How To Repair Plaster Ceiling Cracks

In this video this old house general contractor tom silva explains how to repair a plaster ceiling.

How to repair plaster ceiling cracks.

Be sure to drive screws into wood lath above. What old house owner doesn t have a cracking or sagging plaster ceiling in need of repair somewhere. House settling and temperature or moisture fluctuations in an attic which result in the expansion or contraction of framing members. Screw plaster washers to ceiling along and around cracked area.

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. Small cracks in plaster are relatively easy to repair with one condition. Subscribe to this old house. By using modern materials and a traditional technique it is possible to repair plaster ceilings that are cracking and delaminating.

Score the crack with a utility knife to remove any loose plaster or other material that may be inside the crack. Here is a step by step guide to how to fix plaster ceilings in your old house. No matter what the cause you can repair the plaster cracks by using drywall tape and joint compound. 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.

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. How to fix plaster ceilings. This will allow the mud to bond directly to the plaster which will make the repair stronger.

Typically plaster ceiling cracks have two causes. If the plaster ceiling feels firmly attached to the lath then you can do the same repair as for the small cracks above. The plaster must be firmly anchored to the lath behind it.