Repairing Historic Flat Plaster Walls and Ceilings (Part C)

Partial or complete removal may be necessary if plaster is badly damaged, particularly if the damage was caused by long-term moisture problems.

Workers undertaking demolition should wear OSHA-approved masks because the plaster dust that flies into the air may contain decades of coal soot. Lead, from lead based paint, is another danger. Long-sleeved clothing and head-and-eye protection should be worn. Asbestos, used in the mid-twentieth century as an insulating and fireproofing additive, may also be present and OSHA-recommended precautions should be taken. If plaster in adjacent rooms is still in good condition, walls should not be pounded--a small trowel or pry bar is worked behind the plaster carefully in order to pry loose pieces off the wall.

When the damaged plaster has been removed, the owner must decide whether to replaster over the existing lath or use a different system. This decision should be based in part on the thickness of the original plaster and the condition of the original lath. Economy and time are also valid considerations. It is important to ensure that the wood trim around the windows and doors will have the same "reveal" as before. (The "reveal" is the projection of the wood trim from the surface of the plastered wall). A lath and plaster system that will give this required depth should be selected.

Replastering--Alternative Lath Systems for New Plaster

Replastering old wood lath. When plasterers work with old lath, each lath strip is re-nailed and the chunks of old plaster are cleaned out. Because the old lath is dry, it must be thoroughly soaked before applying the base coats of plaster, or it will warp and buckle; furthermore, because the water is drawn out, the plaster will fail to set properly. As noted earlier, if new metal lath is installed over old wood lath as the base for new plaster, many of these problems can be avoided and the historic lath can be retained. The ceiling should still be sprayed unless a vapor barrier is placed behind the metal lath.

Replastering over new metal lath. An alternative to reusing the old wood lath is to install a different lathing system. Galvanized metal lath is the most expensive, but also the most reliable in terms of longevity, stability, and proper keying. When lathing over open joists, the plasterer should cover the joists with kraft paper or a polyethylene vapor barrier. Three coats of wet plaster are applied consecutively to form a solid, monolithic unit with the lath. The scratch coat keys into the metal lath; the second, or brown, coat bonds to the scratch coat and builds the thickness; the third, or finish coat, consists of lime putty and gauging plaster.

Replastering over new rock lath. It is also possible to use rock lath as a plaster base. Plasterers may need to remove the existing wood lath to maintain the woodwork's reveal. Rock lath is a 16x36-inch, 1/2-inch thick, gypsum-core panel covered with absorbent paper with gypsum crystals in the paper. The crystals in the paper bond the wet plaster and anchor it securely. This type of lath requires two coats of new plaster--the brown coat and the finish coat. The gypsum lath itself takes the place of the first, or scratch, coat of plaster.

Painting New Plaster

The key to a successful paint job is proper drying of the plaster. Historically, lime plasters were allowed to cure for at least a year before the walls were painted or papered. With modern ventilation, plaster cures in a shorter time; however, fresh gypsum plaster with a lime finish coat should still be perfectly dry before paint is applied--or the paint may peel. (Plasterers traditionally used the "match test" on new plaster. If a match would light by striking it on the new plaster surface, the plaster was considered dry.) Today it is best to allow new plaster to cure two to three weeks. A good alkaline-resistant primer, specifically formulated for new plaster, should then be used. A compatible latex or oil-based paint can be used for the final coat.

A Modern Replacement System: Veneer Plaster.

Using one of the traditional lath and plaster systems provides the highest quality plaster job. However, in some cases, budget and time considerations may lead the owner to consider a less expensive replacement alternative. Designed to reduce the cost of materials, a more recent lath and plaster system is less expensive than a two-or-three coat plaster job, but only slightly more expensive than drywall. This plaster system is called veneer plaster.

The system uses gypsum-core panels that are the same size as drywall (4x8 feet), and specially made for veneer plaster. They can be installed over furring channels to masonry walls or over old wood lath walls and ceilings. Known most commonly as "blue board," the panels are covered with a special paper compatible with veneer plaster. Joints between the 4-foot wide sheets are taped with fiberglass mesh, which is bedded in the veneer plaster. After the tape is bedded, a thin, 1/16-inch coat of high-strength veneer plaster is applied to the entire wall surface. A second veneer layer can be used as the "finish" coat, or the veneer plaster can be covered with a gauged lime finish-coat--the same coat that covers ordinary plaster.

