Making good

I have made good and painted where I removed a panel heater, I even sweep up sometimes

The correct answer to give has more to do with conserving domestic harmony than the real world.

Of course plaster and paint are not strictly electrical work, but they are a necessary adjunct to it. Do we get someone else in to drill holes for the rawl plugs ? No, not normally, and this is an extension of the theme, but somewhere, and quite where varies per person, you have to admit that it is the limit of what you are any good at and or are happy to do.


Now not all electricians are good at plastering (quite a small fraction I suspect) so  for some it may be best to say so " Dear Customer - I can back fill after my work, but it would be far neater and quicker to be done professionally if you already have builders on site for other works, or you may prefer to save a few bob and organise it yourselves."


In a related  way a quotation might include an extra price for half a day of moving furniture and lifting carpets, or labour brought in for digging a trench to the garage or whatever other bits of the job you'd be happy to sub out.

Or you may be a master of all skills, and short of work (unlikely) and take it all on yourself, including making good  the gold leaf on the church ceiling, as well as advertising home made cakes and bicycle repairs (nod to Jennings).

The secret is not to make the chases too wide. Remove any dust with a brush before filling with white filler or finishing plaster. Gently spray the chase to be filled with a little water, either moderately splashed from a paint brush or sprayed from a water sprayer bottle. Use a filler that does not shrink or crack. One is available from S-Fix. it is a white powder and needs water added to make a gloopy consistency. I have been known to strip cable ends in readiness for connecting to a new socket before  plastering a chase next to the metal box. The cable is also held very securely by cable clips to stop movement after plastering and disturbing the new plaster.  This is a good system if you are in a hurry and need to install a new socket and liven it up in one visit.


Z.

"A man's gotta know his limitations"!

I won't touch making good in any form - been there, done that and I know I'm hopeless at it.

Generally, I recommend that a plasterer be sought in order to obtain a finish fit for painting.

Don't misunderstand me, I really am useless at it - I have tried a couple of times, only to be called back.

After that, I made it plain that I would not be up to any remedial work to cosmetic finishes.

That said, if a significant number of backbox holes and chases will be appearing on one wall - such as in a kitchen, then it is always better to get the whole wall skimmed and finished by a professional rather then a filler king like myself.

Some do and some don't is the experience I've had. 


It's always worth asking if a quote includes 'making good' because again, some do and some don't. Sometimes an electrician will include costs for making good but get someone else (plasterer/ decorator ) to do the final touches if they're not comfortable in doing it themselves.


A friend of mine sourced three quotes to install a new front door and being the cheapskate he is just went for the cheapest... Unfortunately he missed the fact that it didn't include making good so they came and installed a new frame and fitted the new door and that was it... He then had to find someone else to tidy up the external brickwork, patch plaster, internal skirting board repair, repaint etc etc. If he had gone with the most expensive quote (which did include making good) it would have been cheaper than it ultimately cost him.  


I'd like to think that he's learnt his lesson but I doubt it... ?

Personally, for drill holes and short chases that will be on show, I have found the Ronseal really fine filler  here  to be really forgiving, and fast so gaps can be filled and if need be sanded to shape with a flat block, or a bit more dobbed in during one session, as if you do things in the right order, by the time the tools are packed up it is already going hard.  It is also almost un-naturally light, and  does not do that 'dripping porridge' sagging thing like the water based stuff. It is also fine enough to work into cracked plasterboard joints and so on, or to fill bubble holes in previous filling that is a bit rough. I tend to use sand and cement and or  backing plaster for large damage though, but of course that needs overnight to go off.

It does go off in the tub though quite quickly once started, so seal when not in use and certainly not worth getting too much at once. The price I think reflects the convenience of use.

I agree with the above though, nothing will stick to a flaky surface, so prep and clean up before trying to fill is key, and not being afraid to build up in layers if need be, remembering to scratch the layer below to give good keying in.

I once had a call from a kitchen company to go back to a job twenty miles from home to rub a bit of plaster patching about the size of a hand with a bit a bit of sand paper as they said they should not have to do it themselves before they painted the wall.


All things considered it was probably one of the most unreasonable requests I have ever had, but some people are just bolshie.


Andy B.

Some interesting tips - thank you.


Gyproc Easifil was recommended on my course, but I don't like it much. It needs to be made up more sloppy than you might think and then it thickens up. It sands easily but must be left at least overnight. It can shrink.


Now we come to the old downlighters, which have left unsightly holes in the ceiling. I have donated some spare laths from my own ceiling which I pulled down earlier this year - Artexed, so I am going to die a horrible death. Whilst I am prepared, at a push, to rip out the damaged laths back to the joists, I am not inclined to apply lime plaster over them. A spreader can do that.


That said, forget horse hair, I have patched plaster in the past using beard hair. Seriously! ?

Q: Would an electrician be prepared to peel back wallpaper, chase the wall, insert the cable, channelling and accessory, connect up, plaster over the chase and re-stick the wallpaper, leaving little evidence that the wallpaper had ever been temporarily removed (as I have done on various occasions)?


A: Perhaps, if you paid him, but I don't think he would be too keen; it would require a revisit and tradesmen usually want to complete in one day if necessary.


Q: Would it be acceptable for an electrician to insert a back box into a hole made by someone else, run the wiring and leave someone else to plaster up after?


A: Probably, on a building site.


It is all really a case of the situation.