When faced with a minor home repair, the man lacking confidence does one of two things: ignores it or calls a repair man. Instead, earn a few man points by doing simple home repairs yourself. Here, we talk about the endemic stripped screw hole.
You don’t have to be a carpenter to make small repairs around your home or apartment, and a lack of hands-on experience should be no reason to deter you.
Drywall is great; it’s easy to install compared to older alternatives, it’s a cinch to paint and patch, and requires little maintenance. One of the more common problems you’ll run into is a stripped hole; a hole used to hang or hold something to the wall that enlarges over time eventually causing the hole to be larger than the fastener you’re using.
An example of this happened in my girlfriend’s apartment. Her towel holder in her bathroom began to pull off the wall because of normal use and being tugged on. This is a simple fix and you’re manly-man points will go up if you opt to fix things like this without her asking.
In many cases the correct way to fix this would be to use a larger screw or larger plastic anchor, but in this situation, we can’t use anything bigger because they wouldn’t fit the towel holder’s fasteners anymore. So, we have to make the hole smaller again.
(Note, this method should be used in light duty fixes, anything heavy or important that cannot loosen again because of danger concerns should be approached with a more permanent solution.)
About Andrew Snavely
Andrew is the founder and editor of Primer. He's a graduate of American University and currently lives in Los Angeles. Read more about Primer on our About page.
Liked this article? Then you'll love these.
-
The Power Drill: A Modern Man’s Guide to Tools
-
Plumbing Your Way to Your Girlfriend’s Heart
-
I Should Have Failed Shop Class and 5 Other Things I Learned at the Craftsman Blogger Summit
-
The Screwdriver – A Modern Man’s Guide to Tools
10 People had something insightful to add, but we're missing your voice! Continue the conversation with a comment.
james
My wife’s grandfather used to use caprenter’s wood glue and toothpicks to fill in the gaps when he repaired holes in the wall.
It’s a great trick, and something you can use in a lot of places around the house.
Aug 26th, 2010
Matt S.
Toothpicks!! Brilliant.
Aug 26th, 2010
Andrew
James, the wood glue is a great tip, thanks!
Matt, I’m glad you found it useful. Try it out and let me know how it goes sometime.
.-= Andrew´s last blog ..The 10 Minute Handyman- How to Fix a Stripped Hole =-.
Aug 26th, 2010
Mark Plus
Matchsticks and carpenter’s glue work as well.to repair stripped out screw holes in wood. We motel managers pick up these tricks along the way.
.-= Mark Plus´s last blog ..I have to admit- This made me laugh =-.
Aug 26th, 2010
Sam
Now all you need is a new towel
Aug 27th, 2010
Andrew
Careful, Sam, my girlfriend might be reading.
Aug 27th, 2010
Richard
Hahaha that was a very informative article funny too. I use spackle to fill holes but your idea is very unique thanks
Mar 2nd, 2011
Plumbers
Sometimes such posts really prove useful, people wastes lot of money on such things. Knowing this will make their work easier and even some money will be saved in their pockets.
Nov 3rd, 2011
Your awesome ideas go here: