Unwanted hole ! Damp can be a major issue in the home. Find answers to questions or post your own here.

[Sandraf]

Hi,

I'm a new member and a complete novice at diy-ing but due to the amount of things that need done in my home, I could become quite a regular. Here's my current problem ...

I had a leak in the roof (dodgy tile, now replaced) but this brought water into the bathroom and thus weakened the ceiling. I tried to paint the ceiling (damp proof, stain removal ronseal stuff) and some of the plaster came off the ceiling. I stuffed it with pollyfilla and returned the next day, when the contents of the hole including the filla, duly fell out. I now have a hole (approx diamater of a coffee mug) going from bathroom to attic.

I have a can of expanding foam filler and am wondering if I squirted this stuff into the hole would it fill it and fix the problem ? According to the can it seals, bonds, damp proofs and all that.

Any suggestions most welcome.

Sandra

[froggystyle]

I really would not do that, that stuff tends to go everywhere and will dry out after a few years and just come back to haunt you. Cut the plasterboard back so that you can see the timbers above, you only want to expose half of the timber width so you can refix a new square peice of board. You will then need to plaster over new board, as long as you use scrim tape over any board joints and nails/screws and you have not cut back to much plaster board you should be able to do the plaster yourself, just remember to mix the plaster correct(or buy ready mixed) do not play with it to much, and get it as smooth and level as fast as you can. Hope this helps.

:D

[Perry525]

All you need is a couple of thin pieces of wood, say 4 inches longer than the hole is wide/long and about a cm thick and 3 to 4 cms wide.
Tuck one end through the hole until it is close to one edge say a finger width and equally overlapping each end, hold it in the middle with one hand while drilling a small hole up through the plaster and through the wood strip, screw up through the plaster into the wood screw tight, then do the other end.
Repeat the process with the other piece of wood.
You need slots between the wood strips of about one finger width.
Then get a big blob of plaster on a trowel and push it up into the remaining hole, so that it spreads between the laths and over the edges, push it up flush with the ceiling, smooth, job done.

[Sandraf]

Thanks for the replies.

Due to the unsightly nature of the bathroom ceiling and also, as I mentioned, being a novice DIY'er, I have filled the hole with expandable filler, painted it over and it looks grand.

Thanks anyway.