Repairing Cracks In Plaster Walls Before Painting

Here tom silva shows how to repair plaster walls to make them look as good as new.

Repairing cracks in plaster walls before painting.

Knock old plaster through keys in the lath to establish a better binding course for the new plaster to adhere to image 2. 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. Repairing small cracks in plaster is easy compared to plastering a whole room. Generally caused by the natural settling of a house over time you can repair.

Alternatively you can use repair mesh to cover imperfections in drywall. How to fix cracked walls permanently. 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. Understanding how plaster walls are constructed will help you fix your cracked plaster wall.

The key to any fix is to reunite the plaster with the strips of wood lath underneath. Plaster repair is much. The first step in repairing cracks is cleaning them out. The process is different for plaster than for drywall.

Scrape the plaster compound into the crack and flatten it on to the wall with your paint scraper. An overview photo by david carmack. Once the compound is dry lightly sand it until it is smooth. Small cracks in plaster should first be widened so that filler can be pushed right.

He asks us in an e mail. In the case of larger cracks with plaster falling out remove the damaged plaster to reveal the binding course. Whether found in drywall plaster or concrete a crack in a wall is an eyesore. Dust the wall off and apply a second slightly wider coat of plaster compound to the wall.

Repair procedures for large holes and cracks differ depending on the size of the hole or crack and the construction material of your walls. There are a couple of reasons why cracks can form in plaster walls. Repairing holes and cracks in lath and plaster usually involves packing the area with steel wool or newspaper before filling. Use a five way tool or other scraping device image 1.

Again let the compound dry sand it smooth and dust it down. Most small cracks will easily be covered by normal wallpaper but when walls or ceilings are to be painted with ordinary paint the cracks will need to be filled before painting and this article deals with filling small cracks for this purpose. For finishing you ll need primer and paint.