Your Plaster Walls are Your Most Important Home Improvement
Plaster has been a standard wall composite for hundreds of years, offering a tough, resilient surface. But over time most walls pick up cracks, dings, and dents and require some improvements. Many people remodel with drywall to cover their plaster and get an even surface. Such a quick and clean improvement can tempt even the most devout purist. Before you bury your plaster walls behind sheetrock, consider the following remodelling pointers.
Plaster Restoration
- To create a major home improvement on minor cracks in your plaster, apply fibreglass mesh tape. Using a trowel, go over the tape with joint compound. If you're in a hurry, simply plug the crack with the joint compound. The compound will shrink as it dries so you won't get the smooth surface of fibreglass, but you can easily fill a minor crack this way.
- For larger cracks and holes, first clean out all the debris. Make the hole bigger until you reach solid plaster. Fit a piece of drywall into the spot. Then line the seams with the fibreglass mesh tape and joint compound.
- If you have a big hole that must be addressed, and you want to preserve the plaster, you can remodel by applying new plaster. But plastering requires skill. Inexperience will produce a wavy wall. Don't want to spend months perfecting your technique? Hire a contractor for your plaster remodel.
- Want a quick fix? Find a piece of furniture or an ornamental textile to place over the problem area until you can take on a home improvement project.
When Plaster Restoration Won't Be an Improvement to Your Home
Sometimes, the remodelling effort required to restore plaster simply isn't worthwhile. If any of the following apply to your wall, your home improvement calls for a complete wall replacement.
- More than 1 big hole per 4 x 8 area
- More than 3-4 cracks in 100ft2
- Cracks that are more than 1/4" wide
Even if you have to sheetrock over some plaster, you don't necessarily have to lose it all. You can remodel with preservation of the plaster in mind. Simply use furniture and wall hangings to obscure the difference in textures.
