Possible wall damage? by drilling over sized hole on the wall for the new broadband cable

[spader]

Got new internet installed by an ISP. The engineer from the ISP came out, and put a line in through the house wall by drilling it.
After the installation is done, the internet seems working OK, but wife not happy about the way the wall was drilled. The drilled hole is way too large, and looks damaged. Please see the photo.

Can this be remedied by putting on some mortar or concrete cosmetically? Could this be addressed to the ISP for asking for repair on the wall? We are also unsure what kind of damage the large hole could have done to the stability of the brick on the wall.

 

[sparkymarka]

That good …they mostly blow half a brick …

 

[JohnD]

It will not have caused structural damage, but it is unsightly.

For a good cosmetic repair, collect a cup full of matching stones (there will be a few lying near the wall)

When you have enough, carve out the silicone filler without scratching the cable, and expose the brickwork all round the crater.

Brush the broken brick with PVA adhesive mixed 50% with water and leave it to go tacky

Mix half a cup of sand and cement mortar

Press it hard into the crater. A small plastic filling knife will be suitable. Smooth it off flat and level

Press your stones halfway into the fresh mortar so they resemble the stones on the face of the brick

 

[spader]

It will not have caused structural damage, but it is unsightly.

For a good cosmetic repair, collect a cup full of matching stones (there will be a few lying near the wall)

When you have enough, carve out the silicone filler without scratching the cable, and expose the brickwork all round the crater.

Brush the broken brick with PVA adhesive mixed 50% with water and leave it to go tacky

Mix half a cup of sand and cement mortar

Press it hard into the crater. A small plastic filling knife will be suitable. Smooth it off flat and level

Press your stones halfway into the fresh mortar so they resemble the stones on the face of the brick

Great instruction for the cosmetic repair process, thanks.

 

[spader]

We are wondering why such a large hole had to be drilled into the wall for such a thin wire to come in?

 

[johnny2007]

When i had mine installed, the guy made sure to go between bricks.
I was shocked!

 

[Odds]

Those guys usually go in chewing gum and ready to kick ass with no time to spare for such trifling matters as changing a drill bit or wasting a moment in getting the job done before moving on. They could at least have put a cup washer around the cable to fill the gap, but JohnD's idea sounds just the job to fix it.

 

[Old Salt]

The hole has to be larger than the cable because the end connector has to pass through. But mine has a cover over it to neaten the appearance. Different colours are available but probably not for your brick colour.

Cable Entry Covers - Pack of 5

 

[JohnD]

We are wondering why such a large hole had to be drilled into the wall for such a thin wire to come in?

Pretty sure he drilled a smaller hole, and when the drill burst through, it broke off the face of the brick leaving a crater.

This happens a lot

If it was your own house and you were willing to take care and time, you could drill a smaller hole, then widen it from one side, then open it up all the way from the show side.

Or at least drill it from the outside inwards so you only had a crater in the plaster to fill and redecorate, or hide behind the box.

If it was your own house, or if you were a quality worker, you would also slip a tube or conduit through the hole so the cable did not chafe on the sharp brickwork. I suppose the horrible gobbit of silicone performs that duty. If the cable comes downwards, a small drip loop prevents rain running down the cable into the wall.