How To Repair Plaster Ceiling Cracks

The plaster must be firmly anchored to the lath behind it.

How to repair plaster ceiling cracks. How to fix plaster ceilings. Use mesh tape to cover the crack. 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.

Score the crack with a utility knife to remove any loose plaster or other material that may be inside the crack. This will allow the mud to bond directly to the plaster which will make the repair stronger. Be sure to drive screws into wood lath above. If the plaster ceiling feels firmly attached to the lath then you can do the same repair as for the small cracks above.

Ask this old house general contractor tom silva helps a homeowner repair a cracked plaster ceiling in an older home. In this video this old house general contractor tom silva explains how to repair a plaster ceiling. Here is a step by step guide to how to fix plaster ceilings in your old house. Subscribe to this old house.

Typically plaster ceiling cracks have two causes. 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. Small cracks in plaster are relatively easy to repair with one condition. Use trowel to spread joint compound onto ceiling covering the repaired 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. Screw plaster washers to ceiling along and around cracked area. By using modern materials and a traditional technique it is possible to repair plaster ceilings that are cracking and delaminating.