How To Repair Plaster Ceiling Cracks

What old house owner doesn t have a cracking or sagging plaster ceiling in need of repair somewhere.

How to repair plaster ceiling cracks.

For larger cracks you may need two coats of spackle because of its tendency to shrink as it dries in large gaps so double check before priming and painting. Be sure to drive screws into wood lath above. Score the crack with a utility knife to remove any loose plaster or other material that may be inside the crack. If when you push on the wall it flexes as though it has broken away from its support base call a plaster specialist the repair will involve removing the loose plaster and replacing it.

The plaster keys holding it to the underlying lath can also crack and break over time causing the plaster to partially separate from the wall. Use trowel to spread joint compound onto ceiling covering the repaired area. In this video this old house general contractor tom silva explains how to repair a plaster ceiling. Use mesh tape to cover the crack.

Screw plaster washers to ceiling along and around cracked area. 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. Typically plaster ceiling cracks have two causes. Small cracks in plaster are relatively easy to repair with one condition.

Ask this old house general contractor tom silva helps a homeowner repair a cracked plaster ceiling in an older home. Here is a step by step guide to how to fix plaster ceilings in your old house. This will allow the mud to bond directly to the plaster which will make the repair stronger. By using modern materials and a traditional technique it is possible to repair plaster ceilings that are cracking and delaminating.

How to fix plaster ceilings. No matter what the cause you can repair the plaster cracks by using drywall tape and joint compound. If the plaster ceiling feels firmly attached to the lath then you can do the same repair as for the small cracks above.