Using tin snips, cut a piece of wire mesh that’s large enough to bunch-up and fill the opening when you push it into the hole. Begin by enlarging the hole just enough to expose firm lath around the perimeter. If there isn’t proper backing behind the hole, install backing first. Working from the edges inward, push the plaster mixture into and through the lath for a good bond. Or, you can use a screwdriver or a utility knife.įirst brush away loose plaster and dust. ![]() Wearing safety glasses, take a lever-type can opener and use the point to widen the crack to about 1/8 inch, as shown at right. It just takes a little spackling compound to repair fine cracks, nail holes, and gouges in a firmly anchored plaster wall. If, when you push on the wall, it flexes as though it has broken away from its support base, call a plaster specialist-the repair will involve removing the loose plaster and replacing it. Small cracks in plaster are relatively easy to repair, with one condition: The plaster must be firmly anchored to the lath behind it. If it's lathe, then ditto, but you'll need to tap the plug in much further.Cracks leading from windows and doors or along seams in the ceiling can signal more significant damage, so you may want to call in a contractor to take a look at your home’s structural integrity. Then fit the plug - if it's a solid wall, tap it in until it is flush with the wall surface, and then place the screw in it and use that to tap is nicely below surface level - don't forget it's the brick wot's going to hold the screw, not the plaster layer. Another way is to get a long wood screw and 'screw' it in - the dust will get trapped in the thread. If it's a solid wall with plaster, then placing a vacuum nozzle overlapping half the hole can do this well - keep slowly sweeping the nozzle flat across the hole. ![]() Try and remove all the duct from the hole before tapping in the plug. The hole should be at least a quarter-inch deeper than the whole screw will go, to prevent it bottoming out. (If you happened to hit a horizontal line.) This can be a problem if the mortar is soft - the drill goes through with barely no resistance, and the plug will have a less than brilliant grip in there.īest course of action if this happens tbh is to drill afresh a half-inch either side, up or down. If you are unlucky, the drill will hit the mortar line between the bricks. You want the screw to be getting in to the actual bricks by around an inch and a half, so that should determine how deep you ultimately need to go and what size screws to use - plater and lathe can add another inch to that easily. It'll hopefully be softish plaster for a half-inchish followed by harder brick dust, or it could be softish plaster, a small gap, and then the brick (if there's lathe). Once you start to drill, you'll know what the wall is made of. Our hosts, for example, do very effective ones for not a lot of money. ![]() (Hammer drills tend to struggle, and can wander before drilling.) If you don't have access to an SDS drill and you plan to do occasional DIY work like this, then I'd strongly recommend you get one. Get your curtain rail, mark where the fixings have to go, and take it from there.Ī conventional 'hammer' drill will probably do the job, but an SDS drill is FAAAR superior, and will guarantee a good clean straight hole. It could be lathe and plaster as mentioned above, or just plaster straight on to the brick. ![]() The length of screw will depend on what that wall has covering it.
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