Filling a vent hole in the kitchen wall

[Dawnbb]

Hi all

My house used to have a hot air heating system which means there are heating vents in the walls all over the house. They are unsightly, and I want them out. They all lead to what is now an empty cupboard in the hall.

Most are covered by new radiators, so that fine, but there is one in the kitchen which I took the front off - leaving a hole in the wall about 7" by 9" which is flush with the wall, and contains a metal duct thing.

I want to fill it in and then have a nice smooth finish.

Being a complete beginner... would it be very stupid to get some plaster board larger than the hole, and chisel out a little bit round the hole for the plaster board to sit snuggly in, join it, fill the gaps, and then paint it...?

Or is there a better idea (probably...)

I have read loads of posts on this forum now, and I am very impressed by the professional, amusing and informative answers - I hope someone can help on this one.

Dawn

 

[nstreet]

Cut a breeze block down to size and cement in, then render over and plaster. Thats assuming your walls are solid and not stud walls of course.

 

[Richard C]

You could do what you suggest but you will always have a hollow bit. First of all I would try & remove the metal duct or at least knock it back a couple of inches from the face of the wall, otherwise you will always get a crack around where the hole has been. I would fill the hole with a cut to size Thermalite block, allowing a 10-12mm mortar gap all the way around, I did this with the hole left by a large soap dish I removed from my bath room.

Cement the block in place, set back from the face of the surrounding plaster by around 15mm. When the mortar has gone off, you can either fill the recess to a depth approximately 3mm below the surrounding area with sand/cement render or cut a piece of 9.5mm plasterboard so it fits neatly inside the recess on the face of the block; apply some drywall or grab adhesive to give a bed of around 3mm & stick it on so it’s about 2-3mm below the face of the surrounding wall. When it’s all gone off, chip off the edge of the surrounding plaster slightly with a hammer but don’t go any deeper than 3-5mm; this gives the new plaster a key & help prevent it cracking around the original line of the hole. Apply some PVA over the recess & the surrounding plaster & using finishing plaster, plaster over the recess, blending in with the surrounding area. It’s a very small area & it’s possible to get a totally invisible repair like this but it largely depends on you plastering skills!

 

[Dawnbb]

Thank you for the good advice, I have never done anything beyond painting before, so I am looking forward to having a go at rendering (I didn't even know what rendering was until I looked it up) and plastering (I always thought it was a dark art - but who knows, I might be a natural)

Your step by step guide will be followed to the letter which I am sure will help.

Look out for some new threads in the "DIY Disasters" area of the forum in a few weeks in case it all goes a bit wrong...