We would need help choosing the method and material when we are closing up a door opening in an interior wall.
The interior wall is plastered and the thickness is about 24 centimeters including plaster. I have chipped away some plaster and found that the wall is made of brick.
What different materials do we have to choose from when we are closing up the hole? What advantages and disadvantages do the different materials/methods have?
Regards,
David & Susanna
The interior wall is plastered and the thickness is about 24 centimeters including plaster. I have chipped away some plaster and found that the wall is made of brick.
What different materials do we have to choose from when we are closing up the hole? What advantages and disadvantages do the different materials/methods have?
Regards,
David & Susanna
The advantage of building with leca and plastering is that the hole disappears as it becomes the same as the rest of the wall. That's how I would choose to do it. A board on a frame will be visible, perhaps even crack at the seam, so you probably need to do "something about it" from the start. The most aesthetically pleasing result is to make it the same as the rest of the wall as I see it.
We closed up a doorway and used studs, drywall, and a lot of putty. It looked good initially, but after a while, the seams became visible in some places.
Thank you for the answers.
You confirmed my suspicions.
19x19 Leca blocks have been purchased.
How much of the plaster on the "inner edges" of the door opening should I knock off?
All the way to the brick or is it enough to remove the outermost painted layer?
Best regards,
David
You confirmed my suspicions.
19x19 Leca blocks have been purchased.
How much of the plaster on the "inner edges" of the door opening should I knock off?
All the way to the brick or is it enough to remove the outermost painted layer?
Best regards,
David
No, I haven't plastered before... but there's a first time for everything.
We'll start with the side that won't be visible. (There will be a row of wardrobe frames in front of it.)
If we don't manage to get that side good enough, we can hire a professional for the other side, which will be in the living room.
At least the door and door frame have been removed, and I've sawed off the parquet and the rule under the part of the floor that went into the doorway.
I was thinking of removing the sawdust nearest to the hole and replacing it with regular insulation.
Should I drill into the concrete to put something in so that the lecablocks are securely fastened, or is it enough with mortar against the concrete?
We'll start with the side that won't be visible. (There will be a row of wardrobe frames in front of it.)
If we don't manage to get that side good enough, we can hire a professional for the other side, which will be in the living room.
At least the door and door frame have been removed, and I've sawed off the parquet and the rule under the part of the floor that went into the doorway.
I was thinking of removing the sawdust nearest to the hole and replacing it with regular insulation.
Should I drill into the concrete to put something in so that the lecablocks are securely fastened, or is it enough with mortar against the concrete?
I've never laid leca blocks, so I don't know the answer to that, but I would probably just "stack" them without putting anything to hold them against the wall. There shouldn't be any forces on the leca, I think? Otherwise, it's not a big job to drill a few holes and stick rebar between the blocks. I've done some plastering a few times, small areas where I've removed tiles and such, and it's not so hard and actually quite fun. What I did wrong was not watering the wall properly before applying the plaster the first time, and eventually, I learned to mix the mortar loose enough, so that's the advice I can give: water the surface to be plastered and use loose mortar. A door opening is conveniently wide enough to be able to scrape off the mortar with a board resting against both sides of the wall. That's how I should have done it, but on this excellent site, someone more skilled than me will surely give more precise advice sooner or later 
Good luck!
Good luck!
Well done! And isn't it a great feeling when you realize you could do it! Sorry to hijack the post, JanneL, but this is exactly what it's about when building in your own house, trying things you haven't done before and discovering that you actually can
Sorry to hijack the post, JanneL, but this is exactly what it's about when building in your own house, trying things you haven't done before and discovering that you actually can