Repairing Corner Cracks In Plaster Walls

No matter what the cause you can repair the plaster cracks by using drywall tape and joint compound.

Repairing corner cracks in plaster walls.

Plaster walls in older homes are often plagued by cracks and other defects such as pitting and uneven texture. There are really only two solutions for unpainted textured walls that crack up the corner. Corners and edges seem to get the most abuse and on corners the damage is especially noticeable. He asks us in an e mail.

Plaster repair is much. To solve this problem apply self adhesive fiberglass mesh drywall tape over the crack for reinforcement. And if the tape has pulled loose from the wall surface. To repair small cracks in plaster you ll need patching compound medium and fine grit sandpaper a sanding block a putty knife a masonry chisel a paintbrush a rag and a screwdriver.

If you have ever repaired drywall you may know that it is often easier to replace entire portions with new pieces of drywall it s possible to remove just the section that needs fixing and a few. For finishing you ll need primer and paint. The plaster keys holding it to the underlying lath can also crack and break over time causing the plaster to partially separate from the wall. Otherwise the cracks come back no matter how many times you patch over them.

No special tools no special patching products. If cracks are simply filled with spackling or joint compound they have a tendency to telegraph back through. You can try to find a matching caulk that will cover the cracks as well as possible or. If the crack is on a vertical or horizontal seam carefully widen the crack with the corner of a paint scraper utility knife or chisel to determine if the crack extends completely through the paper that is covering the seam image 1.

You do not have to tape and finish the corners. Fortunately you can repair chipped plaster and fill wall dings in a matter of minutes. The key to any fix is to reunite the plaster with the strips of wood lath underneath. Here tom silva shows how to repair plaster walls to make them look as good as new.

The process is different for plaster than for drywall. A quick and easy way to fix cracks in plaster wall corners. An overview photo by david carmack.