Holes in plasterboard walls

I need some help with this because my husband is busy and hasn't got round to it. he moved the storage radiator ( on my request) and behind it he has left two holes which were cut into the plasterboard walling and hidden until the heater came off the wall. I think they were from some previous wiring attempt there. I cant say for sure. . One is four inches square and the other about six inches. How can I fill them up? This needs to be an easy botch because I am no good at DIY I am fed up of the gaping holes. My husband "filled" them temporarily with kitchen towel to stop draughts. behind them is the cavity wall ( I think) - well its a hole there anyway.

Thanks in advance.

Reply to
endymion
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draughts.

Cut pieces of plasterboard slightly bigger than the holes, but small enough to fit diagonally into the hole. (say 1/2" bigger all round). Temporarily screw a woodscrew as a handle in the centre of the patch, and ease the patch into the hole and pull back against the rear of the good plasterboard, having first smeared 'no more nails' or similar strong building glue on the oversized bit of the patch. When the glue has fully set, plaster over the patch to bring it back up to surface level.

AWEM

Reply to
Andrew Mawson

easy peasy dralin.

Get a copy of the 'daily bullshit' and stuff it in the cracks, them get some plaster and mix it and spoon it in, then when it's set use a sanding block to sand it flat with the old surface, and paint over.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Reply to
Andy Dee

Easiest way is to get some plasterboard to start with - a look around the local skips will usually find enough for your needs. B&Q also sell small sheets of this for a couple of quid which will fit in the car. You'll need also a small bag of one coat plaster.

Cut a strip just under the height of the hole but wider - say twice the width. You can either score it with a sharp knife then snap it - or cut it with a saw.

Clean the back of the plasterboard in the wall with a damp cloth.

Screw a woodscrew into the middle of the bit you've cut - so you can maneuver it onto the back of the hole.

Mix up a small amount of your plaster keeping it fairly runny - about the consistency of double cream. Apply it to the parts of the bit that you've cut which will touch the back of the wall and put it in place - you won't need to hold it for long for the plaster to set sufficiently to leave it.

Give it a few hours to set, then cut another bit to fit the hole. Fix in the same way, and leave to set. Finally follow the instructions on the plaster bag for finishing off. With a bit of care you'll get a strong invisible repair.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Agreed, except it doesn't have to be plasterboard. Ply, hardboard, or whatever's lying around. A hot-melt glue gun saves you waiting for the adhesive to set.

Reply to
stuart noble

endymion explained :

Get hold of two pieces of plasterboard which are big enough to overlap the holes by 2" on all sides (not critical), then thread it through the hole so it covers the back with a good overlap -remove any loose bits from the edges of the original board first, so it can fit tight behind. A loop of wire through each piece will make it easier to hold them in place. Screw some suitable screws around the edges of the original board, so they can pull the new board tight up behind it, but do not tighten them up fully - so there is a gap.

Mix some very thin plaster, spread it in the gap between the two layers of board then quickly tighten the screws to squeeze the plaster out.

Now remove the wire, mix a normal plaster mix and fill the hole up to almost level with its surrounding wall (1/8" below) leaving the finish rough. Allow that to set, then put a skim coat on top carefully making it smooth and level.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

Pheww! As an honourary member of the Round Tuit club I'm just relieved my wife hasn't worked out how to access newsgroups.

Reply to
Bovvered?

Squirty foam, smooth it off, then put a small bookcase or cabinet in front of it.

Owain

Reply to
Owain

Several people have suggested glueing a piece of plasterboard (or something) to the back of the board, and that's fine.

Another way I tend to use is cut the edges beveled at about 45° so the front of the hole is larger than the back. Cut a piece of plasterboard to fit in this, again with beveled edges, and such that when held in place, it's recessed behind the existing wall surface (i.e. it's a bit too small to be a perfect fit). PVA the beveled edges on both (PVA thinned with water), and whilst still wet, mix up the plaster, smear on the edges, and push the piece into place, again making sure it's either recessed at least a couple of mm behind the wall surface so you can plaster it, or so it's flush so you don't need to plaster it. Then plaster or fill the join as appropriate.

A third way is to cut a couple of lengths of timber (about 1" square profile) to twice the length of the hole. Feed behind the hole bridging across at about ¼ and ¾ of the way down, and fix in place by screwing through the existing plasterboard using plasterboard/drywall screws. (It's easiest to start the screws off in the plasterboard before holding the timber in place behind the hole.) Do the drywall screws up so the heads sink about a mm below the plasterboard surface, so you can fill the holes. Now cut a piece of plasterboard to fit in the hole (it mustn't be thicker than the existing plasterboard). Screw this to the timber pieces using plaster- board screws in the same way. Use filler to fill the cracks and the screw heads, and to bring the new piece of plasterboard up to the existing wall surface if the new plasterboard is thinner than the original.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

Not at all.

You end up with a section of plaster the exact size and shape you need.

It's fast, and it gives a perfect finish.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

worth emphasising as it applies to this and any of the other techniques which involve fitting a piece of plasterboard level with the existing wall (unless the wall has a thick "skim" layer of plaster)? If the house was old enough to have storage heaters it might be 9.5mm rather than 12.5mm.

I confess I speak as someone caught out by this not so many decades ago.

Reply to
neverwas

Thats the way to do it!

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

I saw these clips last week and thought they might be useful, see here:

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haven't tried them myself, but they may be a good starting point.

Reply to
Mark Dumbrill

Thank you all for the advice. I did manage to do this one at Christmas. Papered over and painted now too.

Reply to
endymion

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