Can you patch plaster walls with joint compound

Plaster sets quickly and is generally more difficult to work than joint compound or patching compound. Once the base coat cures not dries you can apply a finish coat of plaster. How to fix drywall on an already painted wall home. Plaster and joint compound drywall finishing drywall talk. Find quality drywall joint compound online or in store. If you have a hole like in the picture the first thing you need to do is attach. Joint compound is the best option in most cases, but sometimes such as when youre repairing a plaster wall you need something that sets more quickly and creates a harder surface that wont. But i have had success priming the old paint that is not loose with a skim of durabond mixed with a handful of plaster to excel the set time before it peels the paint. Leah shows and tells you about premixed joint compound, settingtype joint compound, and traditional plaster. Plastering over an interior cement wall the home depot. Drywall mud, also known as joint compound, needs to dry for 24 hours between each coat and before sanding, priming, and painting. You can fix cracks in a plaster wall by applying joint compound that you can pick up at any hardware or home improvement store.

Working from the edges inward, push the plaster mixture into and through the lath for a good bond. Can i use plaster of paris instead of joint compound. First, apply a thin layer of plaster or joint compound and then apply the tape. When the second compound coat is hard, sand the area smooth with 220grit abrasive paper. Are there differences to drywall joint compound and plaster. Start with a full bodied joint compound, not a lightweight. The difference between plaster and joint compound, explained. Plaster vs patch plaster vs joint compound mon jan 08, 2001 11. Use settingtype joint compound, also called mud, for this repair. First, apply a strip of selfadhesive fiberglass wallboard tape. If you can get it to set in ten minutes the surface is workable. Can allpurpose joint compound be used on plaster walls. The plaster itself consists of a mixture of lime or gypsum, an aggregate such as sand, and water.

Learn how to clean the wall hole and how to repair it with plaster using the patch plaster technique. Plaster walls in older homes are often plagued by cracks and other defects such as pitting and uneven texture. You can easily fix them, but youre probably going to have to reprime the wall and youll definitely have to paint it again. I havent tried plaster retarder to slow it down, but im told you can also mix the jc in with the plaster to have the same effect. Unless your home was built before the mid1950s, your walls are likely drywall. There are different types of the compound, some of which are better for small repairs and others for fixing larger holes in drywall and other surfaces.

For smaller jobs, theres no need to mix up a traditional lime and sandbased plaster. If you just have a small crack, you can patch this using a plaster pencil. Apply more plaster or joint compound mixture over the tape and use the drywall knife to smooth the surface until its even with the wall, pressing to remove pockets of air and plaster drywall mud from beneath the tape. If you do have lath behind the void, then skip to step 2. I have done some plaster work and literally drove me nuts. Plaster walls frequently develop a network of hairline cracks that are too narrow to be filled with patching plaster, yet they cannot be covered with paint. Joint compound is the better choice for taping and finishing drywall seams whereas spackle is the better choice for filling in small to large sized holes in your walls. In any event my recommendation is to put your coats on thin, and to use either plaster or settingtype joint compound mentioned above.

To do the job properly you should strip all the plaster from the walls, leave the lath in. You can also experiment with metal screen, self furring metal screen,structolite gypsolite, tooth trowels,etc. Finishing a new wall or room with plaster or joint compound takes practice. Its also miserable to sand and dosnt feather out as easily as jc. Use a 6inch drywall knife to spread a thin layer of veneer plaster over the patch. Patching plaster walls is not too difficult depending upon the size of the holes being patched. Mudding over plaster walls with premixed joint compound. If your walls are plaster, joint compound may still help. For example, if your project entails installing a small patch to repair a. Allow the veneer plaster to cure, then spread joint compound over the area. Drywall mud comes in four basic types, and each has its advantages and disadvantages. To prepare the surface for the plaster of paris you would first need to apply a scratch coatbase coat. Can you repair plaster with drywall joint compound answers. Unless the house is very early or historically significant, a premixed joint compound like murco mud works fine.

However, if you need to speed things up, a few shortcuts can quicken the overall installation process without affecting the finished product. Been working with the pop, but it has a pot life of 3 nanoseconds great for deep voids and just wont smooth out like joint compound. Ive had some absolutely horrible experiences when i skimcoated walls with joint compound only to watch the paint underneath bubble off. Joint compound is the best option in most cases, but sometimes such as when you re repairing a plaster wall you need something that sets more quickly and creates a harder surface that wont. Can you use joint compound to patch holes in the wall. Spackle understand these similar but not interchangeable wallpatching putties so you can pick the right one for your wall repair projectand get tips. There are cracks in the plaster, which can be seen through the paint as raised creases in the canvas. Joint compound and drywall are ideal partners, and you can repair most holes with a few tools and techniques. In addition if plastering over an interior smooth surface such a concrete or cinder block wall you can also use a plaster bonder to improve adhesion of the base coat. Preexisting surfaces that are structurally sound can be coated with a. First, apply a strip of selfadhesive fiberglass wallboard. Any ideas about the joint compound idea or other recommendations would be great.

