Living room repairs are mostly cosmetic and structural — floors, walls, and the wear that comes from being the most trafficked room in the house.
01Squeaky hardwood floor
Hardwood floor squeaks are nail shanks moving in their holes. From below if accessible, add a screw through the subfloor into the squeaky board to pull the layers together. From above, use a product like Squeeeeek No More, which drives a breakaway screw through the floor into the joist below and snaps off at the surface. Or face-nail through the finish floor into the joist with a finish nail and fill the hole with wood putty matched to the floor color.
02Damaged baseboard
A baseboard that's cracked, dented, or has pulled away from the wall is a straightforward repair. Reattach it with finish nails driven into the bottom plate — locate the plate by looking for the existing nail holes in the baseboard. Fill gaps between the baseboard and wall with paintable caulk. Fill nail holes with wood filler, sand smooth, and touch up paint.
03Ceiling crack
A hairline crack in ceiling drywall along the length of a room is usually a seam that has opened over time — normal settling, not structural. Clean loose material from the crack, apply mesh tape, and skim two thin coats of joint compound over it. Sand, prime, and paint. A crack that runs diagonally from a corner of a door or window opening, or one that is wide and has vertical displacement between the two sides, warrants a structural evaluation.
04Stuck or broken window
A window painted shut is freed by scoring the paint line with a utility knife, then inserting a putty knife at the seam and tapping gently around the perimeter. A window that sticks seasonally is usually swollen wood — the same plane-and-seal approach as the bedroom door. A broken sash cord on a double-hung window requires removing the interior stop, pulling the sash, and replacing the cord or the spiral balance depending on the window's age.
Marcus Webb is a general contractor and home maintenance writer based in Columbus, Ohio. He writes about the repairs and installs that come up every year in every house — the practical, repeating work that keeps a home livable.