Help with my ceiling?
Question:hey. i am moving my room into another room in my house. The only problem with this room is that the ceiling is quite old and one part of it fell off. I need to fix this part that fell off. I think the whole ceiling is plaster i guess but underneath the plaster are these really skinny wood boards with something that looks like cement between them. Can i just do the standard drywall fix with a new drywall piece and some mesh and can i nail the drywall into these boards? I also need to peel ugly wallpaper off too to paint it. If i could just fix this part of the ceiling, things would be great. Oh, the whole is like 3 feet by 2 ft so how much would the drywall be to fix it. i cant get it done by a proffessional because i have no money and my mom will by me the drywall. A lot of help appreciated. thanks.
Answers:
This kind of thing can drive you nutz! I've read all the other answers and they are definetly on thr right track but...
Because you're working with old "plaster on lathe," there is a chance that the edges of the plaster that is till up thetre have separated from the lathe. Get up there an look at it. That "cement" between the thin strips is the old plaster itself. The "rough coat," when originally installed, was pressed against those wood strips. It squeezed through the spaces between them, then sort of curled around the back of the strips; that's what made everything stay in place. Now, when a section falls out, the edges of the remaining plaster may be separated from the part that squeezed between the slats. The only thing holding it there is the plaster it is attached to. So, if you try to trim up the edge, you end up breaking MORE of it away from the lathe. Even the jostling around from putting up plaster board over the place that broke away can loosen the old work.
So here's the way I tackle the problem. Except to nibble away any dangling pieces of old plaster at the edge, don't change any of the old plaster.
Get some plaster board whose thickness is slightly LESS than the surrounding good plaster. You want a piece (or pieces) that will leave a gap of about 6" between the edge of the plaster board and the edge of the old plaster -all the way around. This can be approximate -it can vary from 3" to 10."
With a scraper, remove as much old plaster still clinging to the strips in the repair area. Go over them thoroughly so you have them as clean as possible. You can even wash them, but if you do, make sure they are thoroughly dry before the next step.
Next step: GLUE the new plaster board to the old strips. You need so very little, the lumber yard may GIVE you some broken up pieces to use. You could even use the plasterboard strips that separate the stacks of plasterboard. Use construction adhesive ("Liquid nails") which is applied with a caulking gun (cost -$1.75 for a cheapie one). Put the adhesive on the strips - a thick bead running along the length of the strip wherever your plasterboard will be (not in the gap between the plasterboard and old plaster, but it doesn't matter if some gets there). To hold the boards in place while the glue dries overnight, use a "dead man." This is a "T" made with left over plasterboard or piece of plywood and a scetion of 2 X 4, a pole, or anything long enough so you can wedge one end on the floor, and the other against the glued up plasterboard. Doesn't need to be super tight, just secure enough to keep the plasterboard in place overnight.
The next day, pull the supports away. Get some light weight spackling compound -you'll need a big tub of it (appears to be about 1/2 the capacity of a gallon paint can). You'll know you've got the right stuff when you lift it off the shelf at the store and it feels empty, because it is so light. With a spackling knife/scraper, stir up the top layer. If you don't, it will fall apart. Get it to the consistency of Crisco -which it actually looks like it is. Now daub gobs of it along the edge of the old plaster, pressing it between the slats, and smoothing it firmly to the edge of the old plaster, and 3 or 4 inches beyond, on the TOP (room side)of the old plaster. The part that goes over the old plaster should be no more than 1/8" thick, tapering at the outer edge to nothing. Do the same thing for the new plasterboard. After the edges and surfaces of the old and new have been treated this way, use the remaining spackling to fill in the gap between them, but slightly shy of levels with the surface of your new and old work.
Now take some fiberglass wall board "tape," which looks sort of like tape made out of cheesecloth. NOT the paper tape. The fiberglass tape is sticky. Cut off sections to bridge the join between the old plaster and the spackle. Press it in to the spackle to embed it. Smooth with your spackling blade. Doesn't have to be perfect -you just want to smooth out any spackle that sticks out in little lumps or fingers. Don't worry about small rdiges from the spackling blade. Do the same over the join between spackle and new plaster board. The important thing is to make sure you've bridged the line where the spackle meets to plaster or plasterboard.
Now let everything dry overnight.
Next day, come back with joint compound ("mud") which can be purchased in small containers. Using a 4" blade, apply it to fill up the gaps, and "feather" it out across the old plaster and plasterboard by about a foot or so. The mesh from the tape may show through. Don't worry about that. Apply NO MORE than 1/2" thick coat. Let it dry overnight, and repeat the process the next day (the mud may have small cracks in it). This time, if you started in the morning, you should be able to put on another coat by late afternoon. These second and third (and maybe 4th and 5th) coats should be made smoother and soother each time, and will hide the tape mesh. Using very thin layers, build it out so that your repair area is ever-so-slightly thicker than the surrounding ceiling. You may find that at this point, you are actually working an area that is 2 feet beyond the repair area -that's good! Let dry thoroughly, and sand it to flush with the surrounding ceiling.
This is almost faster to do then it is to describe, but what you end up with is a repair that is tightly bonded to the slats, and also to surrounding plaster. It will help keep the old plaster in that area where it belongs.
Here's your shopping list:
A quart or two of spackle.
a 1" spackling knife
a 4" plasterboard "taping" knife (big scraper, really)
enough wall board to fill as described above
Construction adhesive
Caulking gun
fiberglass tape (you'll need just a few running feet -not an entire roll, so look for plaster wall "repair kits" that have some of it in the kit, or consult with the clerk or maybe a friend has some).
utility knife to cut the tape
a "dead man" or equivalent support to hold up plasterboard while glue dries.
Sand paper -just a couple of sheets should do.
A block to wrap the sand paper around to keep it flat.
Having restored many old houses, I can assure you that the above method will give you great results -and won't fall apart!
PS: What happens if the wall board is THICKER then the old plaster? Proceed as above, but put your mud on a bigger area around the plasterboard, gradually tapering to flush with the ceiling. You're making a big, flat "dome." But it is so big, no one will notice after the work is finished.
The thin boards will probably break if nailed into, try using a nail to find the studs in the ceiling.Then make the hole into a square.Drywall isnt very expensive. It comes in a few different thicknesses though 1/4",1/2", 3/4". Measure the depth from the hole to the ceiling to see what thickness you need. Then you can cut the new drywall and screw or nail to studs. When cutting drywall use a razor on the white side to score the lines needed to cut, then you can break it and cut the paper on other side, real easy.
If the hole depth is less than 1/4" then you may be able to use drywall compound to cover the area. Just use a putty knife to spread it on and sand it after it dries to make it smooth.
You can repair it with drywall but it will take a lot of sheet rock mud to get it right. One half inch drywall costs about 12.00 in Georgia. The mud will cost about 8.00.
Your ceiling is called plaster and lathe. You can just purchase some plaster to fill in the hole. Build it back up in several layers.
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