Shit. DH has put his foot through the ceiling.

[JollyShortGiant]

What do we do? How much is this going to cost? And who would we call to fix it?

You will need a plasterer (it is possible to do yourselvesif you have some idea what you are doing and dont want a pro finish)

But most importantly, how?

Call a plasterer - they will cut a piece of plasterboard to fit the hole, put a gauze called scrim around the edges and then skim the lot. It shouldn't take someone competent more than a couple of hours so, in theory, should cost about £50 but you usually have to pay a premium for these small jobs. If you don't want a smooth finish - ie if the rest of the ceiling is artexed - you might be able to do it yourself but, if not, pay a pro.

Is it plasterboard, or is it lath and plaster?

What sort of hoover have you got?

Are you fond of DIY?

If you have a few lumps and bumps around the house, it might be worth getting a plasterer to sort them all out and pay for a half day rather than have to pay extra for a small job.

DH did this 5 years ago while he was in the loft. It cost £550 to get the ceiling plastering redone; we claimed it on the insurance as accidental damage.

Is it plasterboard, or is it lath and plaster?

What sort of hoover have you got?

Are you fond of DIY?

It is plasterboard. He was in the loft and slipped. We have hoovered up as best we can.

That's not good, hope he's ok and not hurt himself

Hope he's OK & hasn't hurt himself.

Is it yours or rented?

Hole is under 2ft x 2ft. Probably 18 inches square. Unfortunately it is very close to the light fitting.

He seems to be okay.

It is ours. Was built in 2009 so not much other plastering required.

If it is plasterboard you can bodge it yourself if you want. You will need a small hammer, some short, galvanised plasterbiarding nails, and a cartrdge of solvent-free grip adhesive with a gun (metal not plastic) some Easifill, and a broad metal filling knife.

You clean away all the dust and fix up the bits like a jigsaw then smooth over once the adhesive is set and it is rigid. While setting, press a flat board, wrapped in clingfilm, up from underneath, braced with a deadman.

Or ask around and get recommendations for a local plsterer. It will look better if you get the whole ceiling skimmed.

Plaster dust is very damaging to carpets, soft furnishings and electronic apparatus, especially computers, televisions and DVD players, and domestic hoovers.

What sort of hoover have you got?

Oh. It is a bagless morphy Richards pet Hoover. We also used the Dyson handheld dc34. :(

When we had our new bathroom fitted the plumber managed to put a hole in our kitchen ceiling whilst taking out the old toilet.

My advice would be try claiming on your house insurance and have it to be professionally fixed - ours was repaired by a plasterer who covered the hole and skimmed the rest of the ceiling whilst he was at it. Once it had been painted the ceiling looked better than it was before.

Hope he's OK.

We don't have accidental damage on our house insurance :(

The handheld probably does not have a microfilter so will blow particles into the air. A canister vac like a Henry, with a bag in it, or the workshop equivalent, can cope. Clean out your vacs and wash their filters. Damp sponge surfaces to avoid spreading the dust.

We do painting and putting up shelves ourselves but this is beyond us.

Okay. Will sort that out asap

Thank you, by the way.

What a shit Sunday.

Hope you manage to get it fixed cheaply

My decorator put his foot through the dining room ceiling a couple of days before Christmas. 15 guests coming Christmas Day.

Nothing can be done about an accident except to say thank god no one was seriously hurt.

It doesn't take long to fix and anyone that knows a bit about plastering can sort it fairly cheaply.

Meanwhile make it a feature

There's a Paddington bear book where he makes a collage on his bedroom ceiling after making a hole in it. I just keep thinking of that. DH is quite upset though so I don't think he would appreciate the sentiment.

Take a Break once had an article where someone made a feature of the holes around their house by putting bears in the hole and then fixing a picture frame round them. I kid you not.

Ceiling Cat crops up on the net.

We're getting to the stage now that we can laugh about it. Phew.

The site manager who built our houses lives in a house up the road so I've messaged him for a plasterer recommendation and he wants to come see the hole. Progress already1