How to patch heating vent holes in ceiling

TanDiy

Hi, we are considering replacing our warm air central heating with a wet system. The problem is that we are going to be left with holes in all the upstairs ceilings (4 bedrooms, bathroom and landing) when we remove the warm air vents. We are just trying to work out how best to sort this and how much it is likely to cost. All the ceilings are artexed (bobbled effect) and a local builder has said that we would never be able to patch this. He has suggested that we need to patch the holes and then skim over the entire ceilings to cover the artex. However, a second builder has advised that the combination of the existing artex and new plaster will be too heavy for the existing plasterboard and he suggests that the ceilings should all be over boarded, leaving the old ceiling in place - he also said that the existing artex is likely to contain asbestos so he would not want to work on it. Both have gone away to work out quotes but I get the impression that this is not a particularly attractive job and could be expensive.

I just wondered if anybody else has any experience of this. Would it be that hard to patch the holes and try and match in the artex? If it is going to be too expensive then we may well just keep the existing heating. Thank you.

cyclonebri1

TanDiy wrote: »

Hi, we are considering replacing our warm air central heating with a wet system. The problem is that we are going to be left with holes in all the upstairs ceilings (4 bedrooms, bathroom and landing) when we remove the warm air vents. We are just trying to work out how best to sort this and how much it is likely to cost. All the ceilings are artexed (bobbled effect) and a local builder has said that we would never be able to patch this. He has suggested that we need to patch the holes and then skim over the entire ceilings to cover the artex. However, a second builder has advised that the combination of the existing artex and new plaster will be too heavy for the existing plasterboard and he suggests that the ceilings should all be over boarded, leaving the old ceiling in place - he also said that the existing artex is likely to contain asbestos so he would not want to work on it. Both have gone away to work out quotes but I get the impression that this is not a particularly attractive job and could be expensive.

I just wondered if anybody else has any experience of this. Would it be that hard to patch the holes and try and match in the artex? If it is going to be too expensive then we may well just keep the existing heating. Thank you.

Well, there's a contradiction. The No 1 builder want's to plaster over.

The No2 builder says no, "too heavy, add another layer of plaster board and skim, that'll be better"

You need a replacement No2 builder/plank.

wallbash

Love my Warm Air, think again. Seems an expensive conversion

TanDiy

Hi Wallbash, thanks for replying. Yes, we quite like the warm air downstairs but not so much upstairs as the vents are in the ceilings and we do not feel the heat so much. Also, the air intake is in our main hall and it drags the heat away from the stairs which are always cold. The other issue is that we have a very small water cylinder and we would like to remove an electric shower and run a shower off the heating. Our friends recently had a combi boiler fitted and I was really impressed with it. Water seems to come out the taps quickly and the shower was much more powerful than our electric one. However, we may well stick with the warm air if changing means rebuilding the house. Thanks again.

HappyMJ

You could just leave the vents in situ until the ceiling needs replacing. I would keep the warm air central heating.

You could keep the existing heating and add additional heating if you wish there isn't any need to replace it.

You can replace your existing hot water boiler with a combi boiler that just supplies hot water if that is the problem.

You could also fix your hot water cylinder flow problems by installing a pump and you will get your very powerful shower if you want to do that too.

TanDiy

HappyMJ wrote: »

You could just leave the vents in situ until the ceiling needs replacing. I would keep the warm air central heating.

You could keep the existing heating and add additional heating if you wish there isn't any need to replace it.

You can replace your existing hot water boiler with a combi boiler that just supplies hot water if that is the problem.

You could also fix your hot water cylinder flow problems by installing a pump and you will get your very powerful shower if you want to do that too.

Hi HappyMJ - thanks for replying.

Yes, we have considered a combi just for the water. The problem is that we currently have a tiny prismatic water cylinder which is not large enough for a shower and cannot be used with a pump. There is not enough room in the airing cupboard for anything bigger hence the reason we considered the combi. A heating company did suggest an unvented cylinder downstairs next to the boiler but pressurised water, safety cut outs and servicing by specially qualified people frightens me! I am beginning to think though that we might just stick with it all for now. I like the idea of the combi but then some people say they are not very good either so who knows! thanks again.

wallbash

The other issue is that we have a very small water cylinder and we would like to remove an electric shower and run a shower off the heating

We did increase the size of our hotwater tank , which is run off the warm heater boiler, standard J&S , this feeds the power shower , but if you haven't the room ?? We were tight for room but just got a lot taller tank.

s the vents are in the ceilings and we do not feel the heat so much

Surprised as this is the standard set up, have you been living there long, have you talked to your service engineer?

