The Historic District

Theres as many ways to repair plaster as there are peopleon this forum probably.

I do NOT like tape pf any type- just use a bonding agent which adheres the new plaster to old, and to drywall patches (if any- you can cut them to any size to fit into bigger holes. ) widen cracks, clean/wash well, paint on bonding agent onto lath & edges of the old plaster, fill with new plaster, sand flush - boom,done.

I dont use the plaster washers anymore unless its only moderate loose in some areas. If its really coming down then Ill just pull it down and do some drywall patches as needed. The problem w/ tape and with washers is that you have to do the feathering thing just right so that the wall LOOKS flat and you dont see any shadow lines from the tape. My PO did a really HIDEOUS job with mesh tape and blobbed on plaster - looked like the wall had scabs all over it. It was just awful trying to get all that junk off so I could do it right. Of course some people do it, and do a decent job - just a bit of a learning curve.

Plaster repair really is the perfect job for DIY'er - not rocket science, and not too difficult to learn -b ut it is quite labor intensive. You mentioned time constraints youu do know that plaster needs to cure for a month befoer painting?

It can be anice meditative type task onc eyou get going. Enjoy!

Um, no, didn't know about the cure time.

The time issue is big on this one, that will have to figure into the final decision for sure!

I knew I took at least one decent pic of the ugliness.

Hi EC, how firmly adhered is that plaster to the lath you think? In general. If you were to take a chisel and try to break off that corner where the two cracks meet - would a big chunk easily fall off or would it be a lot of work to get it off? If the latter, then that plaster is good to go for another 100 yrs and quite possibly only cracked due to some early settling or wood shrinkage when house first built and not likely to recrack. For that sort of thing some crack filler or spackle product might be all thats needed (also take an orbital sander and run it over entire wall smoothing out the odd bumps and lumps and bits of unevenness).

You might find that the condiition varies throughout the house, and so best solution might be a variety of things. HOpefully youll find that the walls are generally not too bad (you can DIY) and only the ceilings really bad (hire out - possibly remove & drywall). Ceilings tend to be worse because of gravity and since you dont have wood trim to contend with its not so much a major hassle or disruption to the historic feel of the house.

I am not sure. I'll poke at it Monday on the walk through. The walls aren't nice and smooth-can I literally sand them smooth? I thought the only option was to skim.

Following... I have some problems with cracked sections that move when you push them with a finger and I am learning a lot here....

Eclectic cottage... I have a couple of areas like yours... lurking and learning. Been scared to start this for 10 years now... gotta put on my big girl tool belt and take action soon.

If the plaster is largely well-adhered and you're really only dealing with cracks and funky texture, then skim coating is the way to go.

My $0.02.

And any old drywaller should be able to do the skimming fairly quickly.

I poked at the walls yesterday on the final walk through. There is a lot that's loose-that spot above being one of them.

My only issue with skim coating is the texture. I much prefer the texture of smooth, glass-like plaster to new skim coats. But that's probably just my craziness.