FILLING AN OPENING IN A STUD PARTITION

If you are making a new opening in a wall, you may also have to block off the original one. Obviously you will want the patch to be invisible, which takes careful plastering or filling of plasterboard joints.

It is generally better to fill in the opening with the same materials used in the construction of the wall to prevent cracks forming due to movements in the structure (you can consider bricks and blocks to be the same). You could use a wooden stud frame with a plasterboard lining and plaster finish to fill an opening in a brick wall, but it would not have the same acoustic properties as a solid infill and cracks are difficult to prevent or disguise.

Remove the architraves, then saw through the door-jamb linings close to the top and prise them away from the brickwork with a wrecking bar. If the linings were fitted before the flooring, the ends could be trapped: cut them flush with the floor. Next, prise the soffit board away from the top.

Cut back the plaster about 150mm (6in) all round the opening. It need not be an even outline; unevenness helps to disguise the shape of the doorway.

To bond the new brickwork into the old, cut out a half-brick on each side of the opening at every fourth course, using a club hammer and bolster chisel. For a block wall, remove a quarter of a block from alternate courses.

It is not vital to tooth-in the infill if you are using blocks (which are easy and quick to lay) as it will require more cutting to fit. Instead, 100mm (4in) cut clasp nails driven dovetail fashion into the bed joints of the side brickwork (1) can be used to tie the masonry together. 

Galvanized-metal frame cramps can also be used to save cutting into the bricks (2) — screw them to the wall, resting on every fourth brick.

Lay the bricks or blocks in mortar, following the original courses. If a wooden suspended floor runs through the opening, lay the bricks on a timber sole plate nailed across the opening. When the mortar has set, spread on a base coat of plaster, followed by a finishing coat. Fit two complete lengths of new matching skirting, or add to the original. When making up the skirting from old pieces, make sure the joints do not occur in the same place as the original opening.

Strip the door lining as described . Trim the lath-and-plaster or plasterboard back to the centre line of the door-jamb studs and head member with a sharp trimming knife. Lever out the old nails with a claw hammer. Nail the new cut edge all round.

Nail a matching sill to the floor between the studs. Nail a new stud centrally between head and sill. Cut and nail noggings between the studs across the opening. Cut plasterboard 3mm (’/sin) less all round and fix to each face of the opening. Apply plaster or fill and tape the joints, then finish as required.