Making good a hole in plasterboard

[Martynt74]

I had some blown plaster on a wall where there are some central heating pipes, presumably the heat caused the issue. I had thought it might've been a leak but there's no water stains so i think it's just heat.

I cut away the plasterboard affected with the view to reboard it up and skim over it.

Having cut it out, it seems that part of whats caused the bulge is that the pipes stick out further than the thickness of the plasterboard. So as they move and expand it's pushing away from the blockwork and into the plasterboard.

I'm wondering what the best way to fix this is. I can't just stick a new piece of plasterboard over it as it'd end up stick out and not being flush. I know you can get thinner plasterboard but i think this might still be too thick once you put a skim over it.

Do i get some 3mm plywood to stick in the hole and then skim over that? Would that even work? Even then i think it'd end up bulging out slightly.

The other option is to just whack a huge pile of flexible sealant/filler in there, let it dry and skim over the top, but thats a terrible idea for any future maintenance and i don't even think it'd work!

Any other ideas that i've not thought of?

 

[Martynt74]

You know that dread that the first response is the one you're hoping people don't respond with

There doesn't feel like there's much flex in the pipes to move, so i assumed that the work involved in doing that would be to remove the various connectors, drain the system and then re-do, i think that might be a little beyond what i'd be comfortable with so would probably get someone out.

I'm wondering whether some kind of push-fit fittings might have a smaller circumference and so wouldn't stick out as much as these fittings. Would still need the systems draining though.


EDIT - Few more images below showing it from different angles. The pipes run right along the blockwork so trying to push the T connectors further in might not be possible as it would involve a lot more adjustment i imagine

 

[Martynt74]

Cheers everyone.

As for how long it's been like that. The extension was built in around 2008 by the previous owners and so it's just got worse since we've been in.

I cut the plasterboard out a while back to keep an eye on things. I've had kitchen roll wraped around it to keep checking for any leaks, issue being that the heating hasn't been kicking in due to the warm weather, so hard to know for sure.

I quite like the expanding foam/plasterboard solution. I also need some expanding foam for another project so will have it handy. Yes it's a botch, but the work involved in doing it properly isn't something i want to commit to at the moment and doesn't feel like it is worth it. Maybe if this solution goes bad again at least i can approach it at a later date and i don't imagine things will escalate with not doing a proper job.


A picture was my initial plan, but it's right at the ceiling line on a sloped roof so i'm not sure i could get that past the wife