Drilled hole in wall, too big. How to fix?
Discussion
226bhp said:
stuartmmcfc said:
The Christmas spirit is strong on PH.
Loads of replies bit not one taking the piss out of such f
kwittery.
I don't think we have the full story and doubt it's a brick wall internally.... Loads of replies bit not one taking the piss out of such f
kwittery.
Should have been clearer. It's a party wall between two terraced houses (that's what I meant by internal wall - as in, not facing the elements). Absolutely definitely brick.
AmitG said:
Should have been clearer. It's a party wall between two terraced houses (that's what I meant by internal wall - as in, not facing the elements). Absolutely definitely brick.
Job done.
AmitG said:
Should have been clearer. It's a party wall between two terraced houses (that's what I meant by internal wall - as in, not facing the elements). Absolutely definitely brick.
It's sorted 
For the first hole, I got some long matches and cut the abrasive ends off. Put the rawlplug in half way, then crammed in a couple of matches alongside, hammered the whole lot home and broke off the ends of the matches so that it was all flush with the wall. Then hammered in another match in the remaining visible gap. It all felt firm, so I screwed on the picture hook and it was fixed solid - no movement whatsoever - so job done on that one.
For the other hole, I tried matches again but I wasn't terribly happy with the result. So I got some old dowel rod, tapered the end slightly, hammered it in, and then sawed it off in the hole before hammering home so that it was flush with the wall. Drilled a pilot hole, screwed in and again it felt solid. Job done.
Here is the finished result (click to view bigger version). The picture is a hand-drawn panorama taken from Greenwich Observatory, London. It was done by a local architect friend who is rather good at freehand sketching of the built environment. He did this one in a couple of hours. All done freehand, onsite, in one sitting, using a roller ball pen. No ruler, no pencil markings, no photographs. I will put more details, and some other pics, in the "artwork on your walls" thread.
I did think about just drilling 2 new holes, but I was worried that without knowing exactly what went wrong with the first 2, I could end up with 2 more problems. And I wanted to solve the original problem somehow. Drilling new holes felt like admitting defeat.
I also considered bigger rawlplugs, but they needed bigger screws, and 6mm was the absolute max that the picture hook could take.
Massive thanks to everyone for their suggestions and for not calling me a spacktard
For the first hole, I got some long matches and cut the abrasive ends off. Put the rawlplug in half way, then crammed in a couple of matches alongside, hammered the whole lot home and broke off the ends of the matches so that it was all flush with the wall. Then hammered in another match in the remaining visible gap. It all felt firm, so I screwed on the picture hook and it was fixed solid - no movement whatsoever - so job done on that one.
For the other hole, I tried matches again but I wasn't terribly happy with the result. So I got some old dowel rod, tapered the end slightly, hammered it in, and then sawed it off in the hole before hammering home so that it was flush with the wall. Drilled a pilot hole, screwed in and again it felt solid. Job done.
Here is the finished result (click to view bigger version). The picture is a hand-drawn panorama taken from Greenwich Observatory, London. It was done by a local architect friend who is rather good at freehand sketching of the built environment. He did this one in a couple of hours. All done freehand, onsite, in one sitting, using a roller ball pen. No ruler, no pencil markings, no photographs. I will put more details, and some other pics, in the "artwork on your walls" thread.
I did think about just drilling 2 new holes, but I was worried that without knowing exactly what went wrong with the first 2, I could end up with 2 more problems. And I wanted to solve the original problem somehow. Drilling new holes felt like admitting defeat.
I also considered bigger rawlplugs, but they needed bigger screws, and 6mm was the absolute max that the picture hook could take.
Massive thanks to everyone for their suggestions and for not calling me a spacktard
I think what might have gone wrong are,
The drill bit was worn or damaged.
and/or use of a battery drill which wouldn't spin as fast or have as much torque as a 240 mains drill
Both these would have resulted in the hole being enlarged as the bit wandered.
