Cinder Block hole repair...

[Steve]

Here is the situation...

We have some (4-5 holes from 1" to 4" in diameter) holes that have been knocked into the wall of some baseball dugouts.

The 1" holes are no problem but the bigger holes are. What is the best way to fill the cavities so that we can patch the holes with cement - ultimately going to paint the walls?

Any suggestion for quick, easy and cheap repair?

Structural integrity not an issue.

Cost is a major factor as this is a middle school field with zero funding. I'll probably end up doing this out of my own pocket.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Stuff them with anything that will hold up for a while and is inert. Fiberglass insulation comes to mind. They just patching cement.

[Brian V]

Get a can of the expanding foam (5$) squirt it in the hole to give you a backing for the cement. Get a small bag of cement (5$) mix it up a bit on the dry side and patch the holes. Did this at my kids field about 3 years ago, still looks awesome.

[Steve]

This is what I was wondering whether or not using Great Stuff or something similar would be OK - just to fill most of the void.

Thanks,

Steve

[Pop]

: > We have some (4-5 holes from 1" to 4" in diameter) holes that have been : > knocked into the wall of some baseball dugouts. : >

: > The 1" holes are no problem but the bigger holes are. What is the best : > way to fill the cavities so that we can patch the holes with cement - : > ultimately going to paint the walls? : >

: > Any suggestion for quick, easy and cheap repair? : >

: > Structural integrity not an issue. : >

: > Cost is a major factor as this is a middle school field with zero funding. : > I'll probably end up doing this out of my own pocket. : >

: : Get a can of the expanding foam (5$) squirt it in the hole to give you a : backing for the cement. Get a small bag of cement (5$) mix it up a bit on : the dry side and patch the holes. Did this at my kids field about 3 years : ago, still looks awesome. : : Wet the blocks before you apply the cement so it'll adhere best.

Pop

[louie]

This might get a lot of jeers and boos from those here who might have better ideas, but if you're not concerned about structural strength and ARE concerned about cost and ease of repair...

try filling the cavity with an expandable foam (Great Stuff - original, not the low-expanding). Once that sets and hardens, cut out enough of the hardened foam so that you can then cover the hole with some concrete using the remaining foam as a backer (glass-reinforced quickrete might be the ticket here). It's not the most elegant fix, but it'll be relatively quick and cheap.

[oren]

Maybe just some newspaper stuffed in good to hold the cement from the back, until set. If foam I'd wait for it to set and cut off what protrudes and even pick a little more out to get the cement at least as thick as the block side. Newspaper might make the task a one time trip. Sand?

Oren "My doctor says I have a malformed public-duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fiber, and that I am therefore excused from saving Universes."

[Goedjn]

You don't need to fill the cavities to patch the holes with cement. You SHOULD be able to just fill stuff "snowballs" of slightly dry mortar into the holes, and scrape them flush. If the holes are too big for that, do it the same way you'd do a drywall patch, put two dabs of glue on either end of a stick, put the stick in the hole, and pull back as it bridges the gap. let the glue dry, then come back and smear cement over the hole.

If you really WANT to fill the cavity completely, use dirt, sand, and/or cement. Remember to hide a speaker in there so you can come back and haunt the place, later.

[DanG]

It is very difficult to match the texture of cement blocks. Most patches come out too smooth and shiny and look like patches. I have great success with Structolite and grow foam. For Structolite, you need a filler for the block cavity like insulation/newspaper, fill the hole, let set, saw off with sharp edged board before full set. This will paint in just like the block if you leave the porous, torn face. You can also strike in mortar joints as required. The other method is to blow the cavity full of grow foam, let it expand right on out of the hole. Next day saw it off flush with an old beater hand saw; again the porous, ragged face will paint in like block. The grow foam is subject to degradation with UV light, but if you paint the block and foam you prevent the UV problem.

(top posted for your convenience) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) [e-mail]

[Chris Lewis]

According to Steve :

Newspaper is one cheap way. Broken up styrofoam chunks from packaging would also work.