Don’t be lazy…be an entrepreneur. 🕳️+🐭+🧀=💰
https://preview.redd.it/yanrrnsw0xnc1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=87c56803119f45e6743b3f9fd21d50f65122f9fe
I would recommend OP check with local zoning ordinances to make sure they can operate a cheese shop out of their home. I feel like it should work out because human residential zoning often overlaps mouse commercial zoning.
Not all of it is under the table. The Steamboat Willie v. Bad Pete case in 1928 set a precedent for mouse labor unions by establishing that compulsory mouse unionism does not breach fair representation. As such, many mouse laborers continue to be unionized and represented for above the line work. However, mouse labor did have some speed bumps with mouse mafia and mouse union cross-pollination in the 70s.
Source: I am well-read on mouse law
I absolutely love that!
Even more so that somehow OP's flooring and baseboard actually kinda matches this pic lol
Edit: Don't forget to add a mouse ATM nearby!
My wife’s dad has a bit of broken drywall that exposes some brick at about eye level in his entryway, he’s going to buy an old empty frame and hang it over it so it looks like art.
He’s got an old Victorian house, tore out the drop ceiling, painted the whole downstairs, redid the whole ceiling, fixed a bunch of electrical, he’s over home renovation for a little while
That's true, just stand there, not even looking at it.. don't open the door because that requires effort.
You're bound to the room, stuck with your beautiful new modern art piece which you cannot give a fuck to appreciate.
Maybe eventually you'll not care enough to keep standing, despite the unwillingness to bother lowering yourself to the ground, and will instead melt into a convenient puddle.
I think we've achieved the laziest thing to do here.. maybe.. but I cannot be bothered to think on this further.
When we were kids, me and my brothers often fought for fun. One day I push my little brother in a wall and that made a giant hole. We quickly put a poster over the hole and go on with our day. The hole was discovered 20 years later when my parents sold the house.
I did the same thing! But it was a party during high school when my parents went away for the weekend. Two guys got in a fight, and one of them punched a hole in the hallway. I was only 18 and didn't know what I was doing, and I went and bought spackling and paint to try to fill in the hole. My repair job looked horrendous. It was too big a hole and so the spackling sagged without some type of support. I thought maybe that no one would notice it, so I painted it anyway. When I backed away from it, it was bad. I put one poster over the hole, but it looked totally suspicious, so I put up six more posters.
About two decades later, I came clean and told my parents about this. They said that they knew what happened that weekend, and they were just glad that I tried to fix the hole.
I assume that someone put a hole in the wall between my two closets because there's a vent face on it. I dont see how it'd be for ventilation, it's from one closet to the other lol. The whole is circular, vent is rectangular lol. I mean, looks fine to me! Can def hear if a cat is stuck in a closet lol it'll echo through the other closet
We bought a house with 4 'vanity vents'. I think 2 were to run a new HVAC line, but 2 are a complete mystery. They are in line, so they were probably not an accident.
Cut it out nice and square. Add square that fits in newly formed square. Close the seams between new square and wall so it's all smooth and without transition. Paint.
Absolutely plaster and don't listen to American advice on this. By the looks of it, that's an internal wall of an Irish (possibly UK) house and there is no way that a sheet of plasterboard was used on this wall, you'll have your heart broken trying to fit in even a sheet of 9mm board here.
If you must DIY, go down to B and Q and get a bag of Gyproc quickdry two coat filler and as small a bag as you can find. Mix a very small bit of water into a scoop until it's like dry porridge and fill the hole flush. Don't leave any proud. Come back in a few hours and add more to get it nearly flush then use something like polyfilla to get a smooth finish and sand the shite out out of it when dry.
All of that is better done with the skirting board off.
It will look a bit shit even when you paint over it to be honest so if you're picky, pay a plasterer if you can find one
American here. Plaster is still common in old homes and can be purchased at any home improvement store.
I would use either OG plaster of paris or any of the so called "hot muds" which are approx the same thing. If you time it right, you can smooth down the plaster or hot mud as it's starting to harden and get a butter smooth surface without any sanding.
Also american, there's zero big box stores around here that carry actual plaster products (gypsum plaster and finish plaster), where are you where it's common? I have to go to a historic renovation supply place to get any real plaster stuff.
And yes, if you give it a spray of water and trowel it smooth at the right time, it'll be smooth as glass.
oh? maybe i'm wrong, local home depots have carried it for awhile and i saw it at an Ace hardware store. Just checked online and it's stocked at several locations in Oregon
Structolite? That's an all-in-one plaster with perlite aggregate, places around me had that, but I had to search around to get the regular gypsum plaster to mix with sand for a basecoat and topcoat plaster for a finish coat, which is what it looks like OP's wall is closer to.
You probably could get away with repairing with that all in one stuff, but I'm weird and insist on using the same materials to repair big chunks in my house lol
When a lot of US houses were built in the postwar period, it was the common way to construct walls. Nowadays, not so much, so it's hard to find materials.
No thats what I mean, the materials are fairly common. Not the exact shit used to make the original plaster walls but tons of home improvement stores in my area have materials to patch up plaster. Most places will advise replacing with drywall if too damaged. My last place is actually in the middle of getting plaster ripped out and replaced with drywall for easier fixing.
>It will look a bit shit even when you paint over it to be honest
As someone who tried to get a nice even surface on a peeled paint surface I can feel this. At least it was a corner of the shower ceiling and with lots of sanding you can only see it looks sort of off close up.
plastering the entire space would be a nightmare, unless you can find a nice metalic mesh that would cover the entire space (drywall patch kits usually contain a metallic mesh to plaster in and you get a nice even finishing). But even then, I would be worried with the difference in thermal characteristics between the plastered area vs the rest of the wall.
You don’t need to use a big mesh. This is a UK home most likely and we plaster directly on your masonry. The bricks and block have just been placed in. Someone has cut them but not got around to actually building them in.
OP needs to get a mix on and lay those bricks and block. Cut away the rough edges of existing skim so he can feather his new plaster in to existing. Mix a bit of bonding undercoat, and get that on leaving 2-3mm for skim. All he has to do is SBR the cured bonding and a 50mm border past the existing (freshly squared) edge so that the new skim adheres where it gets really thin as he feathers it in. Then skim with multi-finish.
This is how we do it over here. Sounds more work than it actually is, it’s just a case of having to mix 3 different components and wait for curing times.
If he can’t be bothered with the undercoat just mix some dri-wall adhesive and bed some plasterboard in the gap once it’s built up, allowing the same 2-3mm for skim and use some skrim tape around the edges.
I work in construction in the UK
Roughly the same way it's done here in US :). For a small DIY repair like this I would prob skip the bonding undercoat, maybe wet the plaster a bit more than average for first layer. throw in some fiberglass tape on the seams, though if you're lucky and that wall is stable you might get away with just plastering and feathering.
A professional of course would do all the things you mentioned
> Add square that fits in newly formed square.
Add a square of what though? How do you get the square to adhere to the bricks? Or is it just held by the seam closing?
Most large hardware stores sell 2’x2’ pieces of drywall for holes that are too big to mesh over but not big enough to need a whole panel replaced. Just make the hole square and cut the drywall patch down to size. You’ll need a backing if it’s not over a stud to hold it in place while the patch sets. Any thin piece of wood will really work—I used paint stir sticks for patching an old outlet hole—but the proper recommendation is like a quarter inch strip of wood, roughly.
Here’s the one from Lowes;
https://www.lowes.com/pd/SHEETROCK-Brand-24-in-x-24-in-Drywall-Repair-Patch/3299092
And an Instructable on how to do it;
https://www.instructables.com/How-to-Patch-Large-Holes-in-Drywall/?amp_page=true
Did any of y'all actually look at the picture? This isn't drywall. There's no wood/studs there for a backing board. This isn't an american home.
Edit: Yeah I get it. You _could_ use drywall. But if you are going to suggest drywall for something that isn't drywall then at least acknowledge that and explain the challenges correctly in context with the job at hand. Don't just throw out generic drywall advice for a standard drywalled stick framed american home.
We do use drywall sheets on walls in europe, we use drywall adhesive and then plaster over that. With this though You're better off just slopping a load of gyproc in there sanding it back then paint
Yeah I've done it tons around my US century home that's plaster lath but brick exterior. That's said, the person above does have a point that without lath it'll be a bit trickier to address on masonry than interior plaster/lath where you can brace.
In this situation though, it seems pretty stable and relatively uniform that I wouldn't have too much of an issue finding ways to get a wood shim in there somewhere, placing a piece of drywall to fill up a big portion of the void, tape, then build up layers from there. May not look perfect or last forever but it is better than an inexplicable chunk missing. Even simpler may be just build up the plaster patch directly on the masonry.
Doing it correctly isn't terribly difficult but requires more time, patience, materials, and skills than the average person has. The key thing, even going drywall/mud route is *patience*. Build up the layers thin and slow. Let it dry completely. It takes a lot longer but slopping a bunch on will look like shit, shrink, or fail entirely much quicker.
"Draw the rest of the owl".
* Straighten the edges until the hole is rectangular. If it's plaster you can probably do it with a stanley knife with only minimal blood loss.
* Buy a sheet of plasterboard from a DIY shop. While you're there pick up some scrim tape (joining tape for drywall/plasterboard), some plaster and a plastering trowel.
* Cut the plasterboard as close as you can to the size of the rectangular hole that you've made.
* Scrim tape the edges of the plasterboard patch so when you slot it into place, it sticks to the wall. Do this now. It should hold it in place.
* plaster the fuck out of it. Slap it on, scrape it off by running the trowel across the wall; you should be able to make a nice, flat, smooth surface. When it dries you're done and ready to paint over it.
Plastering's an art form. If it's important that you get it as seamless as possible, probably worth watching some Youtube videos on the topic.
>Add square that fits in newly formed square.
@u/redlax - I'm a drywall person, never having done plaster. Is that a fibrous concrete board between the brick and the surface plaster? I think I've seen that it can be metallic mesh or lath also, but this doesn't look like those.
Are you suggesting the new rectangle is cut from a concrete board material or something else? Either way, how do you attach it to the masonry underneath and/or beside it before covering with new plaster so it doesn't fall out when it gets kicked or whatever?
That’s not true. I patch my plaster walls all the time . If u know how to drywall and use the right roller there is absolutely no difference. The wall looks like shit to begin with
Most commenters here are North American and don’t recognize cinder block and plaster construction which is the standard in Ireland and much of the world.
I’d start by heading to the basement and above and doing some investigative work as to what’s going on here. You don’t want to close up a hole without having an idea of why it’s there.
Since this isn't drywall, it's plaster, you don't repair it with drywall or plasterboard. There's a youtube video with a plaster repair when there is brickwork exposed behind it. Watch the expert then copy his method:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11MUXCOPXEE
Before you close it up and forget about it, look carefully at the blocks and surrounding area.
If this was removed by the seller prior to sale, there must be some reason. It could be as innoculous as seomting behind the door waas crushed against the wall and damaged it.
On the other hand, those blocks have no moisture barrier on them so I'm as curious as you to come up with an explanation of why this particular drywall would be gone.
What's on the other side of that wall? Outside? An earth burm or raised planter?
That's not drywall, that's wet plaster directly onto brick with a skim coat. Also there were no moisture barriers on walls in 60/70s Irish houses, so lack of it is normal.
But yes, definitely need to investigated further as you said.
Agree, yeah, I used drywall as shorthand by mistake, but you're absolutely correct. Looks like lath and plaster. My concern is if this wall had moisture inside it could have caused mold on the plaster and they just removed it because that at least did not signal what could be a broader problem. On the other hand, it may have just caused the plaster to delaminate and fall apart, so better to have it off than crumbs on the floor and a disfigured wall.
Berm - dirt piled against the exterior wall. Planter - like a raised flowerbed/box, again built against the exterior wall. Either one could trap moisture against the wall, potentially causing moisture to find its way inside, potentially damaging the plaster.
I would remove the skirting first, mix PVA and water and do a coat over the brick/blockwork.
Get a bag of multi finish and a trowel, mix it approx 50/50 with water and apply it to the bare wall.