Larger areas of damage will need a plaster material that can be used for larger areas, a pencil or compound usually wont cut it. Choosing the best type of drywall compound the balance. You can also use spackle and a joint compound to patch cracks. How to patch plaster walls old house journal magazine. Its also handy for repairing cracks and holes in existing drywall and plaster surfaces. Shop drywall joint compound in the drywall section of. Once the repair dries, sand lightly and apply a second layer of joint compound. In this video, this old house general contractor tom silva explains how to patch plaster.

Skim plaster over the drill holes and patch with three very thin layers of joint compound you should still be able to see the plaster surface through it. The next day, apply joint compound to the surface of the patch and spread it just over the edges of the wall. There are also other substrates that plaster can be applied to such as steel mesh, or wood lath as seen with the old horsehair plaster, which may be required if your property is listed as a historical landmark building. You need to use different materials and fortunately theyre readily available and not too hard to work with. A full skim coat, patching, or covering lead paint. The answer really depends on what you are trying to do. Its relatively easy to repair small holes in plaster if the lath backing that grips the plaster is intact. You use drywall joint compound for almost all drywall repairs. Simply fill the crack with joint compound and smooth until the crack. Id like to give them a more finished look, so my idea is to texture them with joint compound. In general, many gp premixed compounds specifically say not to be used as a skim coat.

I technically live in a flood zone so insurance wouldnt cover a finished drywall basement. When this has dried, apply another coat of joint compound if necessary so that the patch is even with the existing wall. It isnt difficult to remove dried joint compound from drywall, but the same cant be said for settingtype plasters. If you own an older home thats got real plaster walls and ceilings, youll discover quickly that traditional drywall premixed joint compound will not work well to fill larger holes. Allpurpose joint compound is a building material drywall finishers use to spackle, or mud, a drywall installation. It is made from gypsum plaster and can be bought in either powder form or premixed and ready to use. For the sake of argument, lets assume you are doing a full skim coat. The room must stay at this temperature during plastering and until the plaster has completely set. Often you put a hole in the middle and feed string through the hole and tie something on the back so the string wont pull back through.

Craig phillips shows you how to patch plaster repair a hole in a wall. If the lath backing is fine, you can mix joint compound with plaster of paris for the patch. Drywall joint compound is not an acceptable patching material. Keep the room at this temperature at least 24 hours before plastering to ensure the walls are completely dry. If it did go all the way back to brick we would need to put a cement mix in there, let that dry, then cover it over with the topping compound. If cracks are simply filled with spackling or joint compound, they have a. Drywall mud, also called joint compound, is a gypsumbased paste used to finish drywall joints and corners in new drywall installations. The plaster is troweled onto the wall surface wet, and when it dries, it forms a very hard, durable surface. Joint compound typically consists of a gypsumbased powder thats mixed with water to form a paste. In this example the hole hasnt gone back to brick so we can patch the white set with some topping compound.

When you need to make repairs to drywall, such as patching holes, filling cracks or recovering unsightly seams, you have a choice of repair materials. Allpurpose joint compound adheres well to most surfaces, so you can use it to make repairs on plaster walls. It hardens quickly you guessed it, in 45 minutes, shrinks very little and dries hard as a rock. If you have no experience with plaster or its near relative, joint compound, dont. Now, that doesnt mean you cant fill holes with a quality joint compound, but joint compound typically dries much. How to repair deep damage to woodlath plaster doit. If there is still lath in the damaged section, then the repair is even simpler, but thats not always the case. Learn how to choose and use spackle to repair walls. Joint compound vs spackle, which one should you choose. Spackle understand these similar but not interchangeable wall patching putties so you can pick the right one for your wall repair projectand get tips. Replacing cracked plaster with drywall worth effort, cost. Installation is quicker than plaster, and it gives an even canvas for paint or wallpaper. You slather it with joint compound and pull it so that it sticks to the surrounding ceilingthe back side. Coating basement concrete walls with joint compound.

Plaster of paris is best for patching holes in plaster walls, because its characteristics are more likely to match the wall material. Many plaster products are so hard when they set that sanding them is almost impossible, and there is no way to make them soft aga. For starters, buy a bag of 45 minute setting drywall compound. How to repair cracks in plaster walls todays homeowner. You may choose one type for your project or use a combination of compounds for the. It comes as a powdermostly plaster of parisyou mix with water as you need it.