Luz liver

Apologies if this has been covered before but a search for plasterboard found no results.

I moved into my CE home last year and got an electrician to put all my lights up. Earlier this year one light just fell and was left dangling by the wires. I have attempted to re-attach the light fitting to the ceiling (with better, pladur specific, rawplugs) and now I have more and bigger holes. The light fitting is fairly basic and not heavy. Any suggestions?

Jon-Bxl

Wow a non-heavy light fitting coming down! We didnt put up our lights either, preferring to use a trusted installer - so I am not 100% sure of the set up plaster - concrete. One thing that might work - depending on your fitting is

1. Make the hole where the wire comes through wider but less than the diameter/size of the fitting so its hidden when up.
2. Feed in a baton, piece of wood, that is as wide as possible that fits/slides in the hole above. It doesn't have to be too thick... but is a little longer than the distance between the holes. Note the wires comment in the next point
3. Slide it in and then move/ease it back so it traverses the hole on both sides above the plaster board, making sure theres enough room for the wires to go around it and out. If necessary tie some string to the wires to help feed it through. Mark and predrill small holes in the wood. Connect the wires to the light.
4. Screw into the wood through the old broken plaster holes a few turns of each screw, but not 100% till all are biting into the holes. Doing this gives you a bit of 'wiggle room' for all the screws. Then tighten properly. The wood will take the weight and spread it out across a wider area of plasterboard.

I hope this makes sense.

This question is very timely. On a sister thread we have been discussing fans and why they need to be fitted with care... by someone who knows his/her stuff.... We discussed drilling into the concrete above the plaster. No way would I put something heavy, fan - heavy light fitting etc on the plasterboard ceiling.

Good luck
Jon

jonboy

Can you imagine, fan falls from ceiling liquidising contents of room!

Jon-Bxl

I've even heard rumours (urban legends?) of decapitated babies!! :eek

Brings a whole new meaning to Headbored

Jon

EsuriJohn

They do not use plasterboard as we know it for ceilings in Spain. The material they use is more like a sheet of plaster of paris. It appears very hard but is also very friable so if you mistreat it it crumbles. To watch them build a ceiling with it is fascinating they suspend the the sheets below the concrete roof or floor above with horse hair strands moulded in "yeso" with a dab on the roof/floor and a dab on the board. It all goes off in seconds and there you have a wonderful smooth very solid ceiling. DO NOT DRILL THE BOARD FOR FIXING. I make a small starter hole wth a bradawl and then use a twin thread aluminium fixing screw and I have had no disasters yet. Lightweight light fittings only and definitely no ceiling fans the torque would be just much for the board. Fans should be fixed to the concrete floor/ceiling above direct..