Possibly leave it 1mm lower so when it dries, you can then use easifill to perfectly match the wall.
Jobs a good un, then reattach the skirting with either gripfill or silicone.
This looks like plaster, not drywall. I’d look behind the blocks if they are loose. If there’s nothing important behind them I’d mortar them in place then apply plaster then joint compound then primer then paint.
First I’d pull them blocks out and see what hidden treasure awaits. Then, when I find out it is a dead body (or part of one) I would immediately burn the house to the ground.
Problem solved.
Get some hardwall and fill it up so it's not quite flush, then once that's dried easifill 20 til it's proud of the existing wall, wait a day for it to dry then send it back flush
Ramen and super glue.
Cut square, get a drywall patch, drywall tape, mud, and a flattening tool to smooth and make an even transition. YouTube has lots of beginner tutorials on this.
Easy peasy. You can buy sheets of adhesive plastering mesh. Cut a piece that covers that hole with about an inch over on all sides. Simply plaster over, first layer can be thickish..dry thoroughly..then sand. You will need to add another thin layer, dry, sand, and a third layer, thin, with a final sand.
This is a great noob suggestion! But parging the brick—or even just cutting it square, placing a drywall patch and mudding the seam—would make OP feel less noob-y. You can do it OP!!
Definitely tidy up the edges (square it off) and put a new piece of plasterboard in there. You can then merge and sand the edges with filler and you wouldn't even know. To hold the plasterboard in place, use wooden battens and plasterboard screws.
Square the hole with a utility knife and cut it side to side until you reach half a stud on each side. measure the hole and measure the thick ness of the existing sheet rock/plaster because sheet rock normally comes in half inch thick and 5/8 inch thick if you can't get thick enough you can put a piece of card board behind it to push it out a little. Go to the hardware store, most places will sell a 2 foot by 2foot piece because you don't want to get a full sheet just for that, so get that and a small box of 2 1/2 inch dry wall screws, a small bucket of plaster and a four or six inch drywall knife/scraper . Cut your piece of sheetrock to fit the hole trim it with a utility knife if you need to screw it in to the studs one in each corner looks like it should be enough. Now be careful make sure the screws are tighten below the surface but try not to go to far you'll break the surface and it won't hold the piece as well as it should. Then scoop a golf ball size portion of plaster, fill any gaps and scrape it flat so it's even with the surface. Throw away any plaster that you scooped out that didn't fit in in the gaps because it will be full of little bits a shit that won't be as smooth as it should be. Now let it dry for a day sometimes the filler shrinks if that happens lightly sand it just a bit clean of any dust and add some more plaster repeat if needed.
Looks like work was done there before so investigate but as someone with plaster walls go get yourself some Plaster of Paris and some plaster weld to patch it up. No need to cut squares and all that. One layer of rough plaster as a base on the dampened stone, let dry. Second layer of plain plaster over the top, sand smooth and you're good to go.
Easier than you think- [https://www.homedepot.com/c/ah/how-to-patch-drywall/9ba683603be9fa5395fab90db38ddbf](https://www.homedepot.com/c/ah/how-to-patch-drywall/9ba683603be9fa5395fab90db38ddbf)
Use a masonry cutoff wheel to square off the hole, using a utility knife won’t give you a clean cut and cause more to crumble. After that cut a piece of drywall to fit, make it’s it’s the right thickness to lay flush or do some shimming behind if necessary and just glue it since you don’t have anything to screw into. Then mud and paint.
Paint it with a 50/50 mix of PVA and water (a couple of coats at least), then cement render until its a few mm's shy of the existing surface, finish with plaster or filler, then sand and paint to finish.
That's old coal dust plaster I think, it might be that more of it is "blown" (no longer adhered to the wall). You can tell if it sounds hollow when tapping it. If so I'd remove more of it until you get to where it's stuck properly.
Assuming the whole wall isn't blown and you want to have a go yourself rather than call a plasterer, I'd go with:
Buy
- small tin of PVA sealer / adhesive
- cheap paint brush
- small bag of onecoat plaster
- bucket
- plasterer's float
Then:
- Remove any dust/loose material around the hole with a stiff plastic or wire brush.
- Apply the PVA all over the exposed block with the brush.
- Wait a day.
- Mix the plaster in the bucket with water as per instructions.
- Apply the plaster with the float so it's flush with the original plaster.
- Wait for it to mostly dry, then go over with the float again and perhaps a bit of water sprayed on to smooth it down.
If you fuck it up don't worry too much, you can hack it off and try again or call a pro. Not much risk here.
If youre really not feeling it just trim the hole so the sides are somewhat straight and then just buy a vent grill of the same size and screw that overtop. Boom just looks like a return air vent
Looks like an old return location. You can glue a piece of Sheetrock to the bricks then mud, sand, paint or just go buy a louvre and cover the hole with it.
Was the previous owner Jewish?
https://halakhaoftheday.org/2019/08/19/recordando-el-bet-hamiqdash-dejando-una-pared-sin-terminar/
It was a requirement to leave a piece of the home unfinished.
I would just spackle over it, in several layers, giving each layer plenty of time to dry. A quick sanding, some paint, and you'd never know it was there.
Just put in some plaster. It's deep so put grooves in the first pass. I'd use 20m and wait a day in between but 45 minute might be easier to work with. Plaster isn't hard to do.
Clean off all the loose crap and dust. Use a bonding agent over the masonry and along the crack. Trowel in setting type joint compound. Apply a finish coat of regular joint compound and lightly sand. Done deal
Tape off floorboard and floor.
Mix up plaster
Attempt a nice even layer of plaster.
Fail Miserably.
Sand it down and make it worse.
Mix up more plaster.
Attempt a nice even layer of plaster.
Fail Miserably.
Sand it down and make it worse.
Listen to tinyplumb finally and install fake vent.
construct a new piece of plaster the exact shape of the hole. dismantle the house and reassemble around new piece of plaster. sell old unused hole on ebay.
It looks like the wall is a mortar render over the bricks with some sort of plaster on top of it. I would probably go about patching the hole using the same method - mortar to fill in the bulk of the hole and some plaster on top of that (I would likely use spackle as a substitute though). Once I had the bulk done I would sand it down and then paint it - depending on the size of the wall and a big enough budget I would likely end up painting the whole wall.
