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The Basics Of Ceiling RepairBy Jim Sulski Summary: Ceiling flaws can really detract from a home and are difficult to repair. Jim gives tips on how to make ceiling repair as easy as possible. A ceiling with a lot of flaws can really detract from a well-decorated room.
At the same time, the true frustration of ceiling repair work is not only working
at an unnatural angle - straight up with your arms above you - but fighting
gravity. Imperfections pop up in ceilings for a number of reasons. Plaster can loosen from lathes over the decades. Or water from an overflowing upstairs bathtub can also cause damage. Ceiling repair, while difficult, can be made easier with a few tricks of the trade. Nonetheless, it still requires patience and even a greater degree of preparation than wall repair. What follows are a few methods for repairing ceilings. SIMPLE REPAIRS If your ceiling has a few hairline cracks - but no bulges rising along with the cracks - the repair is fairly simple. Dampen the cracks with a mister and patch them with drywall compound, using a wide wallboard or putty knife to fill in the gap. For deeper cracks, start by cleaning out any loose debris in the flaw. Then place a length of self-adhesive fiberglass wallboard tape over the crack, and coat the tape with two to three layers of thick plaster or drywall compound, sanding slightly after each coat dries. With each layer, spread the plaster about six inches wider than the previous coat, so that you feather it out, then repaint. SPOT PROBLEMS If only a small area of the ceiling is blemished with more than superficial cracks, than you can repair just that spot. This is common with water damage. Start by using a pry bar to remove loose pieces of plaster. Don't use a hammer because you'll cause more cracks. Once you're down to the bare lathes, look for loose or rotted pieces. Those will need to be replaced or reattached. Wire mesh can also be used as a plaster backing in lieu of lathes. Replaster the cracks using the tape method described above. You can also try to get the existing plaster to reattach to the lathes by gently driving wallboard screws through the sagging plaster and into the lathes. If the plaster is loose in the entire section, you'll need to remove it, and then replaster the area or use drywall to patch it. Cut a piece of drywall the same thickness as the plaster to fit the opening and anchor it to the joists through the lathes using screws. You can create a brace described below to hold the drywall piece in place. NEW CEILINGS OVER OLD If the ceiling is rife with cracks and bulges, spot repairs are probably unfeasible. Your best bet is to replace the entire ceiling. For plaster purists, this may mean replastering. That requires technique, however, and is out of bounds for most do-it-yourselfers. A more economical and timesaving method is to place drywall over the existing plaster. The first step is to make repairs to the existing ceiling and substrate, again opening up cracks to look for loose or rotted lathes. Next, fill the cracks with strips of plywood that are as thick as the plaster. That will prevent the installed drywall from becoming concave if you drive a screw into it at the same spot. Also, reattach loose plaster to the lathes by driving wallboard screws - as described above - into the plaster bulges. Next, locate as many of the joists as possible to anchor the drywall. To easily manipulate the sheets of drywall up the ceiling, you can rent a mechanical lift from tool rental outlets. The lift will not only raise a sheet of drywall, but will hold it in place while you fasten it to the ceiling. A second method is to create a couple of T-braces by nailing a two-foot length of one-by-two to the end of a two-by-four that is an inch or two longer than the floor to ceiling length. Cover the ends of the braces with foam rubber or towels so you dent the wallboard. Next, put the drywall in place. This is where you will need the help of at least two friends. Have the friends use stepladders to walk the drywall up and hold it in place. Then wedge the braces underneath each end of the drywall to keep it steady while you fasten it to the joists. The drywall should then be taped and sanded similar to installing a new drywall
wall. © by Jim Sulski. All rights reserved. February 7, 2005. NOTE: This column is distributed by Real Estate Matters Syndicate, PO Box 366, Glencoe, Illinois, 60022. This column may not be resold, reprinted, resyndicated or redistributed without written permission from the publisher. © 2005 by Ilyce R. Glink. Distributed by Real Estate Matters Syndicate. |
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