Filling in the gaps....

Hixfunk

Afternoon all,

Just looking for some quick advice about filling in some gaps left in walls from moving sockets around in a kitchen. I have two 5" square gaps that need to be covered up. The problem I am coming up with is that these are cavity walls and i have no way of "filling" them per say.....what I basically want to do is cover them up. What is the best method of doing this?

Thanks in advance!!

sinnerboy

Gradually . Butter up the edges to make the opening smaller - scoop the fill in at an angle to the wall face . Leave for a day and repeat until done . May need 3 days to complete - sand and paint

smashey

Moved to DIY from C&P.

cormac_byrne

Drill holes for screws 1" above and below the hole.
(about 1/2 and 2/3 of the way across the space)
Insert wooden battens into the hole so they bridge across the space and are behind the drilled holes.
drive screws into the holes to hold the battens in place.

Cut a scrap piece of plaster board to make a patch for the hole.
Drill holes in the patch in front of where the battens are.
Screw the patch to the battens.

Use filler to hide the screw holes (make sure the heads are recessed) and fill around the join between the old board and the new patch.

for a proper job, skim some plaster over the whole area, else just sand of excess filler then paint etc...


Actually B&Q have clips for attaching patches to plasterboard, but the battens are probably just as handy.

I tried using clips before and they kept showing through after I tried to smoothen the area with a sander. With screws you can bury the heads well

Wertz

My top tip for patching medium sized holes in plasterboard is to use this method. An old plasterer showed me this years agao and it's come in handy many times over the years...

You need some pieces of corrugated cardboard cut to slightly bigger than the hole you're filling, some string or twine and plaster fillers.
First you take your cardboard piece, punch a hole in the centre and thread the string through it, tying a knot in the back so it can't pull through. You then fold the piece of card in two and push it into the hole...pull gently on the string...the card should then unfold to it's original size...it should now cover the back of the hole. Mix up your plaster fillers slightly stiff for the first application. When applying with a filling knife, pull more firmly on the string...the fillers will stick to both the edges of the plasterboard and to the cardboard...don't be tempted to overfill it, especially on a ceiling as it will "slump" as it dries and leave a hump. Instead fill it but leave it that there a little bit left to fill...leave to fully dry, then mix up some more fillers, wetter this time. Cut the string so that it no longer sticks out, finish your filling, using a wet knife. Again allow to dry, sand smooth and paint.
I used to use sinnerboy's method until I was shown this way...buttering edges is tedious and it only takes one wrong move for the whole lot to just fall in to the cavity and you're left starting over again...