Although extremely thin, a two-coat veneer plaster system has a 1,500 psi rating and is thus able to withstand structural movements in a building or surface abrasion. With either a veneer finish or a gauged lime putty finish coat, the room will be ready for painting almost immediately. When complete, the troweled or textured wall surface looks more like traditional plaster than drywall.

The thin profile of the veneer system has an added benefit, especially for owners of uninsulated masonry buildings. Insulation can be installed between the pieces of furring channel used to attach blue board to masonry walls. This can be done without having to fur out the window and door jambs. The insulation plus the veneer system will result in the same thickness as the original plaster. Occupants in the rooms will be more comfortable because they will not be losing heat to cold wall surfaces.

Patching Materials

Plasterers general use ready-mix base-coat plaster for patching, especially where large holes need to be filled. The ready-mix plaster contains gypsum and aggregate in proper proportions. The plasterer only needs to add water.

Another mix plasterers use to patch cracks or small holes, or for finish-coat repair, is a "high gauge" lime putty (50 percent lime; 50 percent gauging plaster). This material will produce a white, smooth patch. It is especially suitable for surface repairs.

Although property owners cannot duplicate the years of accumulated knowledge and craft skills of a professional plasterer, there are materials that can be used for do-it-yourself repairs. For example, fine cracks can be filled with an all-purpose drywall joint compound. For bridging larger cracks using fiberglass tape, a homeowner can use a "quicksetting" joint compound. This compound has a fast drying time--60, 90, or 120 minutes. Quick-setting joint compound dries because of a chemical reaction, not because of water evaporation. It shrinks less than all-purpose joint compound and has much the same workability as ready-mix base-coat plaster. However, because quick-set joint compounds are hard to sand, they should only be used to bed tape or to fill large holes. All-purpose point compound should be used as the final coat prior to sanding.

Homeowners may also want to try using a ready-mix perlited base-coat plaster for scratch and brown coat repair. The plaster can be hand-mixed in small quantities, but bagged ready-mix should be protected from ambient moisture. A "millmixed pre-gauged" lime finish coat plaster can also be used by homeowners. A base coat utilizing perlite or other lightweight aggregates should only be used for making small repairs (less than 4 ft. patches). For large-scale repairs and entire room replastering, see the precautions in Table 1 for using perlite.

Homeowners may see a material sold as "patching plaster" or "plaster of Paris" in hardware stores. This dry powder cannot be used by itself for plaster repairs. It must be combined with lime to create a successful patching mixture.

When using a lime finish coat for any repair, wait longer to paint, or use an alkaline-resistant primer.

TABLE 1

REPLASTERING

Selected Plaster Bases/Compatible Base-coats and Finish Coats

Notes:

(1) On traditional bases (wood metal and rock lath) the thickness of base coat plaster is one of the most important elements of a good plaster job. Grounds should be set to obtain the following minimum plaster thicknesses: (1) Over rock lath -- 1/2" (2) Over brick clay tile or other masonry--5/8" (3) Over metal lath measured from face of lath--5/8" (4) Over wood lath--7/8". In no case should the total plaster thickness be less than 1/2". The allowance for the finish coat is approximately 1/16" which requires the base coat Tom be 7/16" for 1/2" grounds. This is a minimum base coat thickness on rock lath. The standard for other masonry units and metal lath is 5/8" thick including the finish. Certain types of construction or fire ratings may require an increase in plaster thickness (and/or an increase in the gypsum to aggregate ration) but never a thinner application of plaster than recommended above. Job experience indicates that thin applications of plaster often evidence cracking where normal applications to standard grounds do not. This condition is a direct result of the inability of thin section areas to resist external forces as adequately as thicker, normal applications of plaster.

(2) Perlite is a lightweight aggregate often used in gypsum plaster in place of sand. It performs well in cold weather and has a slightly better insulating value than sand. In a construction with metal lath, perlite aggregate is not recommended in the base coat excerpt under a sand or "float" finish. When gypsum/perlite base coats are used over any other base (i.e., wood, rock lath, brick) and the finish coat is to be a "white" finish coat (smooth-troweled gauged lime putty), it is necessary to add fine silica sand or perlite fines to the finish coat. This measure prevents cracking of the "white" finish coat due to differential shrinkage.

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