Already posted this yesterday, but got no reply-Ms Impatient here! So I`m asking you
all again... I`m planning on sorting this next week, when I am off work..cheers

I have a left-hand recess (52" wide) in a spare bedroom, next to the chimney breast,
which
used to house the airing cupboard/water tank, before I had it removed and the cupboard
ripped out , when having a combi fitted.
I now need to make good the damage left behind when said cupboard was removed. It appears
that all previous plastering/finishing work was done around (??!!) the cupboard, after it
was originally fitted into place, as there is now bare brick showing (approx 30 inches of
wall from the chimney, into part of the L/H recess), and where the cupboard came into
contact with the ceiling, there is no artex, which the rest of the ceiling in the room has
got, just some thin board with the joists almost visible. Also, where the left hand side
of the airing cupboard ran against the wall, from the floor to ceiling, there is a strip
of beading almost plastered in which I will have to remove as well.
To compound things further; the pipework for the combi in the loft, now comes down and
runs right next to the chimney breast (represented by O`s) and this needs to be hidden,
without covering up the Heating control box which is sited on the back wall of the recess,
directly next to the pipework.

My questions are;

1) will it be ok to simply batten (1" x 0.5") this whole recess and nail/screw in
plasterboard onto it, rather than getting half the wall plastered & trying to get it
evenly skimmed/wait absolutely ages for a plasterer, in order to make it good once more?
(Also making sure some sort of hole is cut out, to allow access to the control panel
behind it)

2) Will I also be able to use plasterboard to `box in` the pipework?


recess
_______________ _________
| | old O | chimney breast | recess |
| |cupboardO | | |
| was | | |
| here | | |
W - --------- |_________________| |
i |
n W |
d a |
o l |
w l |
| |
|________________________________________|_

Does anybody have any other suggestions? I have been chasing builders/plasterers up for
ages, with no luck, and until this work is carried out, I cannot get the skirting replaced
in this recess, nor can I start carpeting the room & getting it back to some semblance of
a bedroom/study once more.. Im tearing my hair out!


--
Carolyn

Carolyn wrote in message ...
Already posted this yesterday, but got no reply-Ms Impatient here! So I`m
asking you
all again...
I don't think there aren't any rules with this sort of thing. If
plasterboard stuck or screwed to the wall gives you the level you want, go
ahead. If it's deep enough for battens, you can pack them out to get a flat
surface when the board goes on. Half an inch doesn't give you a lot to screw
to though. Suck it and see.
Ply or mdf would be better for the boxing in. Plasterboard won't take
fixings in the same way and is pretty useless in small sections.

"stuart noble" wrote in message ...
Carolyn wrote in message ..

I am assuming that there are patches of plaster missing from the walls
as a result of removing the old cupbaord. If it is small areas of
missing plaster then you could get away with maybe using carlite
bonding and finishing with finis plaster. If you use this two oat
method then the bonding coat will have to be a couple of mm below the
existing plaster so there is room enough to put the finish coat to the
same level as the existing plaster. There is also a one coat plaster
available from wickes which would be fished in one go to the same line
as the plaster.
If it is one whole area above 5 or 6 ft square then plasterbaord stuck
with a plasterboard adhesive which would have to have any gaps filled
then possible to paint over. Cutting a hole in the plasterboard for
the programmer is not a good idea. The programmer/ or whatever it is
should be placed on the new surface in order to look unbodged. To box
inthe pipes you can use 2x1 or 2x2 timber. One length nailed/ screwed
to each wall. U can use 6mm thickness of plywood (as a minimum). This
would be offered upto the wall and if it shows large visible gaps it
would have to be scribed to the wall. If the gaps are not too bad then
you could filler the gaps later.The width of the plywood would extend
beyond the pipes which can be measured and the plywood cut to size.
What I do is then batten the back of that panel, top, bottom and side.
This provides the fixing for the other panel. *Note this is to avoid
making a frame for the boxing in.*
The other panel, once measured . can be screwed to the batten ( which
is on the back of the other panel. You will have to screw it cos it
might not be strong enough to take a knocking from a hammer.When it
comes together it is strong enough to hold its own shape.
For the boxing in u are essentially building the frame onto the back
of the panels making it easier. Usually a box frame is made up and the
ply nailed or screwed to it. The thicker the panel the more ridged the
structure.