Patching up a ceiling hole

[cf-leeds]

I had to open up a rectangle in the landing ceiling, to get to a leaking pipe. About 2ft by 10inch. The ceiling was overboarded lath, so had to use my new Aldi multi-saw to cut out a nice clean hole :).

Now to making good again. I'll abviously need to put some plasterboard in the hole, but once I've done that, will I be able to skim the patched area and feather it in, to a reasonable finish, without having to skim the entire ceiling ?

Put in another way, would a professional even be able to do that ? If not, I might have to bite the bullet and have the ceiling reskimmed as a whole. Also, I'm pretty sure a pro wouldnt be interested in such a small pathing up job anyway.

If I try this myself, am I likely to just make a b**ls-up ? I'm very handy, though as with many DIYers, with me, it's anything but plastering...

Maybe I just need to set my expectations to less than perfect outcome ?

Thanks in advance for any tips or shared exeriance.

C

[Capitol]

You can cheat and put up a ceiling tile as a "design feature". (Patch!)

[spuorgelgoog]

I don't see why not.

The difficult and crucial bit is getting the new plasterboard to exactly the same level as the surrounding. Then you just have to fill in the gap.

I think I'd sticky-foam the hole then offer up the plasterboard infill supported underneath (from the room side) by battens larger than the hole, so they push the plasterboard flush to the ceiling, and wedge it on hold-ups until the foam holds.

Owain

[The Natural Philosopher]

No, get it slightly BELOW (or ion this case of a a ceiling - ABOVE) the surrounds. Then skim flat after its all glued in.

In many cases don't bother with plasterboard - fill the void with scrunched up newspaper and simply skim..

Like the way we used to fix cars...;-)

Many ways of wedging board in place.

one trick if you want near flush is to slip batten into the hole and screw from the good plasterboard to hold it, then screw new plasterboard to it.

Takes a few seconds with a power screwdriver and the right screws. Then skim.

If skim gets rough, sand back with power sander.

[stuart noble]

+1 Fill it to within a mm or 2 with plaster, and finish off with filler, which is easier to use and sands more easily

[www.GymRatZ.co.uk]

I had to patch a much smaller hole in the corner of a plaster lath ceiling and sticky foam is what I used to provide a surface against which to fill. Screwed a few screws in just shallow of the surrounding ceiling to give the plaster a fighting chance at hanging on. Still there with no evidence of it having ever been patched up. I think I used that "lightweight" filler which seems to be made of mostly air. feathered in nicely and didn't sag. :)

[alan_m]

I've done something similar with a lath/plaster wall. The plasterboard was a approx 3mm below the surface of the existing wall. I then plastered over it to make it flush with the existing wall. I did it in two stages. Filled the bulk of the hole to perhaps 0.5/1mm below the final surface, I waited until the plaster was starting to go off and scored the surface to provide a key for a second mix of plaster which then went on with 15 minutes.

As I've found in the past, the old plaster will suck the water out of the new unless you prepare the edges of the old first. I use a small garden sprayer to soak the edges of the old plaster. I then thoroughly brush in a 50:50 PVA:water mix and let it dry[1]. I then use another coat of PVA/water before applying the new plaster.

[1] When you cut the hole you probably freed some of the plaster from the backing laths. Neat PVA spread on the lath side of the edges will make the edges more stable.

[Richard Conway]

About 2ft by 10inch. The ceiling was overboarded lath, so had to use my new Aldi

multi-saw to cut out a nice clean hole :).

hole, but once I've done that, will I be able to skim the patched area and feather it

in, to a reasonable finish, without having to skim the entire ceiling ?

I might have to bite the bullet and have the ceiling reskimmed as a whole. Also,

I'm pretty sure a pro wouldnt be interested in such a small pathing up job anyway.

though as with many DIYers, with me, it's anything but plastering...

I covered up the hole in a plasterboard wall where an old socket used to be in the living room. I fed two battens in through the hole and used pink grip to stick them to the back of the plasterboard. Once set this gave me something to stick a square of plasterboard cut just slightly smaller than the hole to.

The newly inserted piece was slightly indented due to not being skimmed (the wall was). I then used filler to "skim" the insert and going slightly over onto the wall on each side. When set I sanded level with the wall. I was surprised how well it worked - you really can't tell a hole was ever there!

[harry]

You need to put in a shallow !"scarf" round the edges of the hole. (Belt sander is ideal but dusty) Them you need some "scrim" to cover the joint. This a an open weave, stick on tape you can buy at builders merchant. Best to do the job with Polyfilla (much easier to handle than plaster, takes longer to go off). Paint over the area with PVA/water mix including the scarf. Mix up the polyfilla with water/PVA mix. Apply with plastic spatula which comes in the can of pollyfilla, much easier than using a plasterers float. Do it while ceiling is still wet with the water/PVA mix. (Spatulas can be bought separately.) Give the job a wipe over with a 2" paint brush wetted with the water/PVA mix when almost dry if you can't get a good finish.

It's a job that takes practice to get an invisible result.

[Tricky Dicky]

Patch the hole with plasterboard so it sits just below the surface, you may have to use battens on the joists to compensate for the lath work. Fill wi th dry wall filler using a 300mm finishing tool which will span the 10" wid th easily. You should get a perfect surface but may need a couple of applic ations to build up the thickness. If you do get an irregular surface the st uff sands very easily with a 120 grit glass paper. Brands such as Easyfill are the right stuff the number after the name indicates working time.

Richard

[John Rumm]

+1

Yup board filler is the way go, it sands out to a perfect feather edge - much cheaper than filler as well. PVA the old surfaces first...