Making minor repairs used to be a major chore, but not so much anymore.
“We’re trying to remove the hassle and the mess involved with doing a repair job,” says Carl Riley, associate product manager of DAP Inc., which is one of many manufacturers intent on finding easy solutions to annoying little problems around the house: a crack here, a hole in the wall there, a stubborn stain, some unsightly caulk.
“Consumers are looking for convenience,” Riley says, “and they will find it in all-in-one items that include the tools, so they don’t have to search for them or run out and buy them, and in products with easy cleanup.”
Consumers are eager to buy such products once they have added up the variables involved in a home improvement project. “The reason for doing a project yourself is basically financial,” says Stuart Gannes, publisher of Books That Work, which creates home improvement software programs. “The expense of doing it yourself breaks down to labor and materials and the cost of materials is either half or less than half of the total cost of the project.”
Some do-it-yourself jobs, however, can be quite daunting, but the new “Home Survival Toolkit” software program from Books That Work uses sophisticated technology to simplify the know-how. “If we can teach people what they need to know, they won’t be so intimidated,” Gannes says, “and then the money-saving equation becomes much more realistic.”
The prices listed for products featured are suggested retail prices. You can contact the listed manufacturers for help in finding a retailer in your area that carries a specific item.
Repair kit
Repairing walls that have nicks, cracks, and nail holes doesn’t have to entail the hassle of spackle and sandpaper anymore. DAP has created Patch Stick, which is an all-in-one repair “kit.” The product is packaged in a tube that contains spackling that can be twisted up and applied to the damaged area. The top of the container is a spackling knife that can used to smooth the patched surface, which will not need to be sanded. The spackle dries quickly, can be painted within minutes and has been developed so that it won’t crack or shrink. Price: $2.99. DAP Inc., P.O. Box 277, Dayton, Ohio 45401-0277. Phone: 800-543-3840.
Easy patchup
The Wall Patch from Custom Building Products repairs holes with a non-woven fabric designed to blend into surrounding surfaces. The Paint-N-Patch Wall Repair Patch Kit contains everything needed to get the job done: a patch that is 6 inches in diameter, spackling, sandpaper and a putty knife. Wall Patches with a 6- or 8-inch diameter are also sold separately. Price: $8.96 for the kit, $3.43 for the 6-inch patch and $3.65 for the 8-inch patch. Custom Building Products, 13001 Seal Beach Blvd., Seal Beach, Calif. 90740. Phone: 800-272-8786.
Repairing drywall
The Sheetrock Drywall Repair Kit from U.S. Gypsum Co. combines everything needed for a wide range of interior drywall and plaster repairs in one package. The kit includes a one-pound bag of Easy Sand 90 joint compound, a 5-foot roll of Sheetrock Fiberglass Drywall Tape, sandpaper, a plastic spreader, four drywall repair clips and eight drywall screws as well as an instruction sheet. The products can be used for repairing everything from small cracks and dents to large holes and water-damaged areas. Price: $6. U.S. Gypsum Co., P.O. Box 806278, Chicago, Ill. 60680-4124. No phone inquiries.
Caulk removal
It used to be hard work to remove old caulk around bathtubs and showers when it grew dark with mildew and mold. Now 3M has developed a caulk remover that is safe and easy to use without resorting to mineral spirits and putty knives. The caulk remover cream is dispensed from a plastic bottle with a flip-top cap. It causes the old caulk to swell and loosen so that within two to seven hours it can be pulled away from the surface. Only water is needed for cleanup. On fiberglass bathtubs, 3M suggests testing the product in an inconspicuous spot before making a more liberal application. Price: $5.99. 3M Do-It-Yourself Division, Consumer Relations, 3M Center, 515-3N-02, St. Paul, Minn. 55144. Phone: 800-842-4946.
Fixing plastic
Loctite has created a product called Plastix that can bond all types of plastic to repair all sorts of items, including toys, eyeglasses, appliances and even loose car molding. The two-part product includes a Surface Activator solution and a gel bonding agent. Together they will create a tight bond in less than a minute. Price: $2.99. Loctite Corp., 4450 Cranwood Court, Cleveland, Ohio 44128-4084. Phone: 800-321-9188.
Stain removal
No matter what the stain, one of the Quik Out line of products from Magic American Corp. will probably remove it. The series includes two non-toxic fabric stain removers. One is formulated to remove natural stains such as grass, wine, coffee and perspiration, while the other is for stains made by synthetics such as lipstick and other makeup, grease and tar. Others are created specifically to remove carbon stains in the kitchen, stains in bathrooms and stains on carpets and wood furniture. One formula even removes various baby stains without using bleach. Price: $4.39. Magic American Corp., 23700 Mercantile Rd., Cleveland, Ohio 44122-5955. Phone: 800-321-6330.
Learn to fix it
If there is an easy way to fix-it-yourself, you will find it at your fingertips with the “Home Survival Toolkit.” This multimedia software program from Books That Work contains 11 chapters detailing the nitty-gritty of home maintenance and repair by providing instructions, animations and diagrams. It explains solutions to such problems as run-on toilets, clogged gutters and squeaking floors, and also provides calculations to determine the correct quantity of materials to buy, and an index of toll-free numbers to obtain further information. The program is IBM PC compatible and does not require CD-ROM. Price: $35. Books That Work, 285 Hamilton Ave., Suite 260, Palo Alto, Calif. 94301. Phone: 800-242-4546.
