Ceiling repair
#1
09-14-20, 03:10 PM
Ceiling repair
I have experience with drywall, and a little with lath and plaster, but I haven't come across this system before. I did repair a wall previously in my home, but I am more concerned about the ceiling. The walls are 2 foot wide plaster board, installed horizontally, covered with a skim coat of concrete (?) and finished with a skim coat of plaster. I had a roof leak that caused damage to plaster. It's about a 2 foot square area, the concrete underneath is intact and solid, but the skim coat of plaster delaminated and has been removed. What material would you recommend I used to fill this area? Will it adhere to the concrete without assistance?
#2
09-15-20, 04:09 AM
Welcome to the forums!
You have plaster with gypsum lath. I normally use Durabond when repairing plaster as I don't have experience using actual plaster. Durabond dries pretty much as hard as plaster and can be applied thicker than regular joint compound can. Hopefully our plaster pro - tightcoat, will be along later with more/better advice for you.
You have plaster with gypsum lath. I normally use Durabond when repairing plaster as I don't have experience using actual plaster. Durabond dries pretty much as hard as plaster and can be applied thicker than regular joint compound can. Hopefully our plaster pro - tightcoat, will be along later with more/better advice for you.
#3
09-15-20, 10:57 AM
A more amateur friendly material than Durabond is a product like EasySand by USG. All the drywall materials companies make a similar product. It sands more easily than Durabond and in my area at least is more readily available. It comes in set times from as fast as five minutes to up to ninety minutes. I use a lot of five minute and twenty minute mud. Anyway mix it with water to a spreadable paste like consistency and spread it evenly over the bare plaster brown coat. I think your existing finish is 1/16" -1/8" try to keep the new material exactly flush with the existing finish, in other words don't lap it over, keep wiping it off with your trowel. Just as the stuff sets mist it with water; use a hand spray bottle, this is for lubrication and keep your knife or trowel clean and wet and you can slick this down as smooth as the existing finish. Clean your edges with a wet rag and when it is dry you can prime and paint. Now if it is not quite good enough to suit you you can either give it another thin coat or let it dry overnight and sand it. Don't try to sand the stuff until it is completely dry.
If it is still not good enough you have one more chance. You can get some regular joint mud and put on a skim coat and you can lap this and then sand it to your liking and prime and paint.
I'd have this done in about the time it took me to write this, not counting covering the floor and mixing the material.
You can buy 5# boxes of EasySand in five minute set time. Maybe you can get it in 20 minute set time. I don't know if a 5# box is enough and two boxes will probably cost about what one 18# bag costs.
Don't be afraid of this. You can't go far wrong.
One caution though. Make sure you have all the loose stuff scraped off and it is a good idea to brush any loose or dirty stuff off of the brown coat with a wire brush. Don't get too aggressive. Also once this is all finished there is a chance there is still a water stain. The painters among us can tell you how to kill that stain before you paint.
Come back for more questions and let us know how it goes.
If it is still not good enough you have one more chance. You can get some regular joint mud and put on a skim coat and you can lap this and then sand it to your liking and prime and paint.
I'd have this done in about the time it took me to write this, not counting covering the floor and mixing the material.
You can buy 5# boxes of EasySand in five minute set time. Maybe you can get it in 20 minute set time. I don't know if a 5# box is enough and two boxes will probably cost about what one 18# bag costs.
Don't be afraid of this. You can't go far wrong.
One caution though. Make sure you have all the loose stuff scraped off and it is a good idea to brush any loose or dirty stuff off of the brown coat with a wire brush. Don't get too aggressive. Also once this is all finished there is a chance there is still a water stain. The painters among us can tell you how to kill that stain before you paint.
Come back for more questions and let us know how it goes.
#4
09-15-20, 11:14 AM
If there is any water stain either on the new mud or surrounding area it's best to coat the water stain with an oil base primer. That will seal the stain so it won't bleed thru the finish paint. Latex primers/paints rarely seal stains good enough. You can use the oil base primer over the new mud, if no water stains - use latex primer.
