Repairing Cracks In Plaster Walls Before Painting

How to fix cracked walls permanently.

Repairing cracks in plaster walls before painting.

The process is different for plaster than for drywall. Here tom silva shows how to repair plaster walls to make them look as good as new. Alternatively you can use repair mesh to cover imperfections in drywall. Again let the compound dry sand it smooth and dust it down.

An overview photo by david carmack. 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. He asks us in an e mail. The key to any fix is to reunite the plaster with the strips of wood lath underneath.

The first step in repairing cracks is cleaning them out. 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. There are a couple of reasons why cracks can form in plaster walls. Understanding how plaster walls are constructed will help you fix your cracked plaster wall.

Some like a small hairline crack usually aren t a big deal. Use a five way tool or other scraping device image 1. Small cracks in plaster should first be widened so that filler can be pushed right. Repairing holes and cracks in lath and plaster usually involves packing the area with steel wool or newspaper before filling.

Plaster repair is much. Repair procedures for large holes and cracks differ depending on the size of the hole or crack and the construction material of your walls. Dust the wall off and apply a second slightly wider coat of plaster compound to the wall. Repairing small cracks in plaster is easy compared to plastering a whole room.

Once the compound is dry lightly sand it until it is smooth. 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. Whether found in drywall plaster or concrete a crack in a wall is an eyesore. For finishing you ll need primer and paint.

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. Knock old plaster through keys in the lath to establish a better binding course for the new plaster to adhere to image 2. In the case of larger cracks with plaster falling out remove the damaged plaster to reveal the binding course.