DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

We have removed skirting boards following installation of underfloor heating on the ground floor of our house. Unfortunately, using the wrong tool and a bit too much enthusiasm has resulted in more damage to the walls than anticipated, as you can see from the photos.

Can anyone please advise me the best way to go about filling the holes, and patching and repairing the rest of the surfaces in readiness for putting the skirting boards back on. I'm guessing that a few different materials and tools will be needed for the job due to the depth of some of the damage. FIY, the photos are showing the worst damage; most of the repair work will entail skimming and painting however we want to achieve a good finish that won't be noticeable (before the boards are reattached).

The house is a 1950's semi-detached; cavity masonry construction with a suspended timber floor. I hope this helps in identifying the different exposed surfaces.

If you need any more information, please ask. Equally, if you think this is a job for a professional instead of a DIYer, I won't be insulted if you suggest that - although it wasn't me that took the skirting boards off!

Thank in advance!

Miss Lew

Hi fox gemini,
You probably had skirting boards nailed into the breeze block wall using square cut nails. These nails are difficult to pull out without damaging the plaster, I doubt different tools would have led to any less damage.
Dampen the holes, fill the deeper ones with hard wall or bonding plaster leaving a couple of mm for finish plaster. Skim over shallower hollows with finish plaster but practise on one or two so you get the feel for how much to damp down the surface.
Regards S

Hi Stoneyboy, thanks for that. I'm going to get some Gyproc Thistle Bonding 60 for the filling. It's a shame I can only get a 25kg bag as that's serious overkill for the amount of patching that needs doing.

I plan on practicing the mixing to ensure I get the correct consistency before doing any filling and then I'll tackle a small patch to see how I get on.

A video I watched advised using PVA mixed with water and painting it on/in the holes before filling; would you agree that I ought to do this?

Cheers

Hi fox gemini,
If you put the plaster in a sound heavy duty plastic bag and keep it in the dry is will remain useable for a year or more.
You could use PVA but you would need a continuous film which if you are working on a broken breeze block face would mean spraying a dilute PVA solution on it. The idea is to get the background so that it does not suck the water out of the plaster you are trying to apply which will lead to cracking. Try using water in a sprayer and see how you get on.
Regards S

Ok, that’s great!

Thanks for all the advice. I’m feeling relatively confident that I should be able to manage the job and get a decent finish!

Hi fox gemini,
Fill the deeper areas with the browning (buy from one of the sheds where it’s stored in a heated building), the areas which will be behind the new skirting you can fill flush, above this use one of the powdered fillers (poly fills, tetrion etc) these can be easily sanded. Use a small plastering float to apply the filler, don’t use a dry lining float.
Good luck.
Regards S