How do I brick up the hole the easiest way?

[savio]

We have removed a ventilation pipe from the kitchen wall, and now there is just a hole about 20x20cm in size. It goes through the wall about 30 cm deep before a sparse grill takes over, and then we are out into the open air.

Since this ventilation hole is redundant, I just want to brick it up. The problem is making it look nice against the wallpaper that is already there, but I can either re-wallpaper some strip afterward or put a cover plate.

Anyway, what I wonder is how best to brick it up. The best way is the most straightforward and easiest for someone who is not handy 🤣

 

[Manberg]

I would probably place a suitably sized stone there and smear mortar with some kind of frost protection in it. Since you mentioned re-mortaring, I assume it's a stone wall of some sort. It doesn't need to be more complicated than that, right? Cover plate then sounds sensible unless you have wallpaper strips left. It depends on how much you spill and cover, doesn't it?

 

[savio]

I would probably put in a suitably sized stone and apply mortar with some kind of frost protection in it. Since you wrote to seal again, I assume it's a stone wall of some kind. It doesn't have to be more complicated than that, does it? A cover plate afterward sounds reasonable unless you have wallpaper swaths left. It depends on how much you spill and cover?

So just an ordinary stone then?

It's a concrete wall. Can't you just insert a bit of LECA-stone, then mortar around it, and then a cover plate over the top? Do you need to add insulation?

 

[Manberg]

Leca sounds excellent, it provides some insulation, and then it's fairly easy to shape into the right form. How do the outside and inside look?

 

[savio]

Leca sounds excellent, it insulates a little too, and it's relatively easy to shape it to the right form. What do the inside and outside look like?

The inside is an ordinary smooth wall that is wallpapered.
The outside is a brick wall with a grate on the outermost part.
It's an apartment building quite high up in the building.

So Leca sounds good then? Just that and regular mortar?

 

[Manberg]

1. Check at the building supply store where you buy the items
2. Check with the association that this is okay, and if they have any opinions on how it should be done.

 

[savio]

1. Check with the hardware store where you buy the items
2. Check with the association that this is okay, and if they have any opinions on how it should be done.

I have checked with the association, they said that I should brick it up in an appropriate way only, otherwise, I have free hands.

I have inquired in some hardware store but haven't received any good answers.
My previous experiences are that you often get better answers here than in the hardware store.

 

[meckis]

Here's a tip!
Buy a can of foam sealant, wet the hole with a spray bottle (foam sealant needs moisture to cure). Fill in a little, wait 1 hour to see how much it expands. NOTE! Foam sealant expands ENORMOUSLY. Add a bit more if needed. If there's too much, you can cut it off with a knife once it has cured. Leave 1-2cm which you fill with mortar. Now you have insulation in the hole + you've closed it with mortar! If you find it difficult to get the plaster to stick, try perforating the foam sealant with a knife to provide something for the plaster to adhere to, or use some "chicken wire" as a plaster carrier.

Ps. if you haven't used foam sealant before, protect with paper and wear gloves. It's a nightmare to remove. Mechanical abrasion is the only thing that works.

 

[savio]

Here's a tip!
Buy a can of expanding foam, wet the hole with a plant sprayer (expanding foam needs moisture to cure). Fill in just enough, wait 1 hour to see how much it expands. NOTE! Expanding foam expands ENORMOUSLY. Add a little more if needed. If there's too much, you can cut it away with a knife once it has cured. Leave 1-2 cm which you fill with mortar. Now you have insulation in the hole + you've sealed it with mortar! If you find it difficult to get the plaster to stick, try perforating the foam with a knife to make the plaster adhere to something, or use some "chicken wire" as a render carrier.

Ps. If you haven't used expanding foam before, protect with paper and wear gloves. It's a nightmare to remove. Mechanical abrasion is the only thing that works.

That's the way to do it!
It sounds quite feasible, even though I have no prior experience with expanding foam.

Is it difficult to get the plaster to stick, you mean?
Towards the street, so to speak, there's just a vent today, looks like a grate.
Isn't there a risk that the foam might fly out through the holes?
Maybe I should place something against the grate to seal it completely?

 

[Danne031]

If there are holes for air, the foam will come out
Why do you want to keep the valve facing the street? I interpret it as if you also want to brick it up there... then do as meckis suggests, foam a little sparingly so that you can plaster the last few centimeters both inside and outside. Or you can save half a decimeter inside and adjust it evenly for a piece of gypsum or similar, flush with your wallpaper today.

 

[savio]

If there are holes for air, the foam will come out
Why do you want to keep the valve facing the street? I interpret it as if you want to brick it up there too..then you do as meckis says, use foam sparingly so that you can plaster the last centimeters both inside and outside. Or you can save half a decimeter inside and frame it up just enough for a piece of drywall or similar, flush with your wallpaper today.

Hmm, I haven't said I want to keep the valve facing the street, but it's probably a bit easier to keep it than to tear it away I guess

Anyway, do you mean I should start with a few cm of mortar at the outer edge of the valve so that it hardens and forms a thin wall?

Then put a little foam in the middle to apply mortar the last bit indoors?
Maybe I should use a little filler for the last centimeter to make it easier to get it even?

 

[Danne031]

Remove the grate so that you have a hole all the way through, then skim a little from the inside and outside and save a couple of centimeters in both directions. If it gets a bit too much, just cut it away once it has hardened, don't start when it's sticky
Then smooth it out (with plaster). Indoors, you can apply putty on it but only a maximum of a centimeter or so, otherwise the putty shrinks and cracks and causes issues.

 

[Peter2400]

There is really no reason to remove the galler, unless you have too little to do. Replacing an existing galler in a brick facade high up in a house with a patched-up hole can be anything but nice and simple.

 

[Danne031]

It's true, I missed that it was brick, then it would probably look better to leave the grill in place.

 

[savio]

Back to the topic.

Was my idea good or bad?
i.e.:

1. Put mortar against the grate with a few cm

2. Apply foam

3. Put mortar a few cm all the way in towards the room

4. Smoothly finish the last part with putty.