Repairing Cracks In Plaster Walls Before Painting

Dust the wall off and apply a second slightly wider coat of plaster compound to the wall.

Repairing cracks in plaster walls before painting.

Plaster repair is much. There are a couple of reasons why cracks can form in plaster walls. Once the compound is dry lightly sand it until it is smooth. Understanding how plaster walls are constructed will help you fix your cracked plaster wall.

The process is different for plaster than for drywall. Whether found in drywall plaster or concrete a crack in a wall is an eyesore. The key to any fix is to reunite the plaster with the strips of wood lath underneath. An overview photo by david carmack.

Again let the compound dry sand it smooth and dust it down. How to fix cracked walls permanently. Repair procedures for large holes and cracks differ depending on the size of the hole or crack and the construction material of your walls. Generally caused by the natural settling of a house over time you can repair.

Knock old plaster through keys in the lath to establish a better binding course for the new plaster to adhere to image 2. Use a five way tool or other scraping device image 1. Repairing small cracks in plaster is easy compared to plastering a whole room. Scrape the plaster compound into the crack and flatten it on to the wall with your paint scraper.

He asks us in an e mail. Some like a small hairline crack usually aren t a big deal. In the case of larger cracks with plaster falling out remove the damaged plaster to reveal the binding course. Otherwise the cracks come back no matter how many times you patch over them.

However if the plaster separates from the lath or the structure of the wall it s called blown plaster and it requires a more extensive repair. Repairing holes and cracks in lath and plaster usually involves packing the area with steel wool or newspaper before filling. Small cracks in plaster should first be widened so that filler can be pushed right. If you have ever repaired drywall you may know that it is often easier to replace entire portions with new pieces of drywall it s possible to remove just the section that needs fixing and a few.

Here tom silva shows how to repair plaster walls to make them look as good as new. To repair small cracks in plaster you ll need patching compound medium and fine grit sandpaper a sanding block a putty knife a masonry chisel a paintbrush a rag and a screwdriver. Alternatively you can use repair mesh to cover imperfections in drywall.