The most common reasons for having to repair plaster are structure movement and just plain old and tired plaster. When repairing plaster you must remove any adjacent loose material. This means that you cannot firmly secure a patch that is adjacent to loose plaster. If your wall or ceiling has numerous cracks and buckles in it, it might not be salvageable. To test, lightly push on different areas, if you feel numerous gaps between plaster and the lath, this means that the plaster has separated from the lath and your whole wall should be replaced. If replacing a large section, I recommend using sheetrock and not plaster (see “Sheetrock”).  Repairing small hairline cracks: This of course

is the easiest. Use a premixed spackling compound, right from the can. Try to work the compound into the crack by applying it in sideways motions. Let the compound dry and then apply a top coat about 4 inches wide, covering the whole crack. If you feather the edges as you go this will eliminate most of the sanding. Repairing large cracks: To bridge both sides of a crack together, you must use fiberglass tape and sheetrock joint compound. First apply the self stick tape to the crack. Then apply successive coats (2 or 3) of the compound using a 12 inch knife. To make the crack appear not to bulge, apply the compound on either side of the crack, and widen the area, as to spread out the bulge. Remember to feather the edges. Filling large voids: I suggest when filling large voids, that you purchase and use hot mud. This is a powder that is easy to mix, sets fast for multiple applications, and does not shrink like regular taping compound. Before you apply this or any other compound to bare lath, always wet the lath down with water. This makes the lath, as it dries, absorb the compound into the wood to make a very secure bond. Patching large areas: Unless you have some previous experience with floating out large areas with a screed (3 or 4 foot straight edge), I suggest that you square up your plaster patch, and screw in a piece of sheetrock. This will give you a head start on receiving a smooth flat surface. Apply the sheetrock and finish as described in “Sheetrock”.

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