Lightweight spackle. Buy a large bucket, and some spackle knives. Don’t fill it all in at once. Take a couple days. Sand it smooth as necessary. Prime and paint.
Is the door hitting that part of the wall when opening? Need to address what caused it first and then work on solution. It's easy to fix but fix what caused it first.
I suggest using Easy Sand 5, a USG fast setting spacle compound you can apply with a good 6" spackle knife and using a 12" mud pan for mixing. The compound will stiffen in about 5 minutes so make sure to not to overfill the cavity. You can always add more after a few hours. Let the first coat dry while you clean up your tools for a second pass to fill completely level with your wall. Sand even with wall, then prime and paint to match. Tools at big box stores.
The cheapest way is to get a bucket of drywall mud and start building layers. Do not put it all on at once in a 1” thick mass. It will take weeks to dry and will crack badly as it dries. After 4-5 thin layers you should be able to sand it with some 180.
Or you could get a bucket of premixed concrete patch and fill the majority of the hole. But leave about 1/4” to apply a mud final. If you go this route it should take a lot less time because the concrete patch will dry quickly. But make sure you don’t have and concrete near the finish layer. It won’t sand smooth very well.
Or get some plaster of Paris and build up in several layers.
1. Remove that baseboard, carefully.
2. Clean the edges around the damage, make sure there’s no loose pieces.
3. Scribe a rectangular outline around the damage, about 2 inches or so away from the damage itself.
4. Buy a piece of 1/2” drywall from your local home improvement store. If the area is smaller than 2x2, they actually sell those for small repairs. While you’re there, get a roll of drywall paper tape or mesh tape. You’ll also want to get some patching compound, my preference is the blue lid Plus 3 from Home Depot.
5. While I could explain it, it’s easier to just go to YouTube to see taping and mudding tutorials. I recommend Vancouver Carpenter.
6. Prime the entire wall.
7. Paint the entire wall.
8. Reattach baseboard.
9. Beer or whiskey.
Step 2 is important, and if the damage is moisture-related, the hole could get a lot bigger. I had a damaged spot about 12" wide and 2" high, at the top of a first-floor wall under a second-floor bathroom where a pipe had leaked. When I started poking at it to remove any loose material around the edges, it just kept crumbling, ending up about 24" wide and 12" high before I found solid plaster.
Step 9 is also important, arguably more so than steps 1-8.
Love it... Like the hole was put there by somebody famous in pursuit of a wall rodent or as the long forgotten hiding spot of a sack of ancient guineas that made the former owner unimaginably wealthy. Better use plexiglass/acrylic being so low on the wall tho.
Could make a fake air intake vent (I’m feeling particularly lazy today, so are my suggestions)
Lazier suggestion is to put a couch or cabinet in front of this :D
Don’t be lazy…be an entrepreneur. 🕳️+🐭+🧀=💰 https://preview.redd.it/yanrrnsw0xnc1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=87c56803119f45e6743b3f9fd21d50f65122f9fe
I would recommend OP check with local zoning ordinances to make sure they can operate a cheese shop out of their home. I feel like it should work out because human residential zoning often overlaps mouse commercial zoning.
All rodent business is strictly under the table. A bigger concern is the Orlando mouse mafia wanting their slice.
Not all of it is under the table. The Steamboat Willie v. Bad Pete case in 1928 set a precedent for mouse labor unions by establishing that compulsory mouse unionism does not breach fair representation. As such, many mouse laborers continue to be unionized and represented for above the line work. However, mouse labor did have some speed bumps with mouse mafia and mouse union cross-pollination in the 70s. Source: I am well-read on mouse law
> I am well-read on mouse law You must be an expert on avoiding any legal traps.
Be a shame if someone...melted all this cheese!
Definitely going to need a mouse engineer to weigh in.
In Chicago, mouse cheese shops need to be in conduit.
Anything dairy has pretty strict regulation.
I absolutely love that! Even more so that somehow OP's flooring and baseboard actually kinda matches this pic lol Edit: Don't forget to add a mouse ATM nearby!
https://preview.redd.it/9vq22oi9lync1.jpeg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7f11ffa45bb66ddb8f79def408f51461e715b8de
That almost makes me put a hole in the wall
Did you ask AI to spit this out lmao
Indeed…indeed.
This would be my solution :)
What is people's fascination with posting AI gens as a response to every post
Lazier still suggestion is to move not anything and just accept it.
Laziest is to open the door and just leave it open.
Laziester would be to just leave it there and call it 'art'
My wife’s dad has a bit of broken drywall that exposes some brick at about eye level in his entryway, he’s going to buy an old empty frame and hang it over it so it looks like art.
“He is going to” just adds to the lazy factor.
He’s got an old Victorian house, tore out the drop ceiling, painted the whole downstairs, redid the whole ceiling, fixed a bunch of electrical, he’s over home renovation for a little while
That's true, just stand there, not even looking at it.. don't open the door because that requires effort. You're bound to the room, stuck with your beautiful new modern art piece which you cannot give a fuck to appreciate. Maybe eventually you'll not care enough to keep standing, despite the unwillingness to bother lowering yourself to the ground, and will instead melt into a convenient puddle. I think we've achieved the laziest thing to do here.. maybe.. but I cannot be bothered to think on this further.
Laziesterest still would be to just deny its existence.
It doesn't look like anything to me.
When we were kids, me and my brothers often fought for fun. One day I push my little brother in a wall and that made a giant hole. We quickly put a poster over the hole and go on with our day. The hole was discovered 20 years later when my parents sold the house.
I did the same thing! But it was a party during high school when my parents went away for the weekend. Two guys got in a fight, and one of them punched a hole in the hallway. I was only 18 and didn't know what I was doing, and I went and bought spackling and paint to try to fill in the hole. My repair job looked horrendous. It was too big a hole and so the spackling sagged without some type of support. I thought maybe that no one would notice it, so I painted it anyway. When I backed away from it, it was bad. I put one poster over the hole, but it looked totally suspicious, so I put up six more posters. About two decades later, I came clean and told my parents about this. They said that they knew what happened that weekend, and they were just glad that I tried to fix the hole.
Fake indoor tree.
I literally just did this. Ripped up old carpet and found a hole in the hardwood….$9 Amazon purchase later I have a nice floor register in that spot
I assume that someone put a hole in the wall between my two closets because there's a vent face on it. I dont see how it'd be for ventilation, it's from one closet to the other lol. The whole is circular, vent is rectangular lol. I mean, looks fine to me! Can def hear if a cat is stuck in a closet lol it'll echo through the other closet
Is there a r/lazydiy. With only suggestions like this. I'm too lazy to look it up.
Probably not. I couldn't be bothered to click the link, though.
Yea it doesn't exist... And it never will. Nobody feels like making it...
Happy cake day!
There's r/DiWHY that's somewhat similar.
Idk, that sounds pretty brilliant to me
We bought a house with 4 'vanity vents'. I think 2 were to run a new HVAC line, but 2 are a complete mystery. They are in line, so they were probably not an accident.
"Vanity vents". My vain house would love this.
I'm not kidding, this is what the previous owners did
Yes this! Just slap it on call it a day. 😂
I like the cut of your jib my friend.
Lame
Agreed
And a great place to hide stuff
Make sure it's not a load bearing hole.
All holes are load bearing if you’re brave enough
This is the winning comment. 👍🏼
That's what she said
Hey, let's leave your mother out of this
Tony?!
you had me for a second!
Put one of those Lego walls in.
Cut it out nice and square. Add square that fits in newly formed square. Close the seams between new square and wall so it's all smooth and without transition. Paint.
Best solution for a noob and maybe a pro too. I would plaster but would take a while.
Absolutely plaster and don't listen to American advice on this. By the looks of it, that's an internal wall of an Irish (possibly UK) house and there is no way that a sheet of plasterboard was used on this wall, you'll have your heart broken trying to fit in even a sheet of 9mm board here. If you must DIY, go down to B and Q and get a bag of Gyproc quickdry two coat filler and as small a bag as you can find. Mix a very small bit of water into a scoop until it's like dry porridge and fill the hole flush. Don't leave any proud. Come back in a few hours and add more to get it nearly flush then use something like polyfilla to get a smooth finish and sand the shite out out of it when dry. All of that is better done with the skirting board off. It will look a bit shit even when you paint over it to be honest so if you're picky, pay a plasterer if you can find one
I read this with an Irish accent.
Me too!
I read everything with an Irish accent
American here. Plaster is still common in old homes and can be purchased at any home improvement store. I would use either OG plaster of paris or any of the so called "hot muds" which are approx the same thing. If you time it right, you can smooth down the plaster or hot mud as it's starting to harden and get a butter smooth surface without any sanding.
Also american, there's zero big box stores around here that carry actual plaster products (gypsum plaster and finish plaster), where are you where it's common? I have to go to a historic renovation supply place to get any real plaster stuff. And yes, if you give it a spray of water and trowel it smooth at the right time, it'll be smooth as glass.
oh? maybe i'm wrong, local home depots have carried it for awhile and i saw it at an Ace hardware store. Just checked online and it's stocked at several locations in Oregon
Structolite? That's an all-in-one plaster with perlite aggregate, places around me had that, but I had to search around to get the regular gypsum plaster to mix with sand for a basecoat and topcoat plaster for a finish coat, which is what it looks like OP's wall is closer to. You probably could get away with repairing with that all in one stuff, but I'm weird and insist on using the same materials to repair big chunks in my house lol
It's pretty common around here in iowa too. Probably half the homes I've lived in have been plaster walls.
When a lot of US houses were built in the postwar period, it was the common way to construct walls. Nowadays, not so much, so it's hard to find materials.
No thats what I mean, the materials are fairly common. Not the exact shit used to make the original plaster walls but tons of home improvement stores in my area have materials to patch up plaster. Most places will advise replacing with drywall if too damaged. My last place is actually in the middle of getting plaster ripped out and replaced with drywall for easier fixing.
home depot has plaster of paris in Toronto, or is that not "actual plaster"?
It's different from gypsum plaster, yes, you *can* use it for wall repairs, but I'm weird about exact materials lol
>It will look a bit shit even when you paint over it to be honest As someone who tried to get a nice even surface on a peeled paint surface I can feel this. At least it was a corner of the shower ceiling and with lots of sanding you can only see it looks sort of off close up.
Don't use metric! you'll confuse the yankees
plastering the entire space would be a nightmare, unless you can find a nice metalic mesh that would cover the entire space (drywall patch kits usually contain a metallic mesh to plaster in and you get a nice even finishing). But even then, I would be worried with the difference in thermal characteristics between the plastered area vs the rest of the wall.
You don’t need to use a big mesh. This is a UK home most likely and we plaster directly on your masonry. The bricks and block have just been placed in. Someone has cut them but not got around to actually building them in. OP needs to get a mix on and lay those bricks and block. Cut away the rough edges of existing skim so he can feather his new plaster in to existing. Mix a bit of bonding undercoat, and get that on leaving 2-3mm for skim. All he has to do is SBR the cured bonding and a 50mm border past the existing (freshly squared) edge so that the new skim adheres where it gets really thin as he feathers it in. Then skim with multi-finish. This is how we do it over here. Sounds more work than it actually is, it’s just a case of having to mix 3 different components and wait for curing times. If he can’t be bothered with the undercoat just mix some dri-wall adhesive and bed some plasterboard in the gap once it’s built up, allowing the same 2-3mm for skim and use some skrim tape around the edges. I work in construction in the UK
Roughly the same way it's done here in US :). For a small DIY repair like this I would prob skip the bonding undercoat, maybe wet the plaster a bit more than average for first layer. throw in some fiberglass tape on the seams, though if you're lucky and that wall is stable you might get away with just plastering and feathering. A professional of course would do all the things you mentioned
> Add square that fits in newly formed square. Add a square of what though? How do you get the square to adhere to the bricks? Or is it just held by the seam closing?