Or you are a "Spacktard"
I'm pleased things worked out but I think snapping of the ends of the matches was a mistake.
You should have left them on because if they had come out, the resulting fire would have made a good warning signal that further attention was required
The drill bit was worn or damaged.
and/or use of a battery drill which wouldn't spin as fast or have as much torque as a 240 mains drill
Both these would have resulted in the hole being enlarged as the bit wandered.
Or you are a "Spacktard"
I'm pleased things worked out but I think snapping of the ends of the matches was a mistake.
You should have left them on because if they had come out, the resulting fire would have made a good warning signal that further attention was required
stuartmmcfc said:
I think what might have gone wrong are,
The drill bit was worn or damaged.
and/or use of a battery drill which wouldn't spin as fast or have as much torque as a 240 mains drill
Both these would have resulted in the hole being enlarged as the bit wandered.
Or you are a "Spacktard"
I had a total brain fart and drilled into brick with a cheap drill bit and a cordless, none hammer drill.The drill bit was worn or damaged.
and/or use of a battery drill which wouldn't spin as fast or have as much torque as a 240 mains drill
Both these would have resulted in the hole being enlarged as the bit wandered.
Or you are a "Spacktard"
The hole was about 4 sizes too big.
The next one I got my 240 hammer and a proper drill bit, and it was cool.
finishing touch said:
My F in L used a six inch nail to hang a picture on. Unfortunately it was a single brick wall.
Ended up with another picture on the pointy end in the other room.
Pop round and ask the neighbours if they'd like one.
Go and ask neighbour to knock a 6 inch nail in from his side . Your hole problem solved ,Ended up with another picture on the pointy end in the other room.
Pop round and ask the neighbours if they'd like one.
I'm pretty certain that it was the drill bit. The end was damaged (with a small piece missing) and I reckon that's what caused it.
As per stuartmmcfc's and jon's comments, I also found that the drill speed was quite low, because I didn't reset it after doing another job, which probably didn't help.
So I'm guessing that : damaged drill bit + too low speed = fail.
New drill bit will be bought tomorrow.
As per stuartmmcfc's and jon's comments, I also found that the drill speed was quite low, because I didn't reset it after doing another job, which probably didn't help.
So I'm guessing that : damaged drill bit + too low speed = fail.
New drill bit will be bought tomorrow.
Edited by AmitG on Friday 26th December 17:26
V8RX7 said:
Mr Pointy said:
That's what we did in the days before rawlplugs.
Did you have a pet dinosaur ?If I may say your comment is rather typical of younger people today. Newer engineers in my office have no concept of how quickly the world has changed & how quickly the rate of change is increasing, because they have no historical reference. They cannot conceive of a world where the quickest way to contact the Athens office was by Telex or a time when you had to book an international phone call from your hotel in Moscow back to the UK. Put them in a situation where they have no internet access & they often flounder.
So, back on topic: well done to the OP, you have the warm satisfaction of solving a problem with just a few bits & pieces you had around you.
AmitG said:
I'm pretty certain that it was the drill bit. The end was damaged (with a small piece missing) and I reckon that's what caused it.
A masonry bit typically has a tungsten carbide 'blade' brazed into a slot on the end of the steel shaft. If you overheat it by drilling too fast/long in a hard substrate, or get too rough with the hammer, or it just wears out from use, it can fall out, so you are left trying to drill with a blunt bit of steel.
No point making a load of muck and mess drilling and plugging a 6mm hole when you can just hammer in a 2mm steel pin. Mr GrimNasty said:
AmitG said:
I'm pretty certain that it was the drill bit. The end was damaged (with a small piece missing) and I reckon that's what caused it.
A masonry bit typically has a tungsten carbide 'blade' brazed into a slot on the end of the steel shaft. If you overheat it by drilling too fast/long in a hard substrate, or get too rough with the hammer, or it just wears out from use, it can fall out, so you are left trying to drill with a blunt bit of steel.Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff