How to remove plasterboard reveals without face wall damage?

[Ruggers]

Is there a way to remove plasterboard inside window and door reveals without damaging the angle bead and then needing to re-skim the whole internal window face wall in each room?

If the angle bead gets damaged because the plasterboard reveal has to be fully removed, can both be replace and blended back onto the face wall with the full wall skimmed?

This is to change windows that have straps that fix to the inner cavity wall.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Are your windows in reveals which are smaller on the outside than the inside? If so the reveals will probably need to come out (more a problem in older houses TBH).

Otherwise use a multitool to cut away a small rectangle next to the window, near the top or bottom. Use a light and a mobile phone to locate the straps. Cut away a rectangle where each of the straps are. You may need to make several exploratory openings to find the straps. Cut the straps, sealant, etc and pull the window out. Remove the remnants of the straps. Attach new straps to the new window in identical positions to the original straps on the old window (so you can reuse the cut outs). Install new window and fix straps in place. The cut-outs then get 2 x 1in softwood laths inserted which are longer than the opening - so for a 100mm opening something like a 130 to 140mm long lath is needed. To manouvre this a screw is put into the front of the lath so you can pull it onto the back of the PB whilst screwing through the PB into the lath in order to secure it (the outer screws in the photo below). Once the lath is fixed the locator screw is removed and a piece of plasterboard is cut to fit the opening. This is screwed onto the lath (the inner screws, below). This can then be scrimmed, skimmed (with filler) and sanded. Here is a hole sawn opening in a ceiling after a similar repair (I have just done about 80 of so of these):

PIA job to do because someone forgot to install smoke detectors (linked, mains powered system)

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Just to make life interesting (not!) I needed to use the self same technique last week when we had to cut out some plasterboard to allow the fire stopper to replace the fire collars from inside a riser cupboard (a dozen holes in all). Bloody awful job!

 

[Ruggers]

Hi, thanks for the detailed reply.

It's sounds like it would be good to have the window straps fixed at a set distance in from each end of the window to relocate easier.
They won't be the checked reveals you mention. It's for a new build with a cavity wall 100/150/100. The window fitting options are to have the 70mm deep frame positioned with the back of the window flush with the inside of the outer cavity wall, so from the outside there will be 30mm reveal on show, this has the option to fix into the outer face brick or use window straps.

Or, I can set the frame back a bit more to add more depth outside but then I'll definitely have to use the window straps. So I was just wondering if you have to change the windows in the future and the reveals need removed to get at the strap fixings, is it possible without affecting the corner beading & requiring the face wall to be skimmed.

Someone said you can cut the reveal vertically top to bottom 1 inch from the corner and remove it, then replace that piece with a new bit of board, tape the joint and skim it. I just wasn't sure if this could be done and faded back into the existing plaster before the corner.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

All I can say is that it's amazing what you can achieve with a multitool, 2 x 1in lath and scrim tape!