"NotMe" wrote in message
...
Recently bought a flat in a 1910 tenement block, and as part of its
renovation I plan to move the central heating boiler some 50cm higher from
its current position so that I can integrate it into one of the new
kitchen's wall cabinets.
My question is:
How does one go about blocking the 4" hole that will be left from the
current flue? I am not particularly worried about the appearance from the
outside as it is not visible at all (no buildings across the road, etc) -
just want to make sure that the remains weather-proof..
PS: the wall is a cavity wall.
Is the hole easily reached from outside? Or ably reached from a window?
Placing something like a wooden board over the hole from the outside will
let you pump sand and cement in the hole from the inside. Remember to leave
the cavity clear though. The inside can then be filled in the same sort of
way, or just covered with a plaster board patch and made good.
If it's difficult to reach the hole from the outside, then a little tip I
picked up many years ago should help you. Cut a piece of ply wood board
sheet, any thickness, but the lighter the better, a little larger than the
hole. The ply can be either circular or squarish what ever is easier for
you. Now cut the ply in half. Now screw some long screws into each half.
Poke the ply through the hole, holding on to the screws as you pull it back
against the outside of the wall.
While you hold the ply in place against the outside of the wall by pulling
on the screw nails, fill the hole with sand and cement. Put string or wire
on the nails to hold the ply until the cement cures. Once it's all dried
off, untie the string, unscrew the screw nails, let the ply wood fall off
into the street. Hole should now be patched flush with the outside of the
wall. It should now stay weather tight for as long as the existing
stonework does.
The sand and cement mixture should be around 3 sand to 1 cement, and not so
wet that it falls out everywhere. A nice firm mixture that holds itself is
what you're after.
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