I recently bought my first condominium and discovered that it has a slightly larger hole in the wall by an outlet and several rather ugly holes in the wall with anchor bolts. I want to fix the holes but don't know how to do it.
Picture 1 is of the hole by the outlet.
The wall is concrete. I don't know much about concrete, but I guess it's lightweight concrete. The wall crumbles if you touch the hole. The outlet doesn't seem very secure to me, as I think it can be wiggled a bit. I don't see how to neatly fix the hole and keep the outlet when a cord goes through the hole. Is it easiest to sacrifice the outlet? If so, is it just to unscrew it or are there more things hidden underneath? What should I use to patch the hole to make it look nice?
Pictures 2 and 3 are of holes with anchor plugs. How do I get the plugs out? What can I use to patch the holes to make them look nice?
Other:
I plan to tear down the wallpaper currently up and then hire someone to putty the walls after the holes are fixed (the apartment is 21 sqm, so I'm guessing it's cheaper to hire someone to do the puttying than rent equipment and try myself?). Do you think putty will stick properly to the walls despite them being crumbly? After puttying, I plan to repaint the apartment myself (cheaper, I guess?).
I'm a student and don't have much money but want it done properly and nicely. Please feel free to comment if I'm thinking wrong somewhere. I've never renovated before. You’re also welcome to recommend someone in Lund who can putty properly and preferably cheaply.
Let's see.. I would probably start with the electrical outlet, but here I want to raise a warning finger, yes, there is a box behind it and if you feel unsure about the area you should bring in a qualified electrician, a simple job but with many risks. Once it's dismantled, you'll probably see the magnitude of the hole, it looks a bit deep to fill with regular sand filler but an acrylic-based light filler like OneFill from casco can build up to 5cm. You can also use this to fill the holes in the wall later.
The plug doesn't look like an expansion plug, screw in a screw a few turns and then pull the screw with a suitable tool.
I would prime the walls with regular primer and then instead wallpaper with renovation wallpaper like Easy cover.
Considering how the installation of the power outlet looks, I'm not entirely sure if there is a junction box behind it. If there were a junction box, it should be well-fitted (at least if the box itself is well-fitted...). In the worst case, it could be a continuation to another outlet as well, but probably not.
Theoretically, it could also be that the cable coming out is a continuation to another outlet or something similar (meaning the electricity continues via this outlet, not coming to it via the cable we see). Where does the cable lead?
I would have let it be plastered as you're considering, but I would probably also let the painter paint, thinking it shouldn't be a huge cost, and it's really only when it's painted that you can see if it looks good. If you paint yourself, the painter might blame a poor job on you if it doesn't look good.
Considering how the installation of the electrical outlet looks, I'm not at all sure there’s a box behind it. If there were a box, it should sit well (at least if the box is properly placed...)
In the worst case, it could be a connection to another outlet too, but probably not.
In theory, it could also be that the cable coming out is a continuation to another outlet or similar (meaning the electricity goes through this outlet, not coming to it via the cable we see). Where does the cable lead to?
I would let the filler be used as you're considering, but I would probably also let the painter paint it, thinking it shouldn't be a huge cost, and it is actually only when it’s painted that you can see if it looks good. If you paint it yourself, the painter might blame you for the poor work if it doesn't look good.
Now that you mention it.. that surface-mounted wiring looks a bit tricky, so the backside probably does too.
Thank you so much for your answers! It feels so much easier and safer when you have someone to ask I will check where the cable leads and investigate what's inside the box, but I'm fully occupied with other things in the apartment plus an exam this week, so I'll get back when things have calmed down a bit. Thanks also for the tip about letting the painter paint, that sounds sensible!
Considering how the installation of the power outlet looks, I'm not at all sure there's a box behind it, had there been a box, it should fit well (at least if the box is well placed...)
In the worst case, it could also be a connection to another outlet, but probably not.
In theory, it could also be that the cable coming out is a connection to another outlet or something similar (meaning the electricity goes through this outlet, not comes to it via the cable we see). Where does the cable lead?
I would let them skim coat as you're considering, but would probably also let the painter paint, I think it shouldn't be a huge cost, and it's really only once it's painted that you see if it looks good. If you paint yourself, the painter might blame you for poor workmanship if it doesn't look good.
I have now checked where the cable is coming from. It comes from another power outlet that I call outlet 2. Outlet 2 is securely fastened to the wall, and there are no other cables coming out from it. It also doesn't have a large hole next to it; the cable goes out through a small hole in the plastic of outlet 2.
So it seems that it is a connection. Outlet 2 is closer to the electrical box and looks a bit neater, so based on that, one might guess that outlet 2 is a 'normal' outlet while the outlet with the hole was added later by someone and gets its power from outlet 2.
Let the person who will be applying the large-scale filling fix these small items. He removes the cover of the outlet and fills with quick-setting powder filler, for example. He breaks off the plugs flush with the surface using a filler if they stick out.
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I will check where the cable leads and investigate what's inside the box, but I'm fully occupied with other things in the apartment plus an exam this week, so I'll get back when things have calmed down a bit. Thanks also for the tip about letting the painter paint, that sounds sensible!