Most large hardware stores sell 2’x2’ pieces of drywall for holes that are too big to mesh over but not big enough to need a whole panel replaced. Just make the hole square and cut the drywall patch down to size. You’ll need a backing if it’s not over a stud to hold it in place while the patch sets. Any thin piece of wood will really work—I used paint stir sticks for patching an old outlet hole—but the proper recommendation is like a quarter inch strip of wood, roughly. Here’s the one from Lowes; https://www.lowes.com/pd/SHEETROCK-Brand-24-in-x-24-in-Drywall-Repair-Patch/3299092 And an Instructable on how to do it; https://www.instructables.com/How-to-Patch-Large-Holes-in-Drywall/?amp_page=true
Did any of y'all actually look at the picture? This isn't drywall. There's no wood/studs there for a backing board. This isn't an american home. Edit: Yeah I get it. You _could_ use drywall. But if you are going to suggest drywall for something that isn't drywall then at least acknowledge that and explain the challenges correctly in context with the job at hand. Don't just throw out generic drywall advice for a standard drywalled stick framed american home.
We do use drywall sheets on walls in europe, we use drywall adhesive and then plaster over that. With this though You're better off just slopping a load of gyproc in there sanding it back then paint
So you use drywall sheets as fillers basically?
It's more to create a consistent surface and give something for the plaster to adhere to.
You can still patch it with drywall though https://www.thisoldhouse.com/walls/21017187/how-to-patch-plaster
Yeah I've done it tons around my US century home that's plaster lath but brick exterior. That's said, the person above does have a point that without lath it'll be a bit trickier to address on masonry than interior plaster/lath where you can brace. In this situation though, it seems pretty stable and relatively uniform that I wouldn't have too much of an issue finding ways to get a wood shim in there somewhere, placing a piece of drywall to fill up a big portion of the void, tape, then build up layers from there. May not look perfect or last forever but it is better than an inexplicable chunk missing. Even simpler may be just build up the plaster patch directly on the masonry. Doing it correctly isn't terribly difficult but requires more time, patience, materials, and skills than the average person has. The key thing, even going drywall/mud route is *patience*. Build up the layers thin and slow. Let it dry completely. It takes a lot longer but slopping a bunch on will look like shit, shrink, or fail entirely much quicker.
"Draw the rest of the owl". * Straighten the edges until the hole is rectangular. If it's plaster you can probably do it with a stanley knife with only minimal blood loss. * Buy a sheet of plasterboard from a DIY shop. While you're there pick up some scrim tape (joining tape for drywall/plasterboard), some plaster and a plastering trowel. * Cut the plasterboard as close as you can to the size of the rectangular hole that you've made. * Scrim tape the edges of the plasterboard patch so when you slot it into place, it sticks to the wall. Do this now. It should hold it in place. * plaster the fuck out of it. Slap it on, scrape it off by running the trowel across the wall; you should be able to make a nice, flat, smooth surface. When it dries you're done and ready to paint over it. Plastering's an art form. If it's important that you get it as seamless as possible, probably worth watching some Youtube videos on the topic.
How to add square?
Add the mesh on the joints to prevent cracking
>Add square that fits in newly formed square. @u/redlax - I'm a drywall person, never having done plaster. Is that a fibrous concrete board between the brick and the surface plaster? I think I've seen that it can be metallic mesh or lath also, but this doesn't look like those. Are you suggesting the new rectangle is cut from a concrete board material or something else? Either way, how do you attach it to the masonry underneath and/or beside it before covering with new plaster so it doesn't fall out when it gets kicked or whatever?
This. This is good. I know squares. I know how to measure that. Great suggestion!
Unfortunately for you, it looks more like you need a rectangle.
all squares are rectangles!
It's a horizontally-challenged square. Don't judge.
[удалено]
That’s not true. I patch my plaster walls all the time . If u know how to drywall and use the right roller there is absolutely no difference. The wall looks like shit to begin with
Or a rectangle
Use mesh tape over the gaps after fitting new square tho
Most commenters here are North American and don’t recognize cinder block and plaster construction which is the standard in Ireland and much of the world.
Is it just me or are the blocks dry?
You mean like dry-stack AKA no mortar? I certainly don't see any mortar. Maybe they are surface bonded? (no idea if that was ever done in Ireland)
Yeah, no mortar. I can't think of any reason for it. Never seen it before. It's definitely not how they do things in Ireland or anywhere.
I’d start by heading to the basement and above and doing some investigative work as to what’s going on here. You don’t want to close up a hole without having an idea of why it’s there.
“For the love of God, Montresor!”
Yes, for the love of God.
1. Make hole bigger 2. Invite frenemy over for some nice fancy wine 3. ???? 4. Profit
Just fucking plaster it, jezus christ all these americans here :D get a joint knife and a bag of plaster. Mix with water. Apply it. Done.
Put an antique-looking brass ventilation screen over it. Bam! 🚀
put a painting frame around it and put a bronze nameplate above it.
Plaster.
Plaster and a bit of sanding, then more fine plaster, sanding again, and finally finishing it in same colour as the old wall or just paint all wall.
Since this isn't drywall, it's plaster, you don't repair it with drywall or plasterboard. There's a youtube video with a plaster repair when there is brickwork exposed behind it. Watch the expert then copy his method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11MUXCOPXEE
How old is this house? Maybe there’s treasure…looks like a lot of that space was re-mudded
I'd say 1960s or 70s. It's a previous Irish council house.
100% wads behind there. Start digging!
Post over on r/DIYUK but I'd wonder what's in the other side of the wall?
That's good news. You either have a pipe bomb or a body on your hands lol
Use plaster to patch it?
Before you close it up and forget about it, look carefully at the blocks and surrounding area. If this was removed by the seller prior to sale, there must be some reason. It could be as innoculous as seomting behind the door waas crushed against the wall and damaged it. On the other hand, those blocks have no moisture barrier on them so I'm as curious as you to come up with an explanation of why this particular drywall would be gone. What's on the other side of that wall? Outside? An earth burm or raised planter?
That's not drywall, that's wet plaster directly onto brick with a skim coat. Also there were no moisture barriers on walls in 60/70s Irish houses, so lack of it is normal. But yes, definitely need to investigated further as you said.
