To fill or not to fill...,

[TuttiFruttiCutie]

Just exchanged and only been given a week to pack and get out!

Taken TV off wall and have filled the largish hole (wires went through wall and returned near skirting board) . We have removed the bracket but there are umpteen cavity rawl plugs in place.

Would you remove and fill them (most probably badly) or leave them in situ? Chances are the buyers will mount a tv in the same place.

But they won't be able to use your rawl plus as unlikely their TV will be the same mount.

You're meant to make good - so fill and paint.

Be upfront and ask the LL. Get written reply and follow through accordingly. If monies are taken from your deposit contest it. You will win.

I'm a LL btw.

Sorry if didn't make it clear- we have sold not renting.

Remove and fill. Not everyone mounts a TV on the wall.

Our contract states we have to fill and make good.

Aargh- really haven't got the time! We were given a week to complete or buyers were going to pull the plug. Frantically packing, cleaning and organising (yes, yes I know I'm on mumsnet right now) whilst working full time.

Does the quality of fill matter? I'm no pro- I will slap some filler in and sand down. I doubt I would have any paint as last painted 3 years ago!

Where and which contract does it sate 'make good'. I haven't read any such thing. However I don't dispute it.

You will have filled in a Property Information Form at the beginning and it's one of the questions.

yes we filled out a property information form but there was no question directly about 'making things good'.

I will however do my best.

I wish our vendors had left the holes without filling them . They did such a bad job and I had to spend ages rubbing them down before I could decorate.

So only fill them if you can do a proper job . Good luck with the move.

fixtures and fitting form states-

If the seller removes any fixtures, fittings or contents, the seller should be reasonably careful to ensure that any damage caused is minimised.

Thinking about it , I'd rather know where the holes are so I can avoid them when putting up mirrors or tv brackets , or so I can use them myself with new rawl plugs.

I would rather you not fill. Unless you do a good job. It is easy to do and if you did a rubbish job, the next person needs to sand back and reskim.

And actually yes we reuse some of the holes left behind. We just add new plugs.

I would try and do a reasonable job! But as I said I'm not a pro.

I think in reverse I would like the holes left- purely so I didn't try drilling through filler or the possibility of re-using said hole.

Not sure what to do, the form says minimising damage- we aren't creating any damage.

I'd leave them , it's not that big a job for the buyers and I don't think they'll sue you for a few holes.

Leaving the house clean is far
More important imo.

Ask your buyer what they would like? They might be able to use the bracket if you're happy to leave it? We had to take down a TV wall bracket and it was specified to make good (i.e. fill and paint) as the buyer wasn't going to put a TV on the wall.

I will try and fill them. I'm not sure I can repaint as I can't remember the colour- and wouldn't the whole wall need painting? That's a massive job in the timescale given. Our buyers forced a weeks completion by threatening to pull out if we and rest of chain would not agree!

If you do fill them , I wouldn't bother to paint, most people decorate when they move house anyway.

I think it would be nice to make the legalities clear.

I haven't read anything that states making things good- just to be reasonably careful to minimise damage. See TA10 form.

I have filled the large hole behind our TV. It's just the cavity (metal) rawl plugs left behind- around 8 of them ( approx 1cm diameter).

Oh god we move in a few weeks and dh and I both work plus have 3 dc. Really hope we don't end up with holes all over the wall in the new house. Mind you we plan to decorate the living room pretty quickly so I guess if the vendor asked I would be pretty chilled about that one.

Leave as is. Its better for them to see where the holes were (just incase they do want a wall mounted tv). They viewed it as is and will have seen the wall mounted tv (and probabky loved it), they know youre not leaving the telly, so of course fixing holes will be evident. Its like asking sellers to paint the walls where pictures have clearly been hung and left an outline. Its a perfectly acceptable 'removal' situation, just like crushed carpets under wardrobes.

DON'T PULL OUT WALL PLUGS

they will pull out a great chunk of plaster.

Instead, put the point of a screw in the hole in the plug, and tap it lightly with a small hammer. Do not screw it in. The plug will sink beneath the surface. The screw might sink into the plug. Unscrew it and take it out.

You then need only fill a small round hole, using a metal filling knife and pressing so hard that it sinks into the hole and there is no excess blob stuck to the wall. If there is, scrape it off with a metal scraper before it is fully hard.

piglet I like the sound of that idea- sounds a relatively quick fix. Will this method work on metal cavity plugs also? Not just the plastic ones?

Don't fill leave them