DIY help urgently needed

[Spink]

we have a hole in the wall where an old light fitting used to be. We also have a new light fitting, the base of which is smaller than the hole in the wall.

How do we fill the hole so that the filler is strong enough to support the weight of the new light? It is not very heavy, but the hole is about 10 diameter. (It is a Victorian house, the plaster has horsehair in it and is backed by thin wooden strips..)

Please help... we were hoping to fit this light today!!!

You should be able to fill the hole, then drill new holes into the brick behind, use rawl plugs and longer screws to attach new fitting? No expert, but prob what i'd do :-)

There probably isn't any brick ClareVoiant - it's a lathe & plaster wall

Spink there isn't a terribly easy answer

You could put a largish piece of plaster board in - but that means hacking off more plaster & I don't think that's a good idea

(I'll ask my dad later - but I'm not sure when he is around)

Go to B&Q or somewhere and have a look at their filler range - you'll need something like "No More Big Gaps"

I'd leave it to dry for a few days first

Then drill into the brick like Clare says

oh sorry yes is lathe and plaster

ah I wouldn't bother then

Buy a free-standing light

Actually you can do this, but it's tricky. You need to buy some strips of wood of a similar size to the strips used already, but put them the opposite way (ie if the existing ones go north to south, put them west to east). Feed them through the hole and then use no more nails or similar glue to stick them to the existing ceiling. An hour later you will be able to drill into them and make a good bond with rawl plugs. You can either then plaster the gap (or better still use several layers of caulk as this will flex and won't crack when the ceiling moves (all ceilings move).

Will that work if it's a wall?

whomoved - that sounds like it would work (it is a wall, but maybe that just makes it a bit easier than a ceiling..) but I think I am going to go with morningpaper and the floor lamp as dh has just fished around for the wires (which had been pushed back into the wall hole) and DROPPED THEM DOWN INTO THE WALL CAVITY.
seems that to get hold of the wires we would need to take down some wall. Think I'm just going to hang a picture over the damn hole and buy a pretty lamp.
oooh those DIY demons.

Pull off the skirting board, find the wires and then hook them round a flattened our wire coat hanger (TURN THE ELECTRICITY OFF FIRST) then you can feed them back up easily.

If you are just going to abandon the hole you deffo need to blank off the wires. Most house fires are caused by vermin chewing wires and if you have live wires behind your walls, it's an accident waiting to happen.