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We've had some electrical work done which has resulted in a number of holes in drywall about 8cm in length by 2cm in height similar to below:

hole in plasterboard

I was intending on making small cuts of plasterboard but since the cable doesn't go through the stud this won't be possible. What's my best option for repairing these holes?

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  • Is the stud notched to allow the wire through?
    – JPhi1618
    Commented Mar 12, 2019 at 14:38
  • No, it doesn't appear to be. Does this fail building regulations? We've just had this done (I haven't paid yet)
    – Fraser
    Commented Mar 12, 2019 at 14:44
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    Where do you live? This wouldn't be legal in the US. But anywhere - how does the electrician plan on this being finished? You can't just mud over a piece of wire and call it a day...
    – JPhi1618
    Commented Mar 12, 2019 at 14:51
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    It's called "laziness". They should have drilled a hole through the stud. But that would have required a much larger hole in the drywall. A notch would be fine, but oops, extra work. Plus, if it is with a notch (instead of a hole set a couple of inches back in the stud) then there should be a metal plate to prevent accidentally putting a nail into the wire when hanging a picture.
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Commented Mar 12, 2019 at 14:52
  • This is in the UK
    – Fraser
    Commented Mar 12, 2019 at 14:52

1 Answer 1

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That's not cool. Don't know your codes in the UK but that certainly is a fail in Canada and the US. Hanging a picture with a thumb tac can potentially puncture that. Actually no it's not to code, it can't be unless there is literally no code in place. (highly unlikely in the UK it might be code in a third world country)

You need to have it fixed before you conceal it. If this is the only spot that is like this, it could be a apprentice or just a moment of extreme laziness on the part of the worker. Ask the person to fix it to code by at least notching the stud if it's not load bearing and adding a striker plate.

I don't know why guys do stupid things like this. If you have to do a patch it really doesn't matter if it's 12x12" or 6x1" in just make the whole big enough to do your job.

Once the repairs done properly patching the holes will be a lot easier. If you ever did have to patch a hole similar to this it's often easier to just make it bigger anyway so you can add blocking into the back.

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    Also note that "repair" in this case is to pull out the whole wire and do it right. They can't just cut the wire, drill a hole, run the wire through and then splice it. Splices are not allowed in walls when running new wires (again, unless the UK is some wild free-for-all with electrical codes).
    – JPhi1618
    Commented Mar 12, 2019 at 15:21
  • @JPhi1618 agreed I mentioned notching the studs but if that's not practical then pull it all out and rerun it. ;-)
    – Joe Fala
    Commented Mar 12, 2019 at 15:25

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