Home Repair Handyman in Dublin

Drywall patches that disappear, not bumps you see in side light

We back the hole with a proper patch, embed mesh tape in setting-type compound (not mesh over standard mud, which telegraphs a ridge), then build two to three thin coats, feathering each one wider than the last, roughly 100 to 150mm past the patch. We sand with 120 grit between coats and 220 before priming, and check the wall with a light raked low across the surface to catch any peaks and valleys. Primed and ready for paint, with no halo.

Doors that swing true and latch on the first try

A sagging or sticking door is almost always loose or pulled hinges, not the door itself. We tighten with a hand screwdriver to avoid stripping the holes, replace one top-hinge screw with a 75mm screw that bites into the stud behind the jamb to draw the door back square, and pack worn holes with glue-coated dowel rather than over-driving. Only when the frame is genuinely out do we shim or plane, so we never remove more timber than the gap needs.

Squeaks killed at the source, from below where we can

We locate the movement between subfloor and joist and fix it permanently: construction screws (not wood screws that back out) every 150 to 200mm into the joist, or a glued-and-screwed shim tapped gently into the gap so the floor is not lifted. On a carpeted floor with no access beneath, we use a breakaway-screw kit that snaps off below the pile. Where the joist itself is the problem we say so rather than papering over it.

Cabinets reset and heavy items fixed to hold for years

Concealed hinges adjust height, depth and side-to-side independently, so we work each screw methodically until doors line up with even gaps and the soft-close engages cleanly, reinforcing any hinge plate torn from chipboard rather than forcing a longer screw into a failing hole. For pictures and mirrors we find the studs first and screw into timber wherever we can, and into plasterboard we size the fixing to the load with metal toggles or rated anchors, pre-drilled, never the small friction plugs that crumble the gypsum and let a mirror walk off the wall.

Draughts sealed with the right product, finished clean

We prep first, because caulk on dust or damp lets go within a season. Gaps over 6mm get a correctly sized backer rod so the sealant forms a proper hourglass bead instead of a thick blob, low-expansion foam around frames so it never bows the jamb, and the right sealant for the spot (flexible exterior-grade outside, paintable acrylic where it will be decorated). Every bead is tooled smooth so it actually seals and looks tidy.

Running mesh tape under standard joint compound, or skipping the feather coats, so the patch shows as a visible ridge or bulge under daylight

The cost: The wall has to be sanded back and re-skimmed, often after it has already been painted, which means paint and labour twice over

Tightening hinges with a power drill and stripping the screw holes, or planing the door instead of correcting the hinges

The cost: The door drops worse than before and timber removed cannot be put back, frequently leading to a full door or jamb replacement

Hanging a heavy mirror on small plastic friction plugs pushed into plasterboard instead of finding a stud or using a rated toggle

The cost: The anchor pulls through the board, the mirror falls and breaks, and you are left with a damaged wall, a destroyed mirror and a possible injury

Over-filling a wide gap with a thick blob of caulk and no backer rod, on a surface that was never cleaned or dried

The cost: The bead cracks and peels away within months, the draught and damp return, and the whole joint has to be raked out and redone