Filling wall plug holes

elponko · 16 Sep 2010

Hi All,
New here... bear with me. I have just moved into a house where the previous owners secured everyting (and I mean everyting) to the walls with 1" - 1.5" screws and wall plugs. There are literally hundreds of them all over the place. I've cleared most of them from one room so now need to fill the holes. some are 3" deep! A friend said I should plug them with paper and fill over that, but would that last? Should I get a dowel and plug them with that and then fill over that?
Cheers.

joe-90 · 16 Sep 2010

Use your dowel to knock them a bit below the surface and then fill over them. The deeper the hole the more trouble to fill.

elponko · 16 Sep 2010

oh. I've taken the plugs out now. i didn't think you could fill over them. I could put them back in, i suppose, and then knock them in a bit to fill over them.
thanks for the help.

Nige F · 16 Sep 2010

leave them where they are out- and use a tub of Red Devil one time filler

good stuff that doesn`t shrink back -like some do in deep holes, leaving a pimple - don`t worry about getting right to the bottom of hole either

joe-90 · 16 Sep 2010

Nige F said:
don`t worry about getting right to the bottom of hole either

Said the actress to the bishop.

JohnD · 16 Sep 2010

you only need to knock the heads a couple of mm below the surrounding plaster, so the filler has somewhere to go

bits of projecting wall plug are a great nuisance when redecorating

you can almost always punch them in by putting a screw a couple of turns into the plug and tapping it with a hammer. Then unscrew and remove the screw

it is good practice to do this whenever you put a plasplug in a wall, as it prevents plaster cracking round the head.

opps · 16 Sep 2010

I too tap them in just under the surface. I use a screw to do this, hitting the pointy end with the hammer. then the OneTime filer.

If the plug has a collar that refuses to go in I chisel it off first.

elponko · 16 Sep 2010

Thanks all. I've found somewhere local that sells the red devil filler so reckon i can get it done this weekend. If only i'd known this before i spent ages pulling the things out! still, there are loads more in this old place to fill.
Cheers.

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Filling wall plug holes

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