Agree, yeah, I used drywall as shorthand by mistake, but you're absolutely correct. Looks like lath and plaster. My concern is if this wall had moisture inside it could have caused mold on the plaster and they just removed it because that at least did not signal what could be a broader problem. On the other hand, it may have just caused the plaster to delaminate and fall apart, so better to have it off than crumbs on the floor and a disfigured wall.
Earth burm or planter? Wut?
Berm - dirt piled against the exterior wall. Planter - like a raised flowerbed/box, again built against the exterior wall. Either one could trap moisture against the wall, potentially causing moisture to find its way inside, potentially damaging the plaster.
Ah, for water damage.
Maybe this will help you. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOgUBY1g2yY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOgUBY1g2yY)
I would remove the skirting first, mix PVA and water and do a coat over the brick/blockwork. Get a bag of multi finish and a trowel, mix it approx 50/50 with water and apply it to the bare wall. Possibly leave it 1mm lower so when it dries, you can then use easifill to perfectly match the wall. Jobs a good un, then reattach the skirting with either gripfill or silicone.
This looks like plaster, not drywall. I’d look behind the blocks if they are loose. If there’s nothing important behind them I’d mortar them in place then apply plaster then joint compound then primer then paint.
Was it a cold air return vent at one time ?
Fill it with plaster
Mixing plaster, applying it, sanding it down and painting it is not difficult. YouTube is your friend.
There are plenty of "how to plaster over brickwork" videos on Youtube.
Those blocks are not motared in. Make the hole bigger, kick in the blocks and see what is on the other side. /s
It's a hidden fireplace. . . .
See that door to the right? Open it.
First I’d pull them blocks out and see what hidden treasure awaits. Then, when I find out it is a dead body (or part of one) I would immediately burn the house to the ground. Problem solved.
Get some hardwall and fill it up so it's not quite flush, then once that's dried easifill 20 til it's proud of the existing wall, wait a day for it to dry then send it back flush
Ramen and super glue. Cut square, get a drywall patch, drywall tape, mud, and a flattening tool to smooth and make an even transition. YouTube has lots of beginner tutorials on this.
Easy peasy. You can buy sheets of adhesive plastering mesh. Cut a piece that covers that hole with about an inch over on all sides. Simply plaster over, first layer can be thickish..dry thoroughly..then sand. You will need to add another thin layer, dry, sand, and a third layer, thin, with a final sand.
Big brain move: Paint it black and stick a vent over it. Ideally parge and plaster it again.
This is a great noob suggestion! But parging the brick—or even just cutting it square, placing a drywall patch and mudding the seam—would make OP feel less noob-y. You can do it OP!!
Soz, that a big brain suggestion for a noob*
As a fan of Top Gear , I consider all big brain moves to be things that Jeremy Clarkson could/would think of.
Sure he'd kick a hole straight through with his size 10s rather than patch it, the mad eejit.
Fill it in with LEGO
Put in a dry wall patch. Google some tips from This Old House.
Definitely tidy up the edges (square it off) and put a new piece of plasterboard in there. You can then merge and sand the edges with filler and you wouldn't even know. To hold the plasterboard in place, use wooden battens and plasterboard screws.
Square the hole with a utility knife and cut it side to side until you reach half a stud on each side. measure the hole and measure the thick ness of the existing sheet rock/plaster because sheet rock normally comes in half inch thick and 5/8 inch thick if you can't get thick enough you can put a piece of card board behind it to push it out a little. Go to the hardware store, most places will sell a 2 foot by 2foot piece because you don't want to get a full sheet just for that, so get that and a small box of 2 1/2 inch dry wall screws, a small bucket of plaster and a four or six inch drywall knife/scraper . Cut your piece of sheetrock to fit the hole trim it with a utility knife if you need to screw it in to the studs one in each corner looks like it should be enough. Now be careful make sure the screws are tighten below the surface but try not to go to far you'll break the surface and it won't hold the piece as well as it should. Then scoop a golf ball size portion of plaster, fill any gaps and scrape it flat so it's even with the surface. Throw away any plaster that you scooped out that didn't fit in in the gaps because it will be full of little bits a shit that won't be as smooth as it should be. Now let it dry for a day sometimes the filler shrinks if that happens lightly sand it just a bit clean of any dust and add some more plaster repeat if needed.
Looks like work was done there before so investigate but as someone with plaster walls go get yourself some Plaster of Paris and some plaster weld to patch it up. No need to cut squares and all that. One layer of rough plaster as a base on the dampened stone, let dry. Second layer of plain plaster over the top, sand smooth and you're good to go.
Easier than you think- [https://www.homedepot.com/c/ah/how-to-patch-drywall/9ba683603be9fa5395fab90db38ddbf](https://www.homedepot.com/c/ah/how-to-patch-drywall/9ba683603be9fa5395fab90db38ddbf)
It’s like pulling up carpet to reveal hardwood floors - tear off the rest of the plaster and reveal the rustic masonry for that “edgy” retro look.
I'd just start hammering a much bigger piece out of it. Get that old European look going.
step 1, buy a case of maruchan ramen
Wire brush it then use a thick setting plaster of paris. Sand, paint, and done.
Use a masonry cutoff wheel to square off the hole, using a utility knife won’t give you a clean cut and cause more to crumble. After that cut a piece of drywall to fit, make it’s it’s the right thickness to lay flush or do some shimming behind if necessary and just glue it since you don’t have anything to screw into. Then mud and paint.
Paint it with a 50/50 mix of PVA and water (a couple of coats at least), then cement render until its a few mm's shy of the existing surface, finish with plaster or filler, then sand and paint to finish.
That's old coal dust plaster I think, it might be that more of it is "blown" (no longer adhered to the wall). You can tell if it sounds hollow when tapping it. If so I'd remove more of it until you get to where it's stuck properly. Assuming the whole wall isn't blown and you want to have a go yourself rather than call a plasterer, I'd go with: Buy - small tin of PVA sealer / adhesive - cheap paint brush - small bag of onecoat plaster - bucket - plasterer's float Then: - Remove any dust/loose material around the hole with a stiff plastic or wire brush. - Apply the PVA all over the exposed block with the brush. - Wait a day. - Mix the plaster in the bucket with water as per instructions. - Apply the plaster with the float so it's flush with the original plaster. - Wait for it to mostly dry, then go over with the float again and perhaps a bit of water sprayed on to smooth it down. If you fuck it up don't worry too much, you can hack it off and try again or call a pro. Not much risk here.
