find a stud to nail or screw into. A less expensive fastener is a heavy duty copper wire wrapped around the X-shaped strips in back and fastened to the wall. The books will cover everything. Also, the X-brace is there to keep the shelves stable.
Q. I have white Formica cabinets, and one of the doors fell off right to the floor. It looks as if the holes are too big for the screws to hold correctly. How can I fix that to make the door stay on?
DESPERATE
A. Yes, you are right that the holes are too big for the screws to hold. A fast fix is to drive a wood dowel in the holes, then drive the screws through the hinges and into the door. Or, fill the holes with an epoxy filler such as Bondo. The screws will hold in epoxy. Or, drive in bigger screws, although the screws may be too big for the holes in the hinges.