How To Repair Peeling Paint On Lath And Plaster Wall

Yous just gotta love plaster. That rock-hard substance, which was applied to the walls and ceilings of nearly every house in this country until the 1950s, gives united states of america surfaces that are seamless, mold resistant, burn down resistant, and dissonance wearisome. But what to do when plaster cracks, buckles, and pops loose? It'due south a perplexing question for many of our readers, including Tim Thorp, whose firm in Providence, Rhode Isle, is filled with badly blemished plaster.

"How exercise I patch 100 years of gouges, cracks, and screw holes and so the walls look flat and clean when painted?" he asks united states of america in an e-mail. Hither, Tom Silva shows how to repair plaster walls to make them await as good equally new.

Plaster Crack Repair: An Overview

The key to any prepare is to reunite the plaster with the strips of forest board underneath. Otherwise the cracks come back, no affair how many times you patch over them. That'south why This Sometime House general contractor Tom Silva usually reattaches lath with screws and metal washers earlier attempting a repair.

Recently, though, he tried Big Wally's Plaster Magic, a homeowner-friendly agglutinative that uses glue instead of screws. While it costs more the screw-and-washer method—a vi-tube kit runs $120, versus $20 for 120 metal washers—the terminal finishing is easier and looks better considering there aren't any washers to cover. Plus, a glued bond lasts longer than a screwed connection.

How to Repair Plaster Walls

1. Drill Into the Plaster

Man Drills Hole Near Crack In Plaster Wall

Using a 3/sixteen-inch masonry bit, drill a hole in the plaster well-nigh 2 inches from the crack. When yous hitting lath, terminate—the bit won't go through forest—pull out the chip, and drill another hole about iii inches from the first and about 2 inches from the crack. Endeavor to striking a strip of lath with every hole you drill. If yous miss, the bit will sink in right to the chuck.
Mark such holes with a pencil as a reminder not to inject them with primer or adhesive in the adjacent steps; endeavor drilling again near one-half an inch upwardly or down.
Proceed until there is a series of holes nearly four inches autonomously on both sides of the cleft. Vacuum the plaster crumbs out of all the holes.

2. Prime and seal

Man Sprays Acrylic Conditioner Into Holes

Put on safety goggles and dispensable gloves, then spray-pump a stream of the acrylic conditioner into each of the holes (only non into any you've marked). Ane or two squeezes should be enough.
Spray the edges of the crevice, as well, and make clean upward drips with a moisture sponge. Wait 10 minutes for the milk-thin conditioner to soak into the plaster and woods.

3. Inject the agglutinative

Man Injects Adhesive Into Primed Holes Of Plaster With Caulking Gun

Place the adhesive tube's nozzle in one of the primed holes. Gently clasp the caulking-gun trigger until the creamy glue fills the hole and a little backs out around the nozzle.
Practise the same for all unmarked holes. Scrape off the excess and wipe the wall clean with a moisture sponge.

4. Clamp the wall

Skid a 2-inch plastic washer over a ane 5/8-inch drywall screw, and bulldoze it into the lath through i of the adhesive-filled holes. The screw pulls the lath against the plaster'southward back side while the washer gives the screwhead a wide clamping surface.
Found washers about eight to 12 inches apart on both sides of the crack.

5. Wipe and wait

Man Wipes Off Excess Adhesive From Washers

Wipe away any backlog adhesive with a wet sponge.
Await a twenty-four hours or two for it to cure, then dorsum out the screws and scrape off the washers. (Salve them for another plaster-repair projection.) As well, scrape off any stale adhesive poking out of the holes.

6. Make full the cleft

Man Fills Cracks With Setting-Type Joint Compound

Mix up a small batch of setting-type joint compound and apply information technology to fill the crack and all the holes. Smooth the wet compound with a trowel; and so, as it begins to harden, moisture it and smooth it once again.
Later the chemical compound sets, sand the area lightly, and then prime and paint.