Question: I finished my attic several years ago, making it into one very large upstairs room. Now I want to put up a partition wall with a door in the middle to divide the room into two. What is the proper way to frame out a doorway opening so that I can later hang a conventional wood door?

Answer: After nailing the 2×4 top plate in place against the ceiling, use a plumb line to position the sole plate on the floor directly under this.

Cut 2×4 studs for a snug fit between the two and nail them in place (as shown in the illustration).

The doorway opening should have doubled 2x4s up on each side of the opening, as should the header studs across the top of the doorway.

Measure the location for these carefully so they are spaced properly apart to allow for the framed door that you will eventually install. You can buy doors that come already mounted in their own door jamb with the doors already hung inside the jamb opening.

Question: Our gutters are constantly being clogged with leaves and debris due to the many trees around our house.

How can I eliminate this problem without cutting down all the trees?

Answer: You may be able to solve the problem by simply pruning some of the trees that overhang the gutters.

But if this is not enough, you can keep leaves out of your gutters by installing mesh gutter guards that are widely sold for this purpose.

Available in lumber yards, home centers and hardware stores, these consist of a coarse mesh or screening that will let water through, but will keep leaves and other debris out of the gutters.

Leaves that accumulate on top of this will get washed off by the next rain, or will be blown away by the wind after they dry.

Questions about home-repair problems should be addressed to Bernard Gladstone, care of The New York Times Syndicate, 122 E. 42nd St., New York, N.Y. 10168.

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