How to repair an internal brick wall that's missing bricks?

[Haze]

Hi there, am in the process of removing an old kitchenette that's in the corner of our family room.  The walls are double-brick; with the inside wall being cement rendered.  I've just taken out a big old dual-fan rangehood and found that there are 2 rows of about 4 bricks missing across the top of the inner brick wall; which obviously were taken/left out to accommodate the two horizontal vents/ducts from the rangehood to the outside.  This gap doesn't involve any load-bearing issues or anything like that, but my question is - how to make good on this gap solidly enough so I can cosmetically redo the inner wall surface/lining?  Do I:

- mortar in new bricks?

- glue in a solid block of timber to fit the gap?

- something else?

Whatever I do, it doesn't need to be pretty, as there'll ultimately be a new wall surface/lining of some sort to hide it all.  Whether that'll be a re-render, or plasterboard, or something else; I haven't quite decided yet. 

Cheers!

[EricL]

Hello @Haze

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's fabulous to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about how to tidy up an interior brick wall that's missing a few bricks. 

My best advice would be to fill the gap with like for like, I suggest using a compatible brick in size and length in combination with Dingo 10kg Mortar Mix. I don't recommend getting a rapid set mix as the working time for these mortar mix types is very short. But before you begin your brick patching job, is the new rangehood being located in a new spot or is it going in the same area? It will be handy if it's staying in the same place, but if not, then I propose closing it off.

My only other reminder is to make sure to give the mortar enough time to cure before you cover or render the wall. 

Here is a handy step-by-step guide: How to build a brick wall.
 

If you need further assistance, please let us know.  

Eric

[Haze]

Thanks for your opinion EricL, much appreciated.  To answer your question, there is no rangehood or anything else going back in - the kitchenette corner is being converted to a TV corner.  So, either I'll finish these walls off plain (whether that be re-render or plasterboard or something else) or maybe just build in some custom shelving to hide all the uglies!

[EricL]

Hi @Haze

That sounds like a great idea, have you planned out what your shelves will look like for your TV corner? If you can post a photo of your corner, I'm sure our members will be more than happy to suggest ideas. How big will the TV be and are you mounting it to one side or diagonally? 

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing the start of your corner TV project.

Eric

[Haze]

OK, attached is a pic of the corner in question. 

The one constraint I have to work with is  this - when I rip out the base cabinets there will be a footprint of no tiles left exposed on the floor.  I have no spare tiles, so whatever I put/build onto the floor there will have to occupy (at least) the same footprint.  My thinking was to redo a corner run of drawers/cupboards & benchtop much like what is currently there; only not as tall (say about 60cm high; a good TV watching height).  And put in a matching corner run of open cupboards/shelves up high against the ceiling, again about 60cm tall.  That leaves about 1.2m of height in the middle all the way around, which would just be plain wall - that gives me the most flexibility/space for plonking down any size of TV and associated equipment on the benchtop.

Whilst I'd like to DIY everything myself, the problem is the degree of customisation required on the base cabinets. I had a quick look at the Kaboodle website, but it seems you can't customise the depth nor the height of the base cabinets, so that doesn't look like it'll be a viable option.  So I don't know...  Any suggestions welcome!

[EricL]

Hello @Haze

Thank you very much for posting pictures of your proposed TV corner. Looking at the picture, it would seem that the tiles keep running under the kitchen cabinets. Have you had a chance to remove one of the cabinets to see if the tiles continue to the wall? If by chance the tiles do continue on you'll be able to put in a much more compact table for your TV. However, having longer cabinets always gives the impression of more space.

Can you please tell us the size of the walls? This will allow me to sketch up a sample TV table that will fit into your space.  

Eric

[Haze]

The floor tiles do not run under the cabinets.  Yes, on the RHS there are some floor tiles you can see in that open space where (I presume) an under-bench dishwasher was designed to slide in, but the tiles are most definitely cut out around everything else that touches the floor.

So, your idea of some kind of tv table isn't going to work.  I will need to fill that footprint with something.  And I'm quite happy to use it all; I'm not wanting anything compact.  And by the time I plonk down a big tv and associated speakers and other equipment, I'll still need the full corner run of benchtop to fit everything.

To answer your question; the left wall length is 225 cm, the right wall is 210 cm.  And the depth of the footprint front to back is 68 cm, and the depth of the current benchtop is 75 cm.

[EricL]

Hello @Haze

Thank you very much for that extra information. I've placed some sample sketches below, please tell me what you think.

If you have any questions about the cabinet, please let me know.

Eric

[Haze]

Thanks for your effort there, it is appreciated.

Your overall design isn't bad; but as I already said I'd have the TV sitting loose on the benchtop for maximum flexibility, and I'd probably have drawers/cupboards under rather than open shelving...  But, anyway, coming up with a good design isn't what I'm struggling with; the bigger question is does Bunnings have any suitable products that can be customised perfectly fit the foot-print that I am forced to work with?  I'm not a wood-worker per se, I don't particularly have the tools/skills to make all of this up from scratch with free-form timber; I was more hoping to go down the route of custom made-to-order kitchen type cabinetry.  As I said earlier, from what I've seen on the Kaboodle website, I don't think Bunnings has anything quite like that.  But please correct me if I'm wrong!

[EricL]

Hi @Haze

Unfortunately, I'm currently not aware of a cabinet that deep with the height that you require. You could use the Kaboodle 600mm 1 Drawer Base Cabinet and have two of them on top of one another. The only issue is when you get to the corner, there are no corner cabinets that low. As for the wall cabinets, you could use the Kaboodle Wall Cabinets, they come in a few sizes, you'll just need to choose which size will work for you.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric