Old House Plaster Ceiling Repair

By using modern materials and a traditional technique it is possible to repair plaster ceilings that are cracking and delaminating.

Old house plaster ceiling repair.

Be sure to drive screws into wood lath above. The finish coat is applied after the brown coat has hardened. Old plaster walls and ceilings are made from two layers of plaster. Here is a step by step guide to how to fix plaster ceilings in your old house.

Steps for patching a plaster and lathe ceiling. Here is a step by step guide to how to fix plaster ceilings in your old house. Screw plaster washers to ceiling along and around cracked area. The brown coat is applied over wood lath strips that are nailed to the studs and spaced about inch apart to create keyways for the brown coat to grip.

Ask this old house general contractor tom silva helps a homeowner repair a. One option is to cut out the damaged area and install a 3 8 thick sheet of blue board and plaster. Besides the normal wear and tear of living plaster and lath ceilings are at the mercy of gravity and they can take only so many water leaks and structural movements before they pull away from the framing. By using modern materials and a traditional technique it is possible to repair plaster ceilings that are cracking and delaminating.

What old house owner doesn t have a cracking or sagging plaster ceiling in need of repair somewhere. When originally installed wood lathe was nailed to the ceiling joists. Plaster mixed with horsehair or goat hair was then forced onto the lathe forming a key that holds it to the lathe. Ask this old house general contractor tom silva helps a homeowner repair a cracked plaster ceiling in an older home.

The old way of doing this was by using plaster washers which are a larger wash the is screwed through the face of the plaster into the lath to mechanically support the plaster. Then to cover the washers you would have to apply a couple coats of plaster over the ceiling building it up as much as 3 16. In this video this old house general contractor tom silva explains how to repair a plaster ceiling. Use trowel to spread joint compound onto ceiling covering the repaired area.

That s why this old house general contractor tom silva usually reattaches lath with screws and metal washers before attempting a repair.