Doors – How to repair scratches on a painted French door

Edit: Thanks for posting the photo, answer updated (see below).

Here is some general advice.

Since larger chunks of wood are missing, use wood filler to fill it in (found at any home improvement store). Use a putty knife to match the shape of the trim as closely as possible. After the filler cures, use sand paper to round it out.

You will also need to paint over the filler. Get a chip of the wood trim and take it with you to the home improvement store and get them to color-match the paint (you may also be able to pull a piece of the trim off the wall).

The other option would be to find similar trim at the store and replace the damaged piece. Some fancy trims can be tough to match, but what you have looks pretty basic.

For what it's worth, in the last place we rented, our rabbit used to gnaw on the door trim in our bedroom. We eventually trained the rabbit not to do that, but it took a while, and the damage got pretty bad. We repaired the trim using the above methods. We got our full security deposit back.

Most of your questions are the same question, just asked in a different form.

Before you even start looking -- Before you even find a realtor -- Do your research on a good home inspector in your area. If you are looking at an old house, make SURE to tell the home inspection service that you want someone who knows about houses xxxx years old. Most inspectors of newer (1-40 years) houses think everything in an old house needs replacement and will give a bad review of everything. Then get references and talk to people he's worked for. If he's not willing to give you references, then move on. When you find an inspector, go with them to the house & follow them around. You will learn a lot more than what will be written on the report, whether you buy the house or not.

Generally, you've got to look at the following areas:

1. Structure - Will it stand up
2. Membrane - Roof, cladding - Will it keep water out and heat in.
3. Foundation - is the basement dry? does it have cracks.
4. Electrical - Enough power, and properly wired.
5. Plumbing - Leaks and pressure.
6. Heating - Primarily this is the age and type of the furnace.
7. Doors and Windows - These cost more than you think, so get an estimate before buying.

Essentially, you don't want to mess with 1 and 3 at all, and the remainder, you need a good estimate of the costs.

The next important detail is Architecture. Are the rooms of appropriate size or is the floor plan easily convertible to something you can live with and enjoy.

I haven't included cosmetics at all. Because this is where you are going to do it yourself.

Money you can't avoid:

1. Roofing - This needs to be replaced every 20 - 30 years. It can range from a re-shingling to a full wood and insulation replacement.
2. Furnace - Again, 20-30 year replacement.
3. Electrical - IF you're hunting for a bargain, you'll probably need electrical work. Most of it is easy and you can DIY if you know what you're doing. (lights and sockets, pulling wires if the drywall is off) Talk to the guy at Lowes or Home Depot for a good book for your area. Get an electrician in for stuff around the box.