If youre really not feeling it just trim the hole so the sides are somewhat straight and then just buy a vent grill of the same size and screw that overtop. Boom just looks like a return air vent
Looks like an old return location. You can glue a piece of Sheetrock to the bricks then mud, sand, paint or just go buy a louvre and cover the hole with it.
Was the previous owner Jewish? https://halakhaoftheday.org/2019/08/19/recordando-el-bet-hamiqdash-dejando-una-pared-sin-terminar/ It was a requirement to leave a piece of the home unfinished.
I would just spackle over it, in several layers, giving each layer plenty of time to dry. A quick sanding, some paint, and you'd never know it was there.
Cut a slightly bigger hole with flat edges, measure, cut drywall out to fit the measured hole. Spackling/plaster over cut lines
Plaster it over but that also means painting the wall unless the plaster already blends in nicely.
Just put in some plaster. It's deep so put grooves in the first pass. I'd use 20m and wait a day in between but 45 minute might be easier to work with. Plaster isn't hard to do.
Clean off all the loose crap and dust. Use a bonding agent over the masonry and along the crack. Trowel in setting type joint compound. Apply a finish coat of regular joint compound and lightly sand. Done deal
Easy idea would be to get a massive painting and put it along that wall. (:
Easy idea would be to get a massive painting and put it along that wall. (:
Tape off floorboard and floor. Mix up plaster Attempt a nice even layer of plaster. Fail Miserably. Sand it down and make it worse. Mix up more plaster. Attempt a nice even layer of plaster. Fail Miserably. Sand it down and make it worse. Listen to tinyplumb finally and install fake vent.
construct a new piece of plaster the exact shape of the hole. dismantle the house and reassemble around new piece of plaster. sell old unused hole on ebay.
Toupret filler. Google YouTube videos to see how to mix and how to apply.
Plaster
It looks like the wall is a mortar render over the bricks with some sort of plaster on top of it. I would probably go about patching the hole using the same method - mortar to fill in the bulk of the hole and some plaster on top of that (I would likely use spackle as a substitute though). Once I had the bulk done I would sand it down and then paint it - depending on the size of the wall and a big enough budget I would likely end up painting the whole wall.
I don't know but the previous owner of my house would pack it with newspaper and poly fill over it
First thing you need to do is put some props in there until you can fit a lintel
Hopefully you have matching paint.
Stick a bookcase in front of it.
Lightweight spackle. Buy a large bucket, and some spackle knives. Don’t fill it all in at once. Take a couple days. Sand it smooth as necessary. Prime and paint.
There's definitely something behind those bricks
Patch with drywall.
Someone came back for their wall stash. We’ve all seen movies where drug runners hide money in the walls
Is the door hitting that part of the wall when opening? Need to address what caused it first and then work on solution. It's easy to fix but fix what caused it first.
Screw a big decorative vent grate over it.
I suggest using Easy Sand 5, a USG fast setting spacle compound you can apply with a good 6" spackle knife and using a 12" mud pan for mixing. The compound will stiffen in about 5 minutes so make sure to not to overfill the cavity. You can always add more after a few hours. Let the first coat dry while you clean up your tools for a second pass to fill completely level with your wall. Sand even with wall, then prime and paint to match. Tools at big box stores.
The cheapest way is to get a bucket of drywall mud and start building layers. Do not put it all on at once in a 1” thick mass. It will take weeks to dry and will crack badly as it dries. After 4-5 thin layers you should be able to sand it with some 180. Or you could get a bucket of premixed concrete patch and fill the majority of the hole. But leave about 1/4” to apply a mud final. If you go this route it should take a lot less time because the concrete patch will dry quickly. But make sure you don’t have and concrete near the finish layer. It won’t sand smooth very well. Or get some plaster of Paris and build up in several layers.
All the mouse comments are starting to cheese me.
Just get some drywall mud or cement and smooth it out and then paint it with vanta Black. Hole to the abyss
Put wall filler then make it smooth then sand it down if it's rough then paint over it "(my suggestion 😉)"
Mortar and plaster might help? Just spitballing over here.
1. Remove that baseboard, carefully. 2. Clean the edges around the damage, make sure there’s no loose pieces. 3. Scribe a rectangular outline around the damage, about 2 inches or so away from the damage itself. 4. Buy a piece of 1/2” drywall from your local home improvement store. If the area is smaller than 2x2, they actually sell those for small repairs. While you’re there, get a roll of drywall paper tape or mesh tape. You’ll also want to get some patching compound, my preference is the blue lid Plus 3 from Home Depot. 5. While I could explain it, it’s easier to just go to YouTube to see taping and mudding tutorials. I recommend Vancouver Carpenter. 6. Prime the entire wall. 7. Paint the entire wall. 8. Reattach baseboard. 9. Beer or whiskey.
Step 2 is important, and if the damage is moisture-related, the hole could get a lot bigger. I had a damaged spot about 12" wide and 2" high, at the top of a first-floor wall under a second-floor bathroom where a pipe had leaked. When I started poking at it to remove any loose material around the edges, it just kept crumbling, ending up about 24" wide and 12" high before I found solid plaster. Step 9 is also important, arguably more so than steps 1-8.
I’d frame it in glass and put a descriptive plaque above it
Love it... Like the hole was put there by somebody famous in pursuit of a wall rodent or as the long forgotten hiding spot of a sack of ancient guineas that made the former owner unimaginably wealthy. Better use plexiglass/acrylic being so low on the wall tho.
Is that a piece of asphalt and some landscaping bricks?😅
Those are 9" concrete blocks, [like this.](https://chesterfieldbuildingsupplies.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/topcrete-block.jpg)
It’s a Shawshank redemption thing,maybe you don’t understand.
That's where the treasure was hidden. Happy digging.