Rawlplugs in dodgy plaster

[Simon Elliott]

A while ago I fitted a stairgate at the top of a flight of stairs at home. I drilled holes and put in plastic rawlplug type things.

Unfortunately the plaster is pretty dodgy and underneath the plaster is some kind of horrible breeze block which seems to produce vile black dust when I drill it. After a year of use and abuse, the rawlplugs just won't stay in the wall. I've drilled the holes deeper, used longer screws, but to no avail. If I keep on like this there will be a set of craters in the wall where the fixing sites were.

Anyone got any ideas? Can I fill the holes with some kind of strong filler and redrill?

[stuart noble]

Car body filler should work but it may not bond to the plaster if it's too powdery. You need to pack it well into the full depth of the hole, which isn't easy with that stuff. Leave it for 15 mins and drill the hole slowly without hammer action. Plugs within plugs often works in oversize holes. If you can get a size 10 plug into your hole, a size 6 plug inside that, and a no.8 screw is worth a try.

[Simon Elliott]

stuart noble powdery. You need to pack it well into the full depth of the hole, which

Thanks for the suggestions - will give these a try.

[Chris J Dixon]

How about

expensive though.

Chris

[Tony]

"stuart noble" powdery. Get hold of a syringe - from a vet or off the street! - fill with a

1:4 pva/water solution and squirt it into the hole. Do this 2 or 3 times, allow to dry (a few hours), then use body filler. It will probably last longer than the house.

Tony.

Omit cymru to email.

[Andy Dingley]

Use Rawlplug compound - the old asbestos variety. Works beautifully for this sort of job. Of course, you can't buy it these days (except in Bedminster). I still have my ancestral stash though.

Modern equivalent is a polyurethane resin. Not bad for a number of holes, expensive as a one-off.

[Mike Harrison]

Deep hole, large plug, long screw. Push the plug at least 1/2 inch below surface.