It's called drywall for a reason; the blaming of the shrews
Q We are in the last stages of a bathroom renovation, which is our master bath. When we asked our contractor about putting a skim-coat of plaster over the dry wall, he said there was no need and that we could just paint directly on the drywall. Is it OK to paint directly on the dry wall on the bedroom walls? I'm concerned about the texture of the wall surface when it's all done and the moisture-factor. The shower area will be completely tiled, so I'm not worried about that area.
MIKE NORMAN, phone, e-mail
A The contractor is right, dry wall (other names are plasterboard and Sheetrock) should not be skim-coated. Skim-coating should only be done on Blueboard, which feels like sandpaper and makes a skim-coat stick very well.
As for painting dry wall, give it a coat of latex enamel undercoater, then finish with a latex wall paint. Such a coat of primer and paint will provide a good finish, and it'll also be good if you ever want to wallpaper . As for texture, use a short nap roller and you'll never notice any texture. Painting the bathroom walls (other than in the shower area ) is OK. If you want extra protection against mold, and a water-resistant finish, paint the walls with Super White, a high gloss latex paint.
Q My daughter lives in St. Paul, Minn., which seems to be the shrew capital of the world. Her house is infested with small mammals; they seem to have found a comfy, warm home in the house, and she finds droppings in the cushions of sofas and chairs. She has plugged every hole she could find with copper mesh and copper wool, but they're still very much in the house. Traps have not been successful. Exterminators don't seem to be much help. She cannot use d-Con because there are children and pets in the house.
DESPERATE, Boston, St. Paul
A Shrews, something new for the handyman, are small mammals (one species is the smallest mammal in the animal kingdom) and feed mainly on insects; therefore they are beneficial, but not in the house. They may eat an occasional baby mouse. Shrews are not rodents. So, keeping them out is your best bet. Keep sealing holes in the house at every imaginable opening . The d-Con is unlikely to work because shrews may not take the bait. There is no mention of shrews in a huge pest control book that is my bible. A Google search turned up some literature but nothing obvious on control. A last resort (there's that phrase again) is fumigation, which is expensive and requires everyone out of the house for a period of time. Maybe traps with the right bait can work. Anyone else have any ideas?
Q I put an aluminum storm door over my new fiberglass entry door, which has three coats of UV-resistant spar varnish. The door faces south , and the air between the doors gets wicked hot in summer. I know that insulated doors do not need storms, but I like them. But how can I reduce the heat?
WAYNE RUSSEL, New Orleans
A Try this: Drill 1/8-, maybe 1/4-inch holes in the storm, one in each corner, top and bottom, an inch or two from the corners. This should allow that hot air to dissipate without hurting the insulative value of the door. Or, take out the glass insert and keep the screen on year - round.
Handyman on Call also appears in the Globe's Real Estate section on Sundays. Peter Hotton is available 1 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays to answer questions on house repair; call 617-929-2930. Hotton chats online about house matters 2 to 3 p.m. Thursdays, at Boston.com. Hotton can be reached at photton@globe.com. 
