Do we need to repair holes in brick wall that will be covered?

I just removed some old kitchen cabinets from an apartment that were secured on to the brick wall with large nails. We've removed the cabinets now which also removed some of the mortar that was placed over the brick, however the painted surface also now has cracks in it.

Do we need to repair the walls at all if we are putting new cabinets over them? Will it impact the longevity of how well the new cabinets will hold up?

Also if there are any tips on drilling in cabinets into brick walls that would be great thanks!

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EricL

Hello @JR2

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about your brick wall.

It appears that when they used the concrete nail on the wall surface, they've shattered the render on the brick wall. Generally, if it was just a regular hole or small chip in the concrete render, I would recommend just patching it up with mortar. But because the damage is quite extensive, I suggest engaging the services of a concrete/rendering specialist. They'll be able to determine if the render can be patched or it will need to be removed and re-applied.

Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1 and @Nailbag for their recommendations.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

Nailbag

Hi @JR2

I agree with @EricL that this is more of a cosmetic concern with the top layer of the render, which would have been exposed in the homes earlier years. I would break away some of the loose sections and then take up Eric suggestion to infiltrate with mortar. If for no other reason than to keep it all in place during the new cabinetry install.

Some months back I installed a Kaboodle kitchen in a home that once I demolished it all exposed a similar scenario. Once the floor cabinets were installed I temporarlly fixed 42mm x 19mm DAR pine to the wall to rest the overheads at the right height. Then used adjustable lifters to support the front of them.

I pre-drilled corner holes in to the back of the cabinets and used a long-tipped marker to mark the fastener holes. I took the cabinets down and after drilling the holes in to the masonry wall, I inserted Ramset Multipurpose 8mm fasteners. Repositioned the the cabinets and secured them. Each cabinet was then fixed to the next via their side walls.

Hope this helped.

Nailbag

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Dave-1

Morning @JR2

This is a hard call, my first response was "If you going to put new cabinetry over the wall is it really needed?" If it was my house id say yes to that 🙂

So I was following down the path of if they make sure they attach the cabinets with deeper bolts into the masonary there should be an issue. (much like @Nailbag 's suggestion)

Then I went back and had a last look at your photos. Those long cracks from the center holes do concern me. They remind me of when I have used a ramset explosive gun that fires pins into concrete to secure things and the blow outs I associate with them.

Does the mortar around the cracks seem to want to fall away if you pry it?

Im still tempted to fill the holes, smooth and paint the wall then put up your cabinets and avoid the cracked and holey areas for the attachment points.

Dave

JR2

@Nailbag

Thank you for your response! A few follow up questions

1: Did you patch the holes in the wall with anything before putting the cabinets in? In your photos it looks like there are some boards up.

2. Is there a particular drill attachment that is needed for drilling into the masonry wall?

3. did you put the cabinet back into position and then used the fastener screw through the cabinet into the wall?

4. when you say the cabinets were secured through their side walls, did you not need to drill the adjacent cabinets in via the same way you mentioned before, through the wall?

thanks again for your help!!

JR2

@Dave-1

Hi Dave,

thanks for your response.

the mortar doesn’t come off easily unless we scratched at it quite hard with a chisel which we avoided doing.

to patch the holes in the wall, what would we use that is quick drying? Do we also need to patch up the cracks in the paint too or just the holes?

Dave-1

Morning @JR2

As you dont have a lot of holes to fill I would suggest Polyfilla 500g Exterior Brick and Render Masonry , and yeah you could use it to fill the cracks as well tho the only reason I suggest it is to make the wall look pretty for down the track if someone changes it again. Much nicer starting with a clean pallet is a better way of describing it.

Dave

JR2

Thanks!! If this wall will be the backsplash because we will have the stovetop along this wall, is there anything else we need to put down before we tile? Or tiling onto the render is ok?

Nailbag

Hi @JR2

1. In the first photo it shows a few old leftovers from the original kitchen I dismantled. The left hd a pale blue polycarbonate splashback glued to a plasterboard wall. The back wall was solid concrete which just marking from the old cabinetry.

2. You need a hammer drill runnings on high-speed with masonry drill bits. 8mm in this case. You can use a standard DIY impact hammer drill for the job. In my case, I have a more specialised model designed primarily for more efficient masonry drilling. These use specialised drill bits as well. If you already have a cordless model tools I can recommend a suitable drill that uses the same batteries you already have. Alternatively, corded models though much cheaper wont have the same versatility moving forward with your handyman projects.

3. Correct. The first temp mount to the wall they were just propped in place So I could mark where to drill the fastener holes in to the concrete. Then removed them, drilled the holes and sat each one back up and fastened them one by one to the wall.

4. I just found this Bunnings How to Video on YouTube for you. It shows exactly the process.

Nailbag

Hi @JR2

If the rear wall is to be a splashback, I would go to any trouble to finish off the cracks as these sound like they are only cosmetic anyway.

There are very strict regulations surrounding splash backs behind cooktops. If it's on a plasterboard wall, then fibre cement sheeting needs to be first applied before a suitably rated glass splashback if you're not tiling. There is a minimum distance between the finished face of the splashback and the rear edge of the cooktop. Check the local regs in your state. Tiles can be fixed directly to the concrete wall, just make sure any rough raised edges are smoothed away as @Dave-1 mentioned. Same distance regs apply.

Nailbag

JR2

Thank you so much this has been super helpful!!

I will get the 8mm masonry drill bits and also the 8mm Ramset fastener for the walls.

Did you use a stud finder to search for electrical wires behind the rendering? Don't want to accidentally drill into an electrical wire when fastening the cabinets.

We have the Makita 18V cordless hammer drill.

EricL

Hi @JR2

I definitely suggest using a stud finder with an electrical detection function like the Ryobi Stud Finder with AC Detection RYSF5003 to avoid drilling into wires.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

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