Have you got an idea of the cost of moving to a wet system ?? It can't be cheap .

TanDiy

wallbash wrote: »

We did increase the size of our hotwater tank , which is run off the warm heater boiler, standard J&S , this feeds the power shower , but if you haven't the room ?? We were tight for room but just got a lot taller tank.

Surprised as this is the standard set up, have you been living there long, have you talked to your service engineer?

Have you got an idea of the cost of moving to a wet system ?? It can't be cheap .

Thanks for coming back - that is really interesting, could I bother you with a couple of further questions....

WATER HEATER: Ours is also the standard water boiler inside the J&S boiler (I think it is an ELJAN). We have been told that we could replace this for a new cylinder with a pump to make it work more efficiently. This would also allow us to add a backup electric immersion heater - is this what you have.

UPSTAIRS CEILING - we have the warm air vents in the ceiling and there is another vent above each of the bedroom doors to allow the air to return. This seems a little strange to me because it would appear that the air is just sucked across the top of the ceiling. An engineer said that we could move the vents to the doors or cut a couple of inches of the bottom of the doors instead but he did not feel this would make much difference. Are your return vents above the doors?

COST OF WET SYSTEM - this would be around 6-7K but then we have to put right all the damage which I am thinking could be expensive now.

The only other annoyance is that the big return air vent is in our hallway and it is a little noisy when it first comes on. Once it reaches temperature it tends to quieten down.

We have been living with the warm air for 15 years and only ever had a faulty room stat and replaced heat exchange in the water boiler. I am sorry for the questions but you have been so helpful. I am wondering now if we should look again at maybe re-siting the water cylinder. Thanks for all your help

wallbash

We have been told that we could replace this for a new cylinder with a pump to make it work more efficiently. This would also allow us to add a backup electric immersion heater - is this what you have.

Yes

UPSTAIRS CEILING - we have the warm air vents in the ceiling and there is another vent above each of the bedroom doors to allow the air to return. This seems a little strange to me because it would appear that the air is just sucked across the top of the ceiling. An engineer said that we could move the vents to the doors or cut a couple of inches of the bottom of the doors instead but he did not feel this would make much difference. Are your return vents above the doors

Had to walk around the house to double check .
All vents are as far away from the doors as possible. Only one vent in each room .

Are your return vents above the doors?

Don't exist.

he only other annoyance is that the big return air vent is in our hallway and it is a little noisy when it first comes on. Once it reaches temperature it tends to quieten down.

No noise.

My only problem has been self inflicted. had all new internal doors, including new door on boiler cupboard ( its in the hall. The boiler had its yearly service last week and have been told to increase the air vents in the door , this is either going to be unsightly OR expensive.

to sum up your problem , cooler upstairs and a little noise and to correct
6/7 thousand plus the extra to tidy things up. Guessing you could add a couple of electric heaters upstairs and run for many many years and still not cost anywhere near your budget.

TanDiy

Thanks again for coming back. We have grills above each door which were there when we moved in and British Gas said we have to keep these - but now I am wondering if we can just block them in.

Interesting that yours is quiet. I wonder if you have a newer boiler - ours is a J55-65 and we have to have a big air vent in the utility room to allow fresh air in. The problem we have is that our return air grill is built into the wall, high up in the hallway. The grill is only 15" x 9" which we know is undersized and I think this is what makes the noise with so much air trying to get back through such a small space. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do about this as we cannot increase the ducting in the wall or route it anywhere else. Had an engineer in who said we would struggle to fit a new warm air boiler in the future as we would not be able to comply - this was another reason I was looking at alternatives.

Anyway, sorry to take up so much of your time but thank you very much indeed for all the info - most helpful. I think we need to have a serious think about it all - thinking we might try and work with the warm air again now. Thanks again.

Owain_Moneysaver

Filling holes in ceilings should be straightforward especially once the ducting has been removed. Larger holes will need a piece of plasterboard cut to shape and fitting in the hole.

It shouldn't be that difficult to match bobbly artex; a fan pattern or similar would be a bit harder. Any half competent builder should be able to patch a plasterboard ceiling so that once painted it is indistinguishable from the rest of the plasterboard; and textured coatings should be 'good enough' even if not perfect.