How to fill a hole in a wall?

[tr0ublegum]

Hi there, first post but as I’m about to start doing my house up ready to sell, it certainly won’t be my last…

We live in a 1st floor maisonette and the entrance/stairway to our property has a thinner wall than the rest of the building (not sure exactly what you’d call it). A few months ago my idiot neighbour took it upon himself to drill 2 new holes – yeah, in OUR wall, without asking!! - because the shared gate between our building and theirs was wobbly – he achieved what he wanted, but the bolts he used came through almost to the surface of our interior wall, far enough to make holes anyway. I was livid about the whole thing especially as we own our place and he was only renting the other property but that’s another story…

So I’ve got 2 holes, each about the diameter/depth of a golf ball or slightly larger, that need filling (ashamed to say the holes are currently covered in duct tape to stop my cats ‘playing’ with them). Can anyone advise me what to use for this? I’m concerned that the holes are really dusty/crumbly and that this might affect the adhesiveness of whatever I use? I realise the finish is probably going to look terrible against the rest of the wall whatever I do, but as the whole entrance and hallway needs replastering at a later date, that doesn’t concern me and it will look better than a bit of tape!

Cheers.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

Are the walls solid, such as brick/block/stone or are they stud/cavity?
A solid wall would require any loose materials to be removed, PVA prime the area to be repaired and possibly best use a one coat plaster to repair appling by trowel.

If cavity then there are number of methods to use, I generally either cut a piece of plasterboard that will fit through hole but can be stuck to the reverse side, this would normally require the existing hole to be cut in rectangle shape and sticking be no nails or dry walls adhesive, this can then be filled out once set and plastered. Or alternative is to fit a slat of timber through hole and fix via screws to wall, then insert plasterboard in hole, then joint tape hole and filling out with joint compound and sand once dry.

 

[tr0ublegum]

Thanks for the pointer - it is a solid block wall.

PVA makes sense. Someone I talked to said something about mixing the glue with water and then 'painting' it on to the inside of the hole. Does that make sense or sound like nonsense to you?

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

It can be diluted, depending on the manufacturers instruction would dictate the ratio often 4-1 (water-PVA) but some brands will differ, often worth two coats, leave one to dry and the second can be applied over when going tacky. It is worth doing to prevent suction from the wall, which can often crack the new plaster doing the curing stage. I one coat plaster would be the easiest application for you, if the area was larger it would be a basecoat bonding, then a two coat skim.

 

[Chri5]

There's any number of fillers on the market that will back fill your holes.

Make sure you find one that allows a decent depth of fill. Some will say max 10mm fill, and your have to fill, dry time, fill, dry time (repeat).

Go for a two stage job, fill to just below surface, maybe 1mm or so. That final bit can be filled with a fine surface filler which sets quite soft for a day or so and allows you to sand back for a quality finish that will blend with the surrounding wall.

 

[Grenage]

For larger holes I use a pot of Ronseal's 'big hole filler', which I picked up cheaply; it's pretty strong and doesn't shrink, at least visibly.

As said above, just make sure you leave a mm or two for a fine filler - and leave it proud of the hole. Sanding back with a block will make it pretty much invisible.

 

[tr0ublegum]

Thanks for all your replies. I got some PVA primer and ready mixed filler. The shallower hole is done, the deeper one I've done a couple of layers, and with one or two more it'll be sorted, and will look a lot less offensive than a crumbling hole staring at prospective buyers the moment they walk in my front door.

Cheers all.