Something that happens frequently to interior doors in homes that are older than 20 years is that the hinge screw holes get stripped out. Not only is a loose interior door a nuisance, it can also be a hazard. One of the easier ways to repair a stripped out screw hole in a door is to put something in the hole to provide extra material for the screw to grab onto. In my years as a repair man, I’ve used toothpicks, match sticks and wood splinters shaved from a pencil to repair loose doors.

The trick is to put enough material in the hole for the screw to grab, but not so much that the wood around the screw hole wants to split when the hinge is tightened down. One solution that I’ve found works very well is to purchase some 6-8 x 3/4″ tapered plastic anchors. Take the plastic anchors and use a hammer to tap one into each screw hole that is stripped out. If you have tapped the anchors in as far as they will go and you still have some plastic protruding from the hole, you can take a razor knife or a wood chisel and cut off the excess plastic. Although these anchors are not specifically designed for this project, they happen to work perfectly.

When you have your anchors installed, you can then line up the hinges with the door and begin to install your screws. This part of the process is much easier if you have a cordless drill with a Phillips style bit. While it is important that you don’t over-tighten the screws, remember that you can always start over if you make a mistake. You want the screws to be snug but you don’t want to go so far that you are stripping the hole again.

While this is a fairly simple project for the home handy person, it sometimes takes a little practice to get it just right. However, after the repair you will be glad you took the time to fix it yourself.

Lloyd Brinkley is a professional repair man with over 20 years of experience. He also has a couple of websites, dryall taping tools and docking stations for laptops.

British houses are quirky. They come in all different shapes, sizes and layouts, from the small back-to-back terraced mill cottage in industrial Lancashire, to the spacious Victorian builds of our urban towns and cities; from the modern townhouse to the open-plan studio to the residential park residence.

And each one is a castle – many owner-occupiers make a habit out of improving their habitat, both with their time and their money. The plethora of television makeover programmes in recent years means home-owners are keenly aware of how to best use the space their living quarters offer.

Most homes have an unusual cubby-hole, glory hole, a hallway that seems to end suddenly and without purpose, or a box room. When you were first introduced to your potential new home by the estate agent, you might even have enthusiastically pointed and said, “something can be done with that space”.

It might be that a particularly small room could be made to feel less cramped “somehow”, or there is the prospect of installing a second loo in that difficult space under the stairs.

Each choice you make can be the difference between a DIY success and waste of money – after all, home improvements should be practical, attractive and fit your budget.

With these criteria in mind, it’s worth considering the make-over project from every angle.

For example, a project to redecorate a box room might begin with a splash of paint and some online shopping for items that make the most of the floor-and-wall space, might be turned on its head as you check out if, actually, that wall right there can be moved to steal 12 inches of the room next door.

If space is a major issue, is the door in the right place, can it be moved, re-hung to open outwards or should it be replaced with a bi-fold version?

The substitution should ideally be of a style sympathetic to the others and the age of your home – it might be possible to match a look close enough to the existing ones, meaning aesthetics don’t have to suffer for maximum practicality.

Bifold doors come in two halves and are hinged so the parts can fold in on themselves. Thinking outside the box, the more innovative home decorators will recognise they offer an opportunity for more than just small spaces – two bi-folds could be used to span an archway between rooms, or multi-fold designs that could be used to fill, hide or contain any unusual space a house might have.

Distinctive Doors Limited offer wide range of bifold doors, interior door frames from the leading suppliers in the UK. Buy Internal Doors online