Best way to fill hole in skirting left by socket

[michaeld121]

I've just had some electrical work done, including having some sockets taken out of the skirting boards. This has left me with several single & double socket sized holes.

What's the best way to fill them? Someone suggested putting a rough bit of 2x1 in the hole, attached to the plaster / brick work behind, then MDF cut pretty much to size on top of that, with wood filler around the edges.

I'm not sure which way is best in terms of being simple to fit & least likely to show in the long term.

Thanks,

Michael

[Mungo "two sheds" Toadfoot]

It usually goes: rough stuff, better stuff, best stuff, so what was suggested to you sounds ok to me, though I personally wouldn't use MDF as it doesn't like moisture - just in case you get a bit of damp and all your old sockets start re-appearing :)

A bit of plasterboard skimmed over with a decent filler might be better.

Si

[s--p--o--n--i--x]

Silly as it may sound, I have always used shredded toilet paper mixed with PVA and water to form a sticky papier mache works really well.

Fill the hole to about 1/8" below the surface, packing it really tight and allow to set. Then plaster over the top.

sponix

[Lobster]

I'd do pretty much that; but I'd make the top surface of the scarp timber you use to fill the bulk of the hole come to a few mm below the existing surface of the skirting. (ie, don't try and replicate the level of the skirting with new wood.) Then fill up to just above level with Polyfilla, then sand it down level, using decreasing grades of sandpaper and with your sandpaper backed by a flat bit of wood etc (ie, not your fingertips). That should give you a completely invisible repair: I've done this to get rid of a letterbox opening in a front door; being an eye-level hole it obviously had to be done right, and after a couple of coats of paint you couldn't even tell where it had been.

David

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd use wood rather than MDF, as different materials will likely show through any paint.

I'd true up the hole and slightly chamfer the edges. Make the insert the same and a reasonably tight fit but to stand slightly proud when tapped in place. But make sure it's not too tight at top and bottom as it's all too easy to split the skirting along the grain. Glue with wood glue and leave to set. Then plane flush. With care you'll get a near invisible repair.

[P.R.Brady]

Get a piece of wood shaped to the dimensions of the hole but wedge shaped so it jams in. Glue it and jam it in. Plane it down level when the glue has set. Use filler in the small gaps round the sides. Sand it down. Phil

[Rob Morley]

Why were the sockets set into the skirting rather then mounted on it? Sounds strange to me. If the skirting is wood then the best way to patch the holes is to glue in some accurately cut pieces of a similar wood (you'll probably need to tidy up the holes first) - MDF isn't a good idea unless the skirting is MDF. The easiest way to fill the holes would be to whack in some filler, but it will probably crack around the edge in time.

[fred]

In article , [e-mail] writes

Wooden fill for sure, filled and levelled with body filler as it's tough and flexible, Polyfilla etc is likely to crack or flake.

[Mungo "two sheds" Toadfoot]

Good idea - especially for holes wot are not "square". I'll remember that one.

Si

[Dave Plowman (News)]

You *like* surface mount sockets?

I'd say you're the odd one.

[BeeJay]

I used papier mache and when it had hardened put on filler and sand and paint.

[Rob Morley]

No, I like sockets recessed into plaster, not skirting boards.

Surface mount sockets on skirting boards was the standard for many years. I tend to assume people are talking about renovating older buildings, probably because I've mostly lived in older buildings myself.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Depends on the height of them. But even then it makes no difference. On a small skirting board a surface mount socket is more likely to be damaged by a Hoover, etc. As well as looking crap. ;-)

Yes - those horrid surface mounted all in one MK etc things. However, the holes they left would be easier filled.

I've got flush sockets in some rooms in my Victorian house fitted in the skirting where it's 18" high. Other rooms where it's nearer 'normal' - ie

6" or so they're in the plaster. I reckon you need about 9" or so to the bottom of the socket to avoid strain on the cable. The present trend to have all sockets at waist height fills me with terror. ;-)

[Anna Kettle]

Now why has no-one mentioned car body filler? The DIYers friend

Anna

~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Lime plaster repairs / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc |____|

01359 230642

[michaeld121]

It is an old-ish house, about 1912, and I think the electrics have been bodged continually while the last occupant was here (about 40 years). I've got pretty much every kind of socket you can think of: new-ish MK, very old MK, switched, non-switched, singles, doubles, in skirting, in walls, surface mounted, recessed etc etc. That's pretty much why I'm having the work done.

By the end I'll have all doubles recessed into the wall (as well as a bunch of other things).

Michael

[michaeld121]

Thanks for all of the advice. One thing I'm not too sure about is what kind of filler to use. Sponix (#3) mentioned plaster, a couple of people have mentioned 'filler' & fred recommended 'body filler'.

What kind of plaster would you use? Also is body filler as in car body filler or is it something else?

Regards,

Michael

[Chris Bacon]

What I've done before is to cut an oblong hole with chisels/stanley knife (SK across grain using set square), push/glue in a piece of timber, plane down flush, use car body filler, rub down, paint. If you use something dis-similar (e.g. MDF, all car body filler) it will show up after a year or so, but OK if it's not in full view.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Yes - car body filler. If you intend using a lot of this, go to a car paint supplier and buy a large tin - it's way cheaper in bulk.

[fred]

In article , [e-mail] writes

As others have confirmed, I was talking about car body filler, that as opposed to the silicone or polyurethane kind used for booby jobs or butt lifts ;-).

The old favourite brand name is Isopon P38 but plain old polyester filler sold unbranded by any motor accessory shop (or factor) is just as good for this purpose. You're not looking for the glass reinforced kind eg. Isopon P40.

Plaster is really a no no for this sort of thing as it won't take the punishment that a skirting board is designed to take and is likely to crack.