Plaster woes! Planning for the summer...

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rnlincourt

Member
Dec 31, 2009
56
Western MA
I bought a house last year built in the 1930's and renovated the bathroom over the summer. I pulled down all the plaster-with the metal mesh backing- it wasn't easy and a lot to get rid of. The next room to do is our second bedroom which the walls themselves look pretty good but there was some water damage on the ceiling from the previous owners roof leak, which has been fixed. Also there is a layer of wallpaper that will hopefully come off without too much damage. My thoughts are to keep the existing walls and try to replace the section of ceiling that is damaged.
Here is my question- how do you do this? Like I said I renovated my bathroom- down to studs and built back up so I look forward to a good challenge!
Hearth.com is my first stop when I have questions about how to do things around my house and appreciate all the advice!
 
If it's old-fashioned plaster (not drywall) I would contact a plasterer in your area. A small section may not be all that expensive to repair. There really is an art to plastering since the final finish is time sensitive and obtained with a wet sponge rather than sanded. You'll probably only find a few tradesmen in your area who can do it (unlike drywall where you'll find dozens). Here in south-east Michigan, there are only two companies in our county which are competant to do it. If the section to be repaired is very small you might try to do it yourself but the learning curve is high. The other approach would be to take the entire ceiling down and re-do with drywall. Good luck.
ChipTam
 
Damaged how? Just a water stain? Whack it with an Alcohol based primer and then a good paint. If its more damage then just a stain, then you will have to do as Chip says and take it down and drywall the whole ceiling.

I had my brother in law plaster a section of one of my downstairs walls (hallway) when I first bought the house. Definitely not an easy thing to do. There is now a huge mirror hanging in that area! :lol:
 
yeah i know- i've seen it 50 times....and you've seen the damage on the ceiling..i think frying will be a go!

raiderfan said:
Damaged how? Just a water stain? Whack it with an Alcohol based primer and then a good paint. If its more damage then just a stain, then you will have to do as Chip says and take it down and drywall the whole ceiling.

I had my brother in law plaster a section of one of my downstairs walls (hallway) when I first bought the house. Definitely not an easy thing to do. There is now a huge mirror hanging in that area! :lol:
 
DWBMHD said:
I bought a house last year built in the 1930's and renovated the bathroom over the summer. I pulled down all the plaster-with the metal mesh backing- it wasn't easy and a lot to get rid of. The next room to do is our second bedroom which the walls themselves look pretty good but there was some water damage on the ceiling from the previous owners roof leak, which has been fixed. Also there is a layer of wallpaper that will hopefully come off without too much damage. My thoughts are to keep the existing walls and try to replace the section of ceiling that is damaged.
Here is my question- how do you do this? Like I said I renovated my bathroom- down to studs and built back up so I look forward to a good challenge!
Hearth.com is my first stop when I have questions about how to do things around my house and appreciate all the advice!
Can you put a new drywall cieling on the old plaster. If ther isn't crown molding you can then add crown after installing the drywall. You can use 3/8" drywall.
 
A number of years ago, I repaired a plaster ceiling that had sagged due to water leaking thru the roof.
I used drywall screws to tighten the areas furthest from the sagging part & then removed the sag.
I cut a piece if 3/8 sheetrock to the approximate size & screwed that in place.
I filled in the gaps & skim coated the patch with Durabond 90, building it up over a period of 2 - 3 days,
sanding between coats to remove globs & high spots..
I finished sanded it with a fine drywall sanding mesh & primed & repainted the ceiling...
To this day, you can't tell that there's a patch there...
 
I started fixing plaster with actual plaster. I didn't have the horse hair stuff so I just keyed and layered plaster of paris. I ended up doing as Bob did because the plaster took so long. There is a learning curve. If I walked through the house I started doing plaster work on I can show you a skill progression.

Matt
 
don't try and use joint compound because the difference in how smooth the plaster is and how smooth the joint compound is you will always see it. until the 7th or 8th coat of paint. and also that type of plaster job is heavier than wood lath and plaster so i don't think that going over it with a sheet might be a good idea. back when they did those plaster jobs they put one nail from strapping to the joist. you could (and i have seen it happen) have the ceiling fall. if you wind up mastering the job, you might have found a new trade. round here the plasters that know how to do plaster get a days pay for the job whether they do it in 3 hours or 8
 
Thanks all for the advice- I still have to take the paneling on the external wall to see if that as well got damage and it might turn out to be a bigger job than once initially thought (isn't that how it always happen!). In that case it might make sense to tear it all out but really don't want to have to do that. This is still 5-6 months away so I should have plenty of time to figure things out- i'll keep you posted if I find any new techniques!
 
If you don't have another reason to take down the plaster it makes sense to not bother. you're best off trying to pin the plaster tight to the joist with screws (I've used screws and large washers) and to patch. It really depends on how firm the original is.
 
+1

They sell ceiling button washers that do a great job. This Old House had a segment where Tom Silva was repairing plaster. Prolly can be found online. For repairs consider using a setting-type 20 minute dry mix drywall compound. It sets up a little slower than plaster, so you have working time. I found that ready mix joint compound can have the moisture pulled out of it and into the old plaster.

If you have an area to remove, consider pulling the loose plaster out and putting up 1/4 or 3/8 drywall over the lath and then feathering in the joint line with tape.
 
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