Popular Mechanics - USA (2019-05)

/BY ROY BERENDSOHN/

↓ASKROY

28 May 2019 _ PopularMechanics.com

COLUMNS

Is there any way to

repair a hollow-core

raised-panel door?

Jim S., Bismarck, North Dakota

Bad news: You can buy replacement door skins for smooth

slab doors but not for a door like yours. You could repair the

hole, I suppose, if it’s in the center of one of the raised

panels. In that case, glue some thin plywood

over it and do the same to the surrounding

panels. My advice, however, is to go

ahead and replace it. It’s a simple

project, and inexpensive. The

replacement door will cost you

about $40. Use the existing

door as a template to locate the

knob and hinge positions on the

replacement door. From there,

you’ll need a hole saw to make the

knob cutout and a chisel to cut the

hinge mortises. That’s pretty much

all there is to it. The job shouldn’t take

you more than a couple of hours, and it’ll

look much better than any repair.

[email protected]

@askroypm

I applied some caulk

around an exterior vent,

but it didn’t cure before

it rained, leaving

white stains on

the vinyl siding.

What can I use to

clean it?

Duane B., Stratford, Connecticut

My go-to product for removing all kinds

of stuff from vinyl siding (and many

other surfaces) is Goo Gone Spray Gel.

It clings nicely to vertical surfaces. I’d

tic scouring pad. Use a light touch.

The bay windows on

our house are finished

on the outside with inset

wood panels that are

deteriorating. What can

I cover the panels with?

Chris C., Lompoc, California

I have bad news for you, too, Chris. I don’t think you’re going

to be able to cover the panels. You’re probably going to have to

rebuild the bays. Still, let’s be optimistic. If the panels are less

than 24 inches wide, you can have a siding contractor cover

them with aluminum sheet metal known as coil stock. (It’s

sold in rolls that are 24 inches wide.) I think it would be dif-

ficult to face-nail the coil stock so

that it remains flat and attractive,

but a siding contractor would have

to answer that question.

Another option would be MDO,

an exterior grade of panel with

one or both faces covered with a

wood-fiber layer saturated with

thermosetting polymer (a plastic resin that permanently sets

or hardens after it is heated). MDO ranges in thickness from

3⁄8 inch to 1 inch. There’s a problem with that, too, unfortu-

nately. Let’s say the panels are inset less than 3⁄8 inch—MDO

wouldn’t be attractive because the panels would then be flush

with the surface.

You could also use a thin marine plywood, but that’s

expensive. Those panels could cost $50 to $100 each.

Which is still less than rebuilding the windows, so maybe

you won’t mind.