Hello, one of my sons has just had his first home rewired and, to save
money, elected to do the replastering over cable conduits and around
pattress boxes himself. Some of the existing plastering which has been
cut into is old and a little powdery.

Neither of us has done anything other than basic hole filling before but
I want to get on with some of this while he's away and would appreciate
hints and tips including choice of product e.g. Polycell Deep Gap
polyfilla? Some of the pattresses have been set in quite deep - should I
make some of card frame round them to give a more even shape to work to?

I'm pretty sure I've seen some helpful discussion about this on this
newsgroup before but, at the moment, don't seem to be able to locate it
in previous threads.

Any comments or pointers gratefully received.

Regards, Colin
--
Colin Brook - Winchester (UK)

Fax:+44(0)8701641293 Mobile:07976258703

Colin Brook wrote:
Hello, one of my sons has just had his first home rewired and, to save
money, elected to do the replastering over cable conduits and around
pattress boxes himself. Some of the existing plastering which has been
cut into is old and a little powdery.

Neither of us has done anything other than basic hole filling before but
I want to get on with some of this while he's away and would appreciate
hints and tips including choice of product e.g. Polycell Deep Gap
polyfilla? Some of the pattresses have been set in quite deep - should I
make some of card frame round them to give a more even shape to work to?

I'm pretty sure I've seen some helpful discussion about this on this
newsgroup before but, at the moment, don't seem to be able to locate it
in previous threads.

Any comments or pointers gratefully received.

I usually do the bulk of the filling with bonding plaster, its cheap,
and stays put. You can then do a final finish with something finer like
a fine surface filler or skim plaster where you need to.

--
Cheers,

John.

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| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
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"John Rumm" wrote in message
...
Colin Brook wrote:
Hello, one of my sons has just had his first home rewired and, to save
money, elected to do the replastering over cable conduits and around
pattress boxes himself. Some of the existing plastering which has been
cut into is old and a little powdery.

Neither of us has done anything other than basic hole filling before but
I want to get on with some of this while he's away and would appreciate
hints and tips including choice of product e.g. Polycell Deep Gap
polyfilla? Some of the pattresses have been set in quite deep - should I
make some of card frame round them to give a more even shape to work to?

I'm pretty sure I've seen some helpful discussion about this on this
newsgroup before but, at the moment, don't seem to be able to locate it
in previous threads.

Any comments or pointers gratefully received.

I usually do the bulk of the filling with bonding plaster, its cheap, and
stays put. You can then do a final finish with something finer like a fine
surface filler or skim plaster where you need to.

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/
I've just done the same thing for my son who's had his house rewired.
I agree with John, use bonding, it's MUCH cheaper than any Polcell type
product and sticks well even where the old plaster is a bit crumbly at
the edges. It also does a good job of holding the boxes and cable
covers in place. Make sure that before it sets you scrape it off 2-3mm
below the level of the finished surface, so that you have room for a finish
coat. Leave a slightly rough surface to help the finish coat stick to it (I
just
scratch it with the point of a trowel, or a nail). Best to put the finish
coat on
after the bonding has set but before it has dried out as the finish will
stay
workable for longer that way. All the DIY sheds stock bonding in
various sized bags. Don't mix more than you can use in an hour, once
it starts to go of you shouldn't try and use it (it won't stick properly).
David.

In article ,
John Rumm writes:
Colin Brook wrote:
Hello, one of my sons has just had his first home rewired and, to save
money, elected to do the replastering over cable conduits and around
pattress boxes himself. Some of the existing plastering which has been
cut into is old and a little powdery.

Brush diluted PVA into the powdery edges to stabalise them,
and onto any exposed trunking in the chases so the plaster
sticks to it.

Neither of us has done anything other than basic hole filling before but
I want to get on with some of this while he's away and would appreciate
hints and tips including choice of product e.g. Polycell Deep Gap
polyfilla? Some of the pattresses have been set in quite deep - should I
make some of card frame round them to give a more even shape to work to?

I'm pretty sure I've seen some helpful discussion about this on this
newsgroup before but, at the moment, don't seem to be able to locate it
in previous threads.

Any comments or pointers gratefully received.

I usually do the bulk of the filling with bonding plaster, its cheap,

I tend to use just finish coat, so I've only got one bag of
plaster to carry. Mix it up with a little pva to make bonding
coat for the bulk of the filling. It will crack when it sets,
but this doesn't matter for the bulk filling, and gives a bit
more key for the finish coat. An old bag of finish coat (past
its use by date) is really good for this as it will set quickly,
so you can go on to do the finish coat (no PVA) and polish it up
without waiting too long.

and stays put. You can then do a final finish with something finer like
a fine surface filler or skim plaster where you need to.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

In article ,
Colin Brook wrote:
Hello, one of my sons has just had his first home rewired and, to save
money, elected to do the replastering over cable conduits and around
pattress boxes himself. Some of the existing plastering which has been
cut into is old and a little powdery.

Neither of us has done anything other than basic hole filling before but
I want to get on with some of this while he's away and would appreciate
hints and tips including choice of product e.g. Polycell Deep Gap
polyfilla? Some of the pattresses have been set in quite deep - should I
make some of card frame round them to give a more even shape to work to?

I'm pretty sure I've seen some helpful discussion about this on this
newsgroup before but, at the moment, don't seem to be able to locate it
in previous threads.

Any comments or pointers gratefully received.

If the surrounding plaster is poor, give it a couple of coats of dilute
PVA and allow to dry. This will allow any trimming without more falling
off. Worth doing for any repair area regardless.

I use one coat or repair plaster - much cheaper than pollyfilla and
quicker too. Instructions on 'how to' on the bag.

--
*My designated driver drove me to drink

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Jul 17, 5:13 am, Colin Brook wrote:
Hello, one of my sons has just had his first home rewired and, to save
money, elected to do the replastering over cable conduits and around
pattress boxes himself. Some of the existing plastering which has been
cut into is old and a little powdery.

Neither of us has done anything other than basic hole filling before but
I want to get on with some of this while he's away and would appreciate
hints and tips including choice of product e.g. Polycell Deep Gap
polyfilla? Some of the pattresses have been set in quite deep - should I
make some of card frame round them to give a more even shape to work to?

I'm pretty sure I've seen some helpful discussion about this on this
newsgroup before but, at the moment, don't seem to be able to locate it
in previous threads.

Any comments or pointers gratefully received.

Regards, Colin
--
Colin Brook - Winchester (UK)

Fax:+44(0)8701641293 Mobile:07976258703

I'd suggest getting a bag of one coat plaster (the white stuff). Brush
some diluted PVA over all the areas first.
With the deep pattresses you can always just build up the thickness
and cut it square quite easily while the plaster is going off.

In message on Tue, 17 Jul 2007,
Colin Brook wrote
Hello, one of my sons has just had his first home rewired and, to save
money, elected to do the replastering over cable conduits and around
pattress boxes himself. Some of the existing plastering which has been
cut into is old and a little powdery.
[Details snipped]
Any comments or pointers gratefully received.

Many thanks for those very helpful pointers
Regards, Colin
--
Colin Brook - Winchester (UK)

Fax:+44(0)8701641293 Mobile:07976258703