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.

"endymion" wrote in message
...
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.


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

endymion wrote:
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.

Generally, you insert behind the hole, something to bridge across the
hole (e.g. something longer, but narrower than the hole itself, and glue
that in place with Sticks-like-Sh!t or something, then cut an
approximation of the outline of the hole (a little smaller) out of
plasterboard, or similar, and then glue that in place, using the insert
to position it.

e.g., ASCII fixed-width art, side-on:


####
####
####
||####
||####
||====
||====
||====
||====
||====
||====
||====
||####
||####
||####
####
####
####

key: # : original plasterboard
| : backing insert, bonded to original plasterboard
= : new plasterboard "insert"


Then, fill, sand and paint (paper) as required.

Mike

endymion wrote:
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.
easy peasy dralin.

Get a copy of the 'daily bull****' 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.

The Natural Philosopher wrote:
endymion wrote:
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.
easy peasy dralin.

Get a copy of the 'daily bull****' 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.

BOTCH!

In article ,
endymion wrote:
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.

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.

--
*Marathon runners with bad footwear suffer the agony of defeat*

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

Andrew Mawson wrote:
"endymion" wrote in message
...
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.


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


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.

endymion explained :
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.

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.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

On Mon, 22 Dec 2008 08:08:18 -0000, "endymion"
wrote:

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.


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

In article ,
"endymion" writes:
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.

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.

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

Andy Dee wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
endymion wrote:
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.
easy peasy dralin.

Get a copy of the 'daily bull****' 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.

BOTCH!
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.

.....it mustn't be thicker than the existing
plasterboard............

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.
--
Robin

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
SNIP
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.

Punch swazzle voice on

Thats the way to do it!

Punch swazzle voice off



--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

"endymion" wrote in message
...
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.

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

http://www.drywall-emporium.com/Bear_clip_webpage.htm

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

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

"Mark Dumbrill" wrote in message
...
"endymion" wrote in message
...
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.

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

http://www.drywall-emporium.com/Bear_clip_webpage.htm

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