Steamy Bathroom

Q: I'm a single Mom, forced into the role of Handy Babe, and I need your help. My three teenagers insist on taking marathon showers, leading to a lot of steam damage in a bathroom that has no exhaust fan. The drywall tape is peeling and so is the paint. How do I fix this?

A: The first step is to get some ventilation in there, and that means an exhaust fan. Unfortunately, installing one isn't something a beginner can handle. It involves cutting wallboard, running duct, stringing wire and punching a hole to the outdoors somehow. Better call in a hired gun for all that.

As for patching drywall, that’s something anyone can do, though initial results may not be appropriate for a renovation TV show. Here's the process in a nutshell:

• Remove the loose paper tape, and replace it with self-sticking drywall mesh tape.
• Next, coat this tape with one layer of drywall compound applied with a 4-inch wide drywall knife.
• Second and third coats go on with a rectangular, 12-inch-long trowel.
• Although standard practice with the pros is to sand the hardened drywall compound only once, after all applications, I've found that beginners do much better by sanding lightly after each coat has dried, but before applying the next one. This takes longer, but corrects the problem most beginners have: over-application of drywall compound.
• One last piece of advise. Perhaps getting your teenage army in on the repair job will lower your hot water heating bill.

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