Filling a hole in the ceiling.

We’ve had the electrician out to an issue with our downlighter. They are sorted, but have left us with this! He said he could sort it, but it would be the best part of £150. So how hard can it be?¿?

1 Attachment

Look up California Patch

Also why did they make a hole in the ceiling?

At some point the loft was converted into a bedroom, en-suite and dressing room. Then they put a wetroom style floor in over the junction? splitter? box. So that’s been moved to under an accessible part of the landing, but he couldn’t feed the last cable through to it as there are no channels or holes in one of the joists. So this was the easiest/ quickest/ cheapest option.
Californian patch? Now you tell me ;)

Part II
I got a bunch of stuff together and then sanded and PVA washed the area.

2 Attachments

Part III
I put a plug in the central hole in the bit he cut out with a valve ring between it and a bit of wood and then screwed the whole shabang to the ceiling so that the bit of filler piece was about 3mm low and then filled the gaps with expanding foam.

3 Attachments

Californian patch? Now you tell me ;)

It’s just a quick and easy fitting free way to fill a hole like that. You cut the hole to square then cut a plug from a larger piece of board - but with the backing paper larger than the plug. You then bond it in with filler or whatever. It’s nice because You can get a really flat finish without needing to be very accurate or dick around with filler and you aren’t messing about around with wood and screws.

Part IV
I’ve removed the bit of wood cleaned the excess foam away and am now waiting for it all the harden before I start filling.

1 Attachment

Looks like that would have been less faffy TBH . But here we are :D

Yeah it’s a good technique to have in your back pocket.

You can always go back and try it if you can’t get a good finish with the route you’ve gone down.

Another way to do it would have been to have put the wood in the ceiling and screwed the patch in to that then fillered around the edges.

He asked me not to put the batten above the ceiling as he can now get a rod through the hole he’s made in the joist, if we need a cable running there in the future.

Part V
Are you keeping up?
I’ve put some plop in the void and now we wait again…

1 Attachment

That might take a while to dry

It’s not as thick as it looks, but it’s got until lunchtime tomorrow before I get a chance to touch it again anyway. “Fingers crossed”

This is a compelling thread :)

Why thank you, it’s going to be a 8 part special on BBC4 in the spring.

I got up early to go out for a ride, but first I checked the status of the hole. Well the filler is still there and it was dry.
So a quick sand and another skim of filler and I’m off out.
Stay tuned for more news as it happens.

1 Attachment

My ceiling needs a hole, would it be ok to read the thread in reverse?

If I’d know I could have posted you mine, it could have saved us both a bit of work.

The main problem with a California patch is that the paper around the hole creates an area proud of the rest of the surface. Trickier to fill and sand smooth than all the YouTube tutorials make out as you’ll have to feather it well for it to not stand out. In this instance, and in most tbh, I’d always cut a piece to fill the hole and attach it with a batten spanning the gap (like in this thread but with the batten inside rather than out), chamfer the edges on both the filling piece and existing hole and then fill over the top. If the gap filling piece is also slightly lower so that a thin layer of filler covers the entire hole area it makes life a lot easier when you sand and paint.

As for why sparkies need to drill into ceilings, it’s often a case of either pulling up a floor or putting a hole in a ceiling, and it’s hopefully a case of picking the least destructive and disruptive.

This isn’t the LFGSS way. Surely the ceiling should have been ripped down completely, the beams rebuilt (from a niche source), the ceiling redone, painted, then the house sold for less than you paid “in the spirit of the forum”.

In the true spirit of my projects, this is the point I give up and buy another house.

My DIY skills are nil, I would have camouflaged hole with ceiling rose, fake light fitting or put a false leg poking through as a joke :)

Can’t wait for this to get the paint drying stage

I'd have left it with the broken stick across it, job's a good'n.

#prolevel