Preservation Plastering

Rory Brennan, President and Founder of Preservation Plastering and Big Wally’s Adhesives will be speaking and demonstrating Old house plaster repair at the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance-Old house and Barn Expo, this Saturday, March 20 2010.

There will be a one hour talk from 12N until 1 PM and a two hour demonstration/question and answer session from 2 PM until 4 PM.

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The answer is straight forward.

Big Wally’s Plaster Magic takes half the time to achieve equal results.

Why does Big Wally’s Plaster Magic take half the time?

1. You don’t have any screws and washers to cover up.
2. You don’t rake out any cracks. (HINT: This actually weakens the plaster by ripping the plaster fibers.)
3. You don’t apply or have any mesh tape to cover up.
4. You don’t need any trowel skills.

Can you use a drill?
Can you use a vacuum cleaner?
Can you use a spray bottle?
Can you use a caulk gun?
Can you use a screw driver?
Can you use a putty knife?
Can you use a damp sponge?

If you can use these tools then you can repair your plaster in half the time it takes anyone using conventional methods.

How does Big Wally’s Plaster Magic work?

Big Wally’s Plaster Magic glues the plaster onto the lath reestablishing its attachment. The lath bridges the crack from behind, “welding” the crack together. This prevents the crack from opening up EVER!

After the plaster is glued to the lath nothing needs to be applied to the surface of the plaster, just fill in the holes and cracks with joint compound.

It’s that simple.

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I have several long cracks in my ceiling and walls.

The House is a 1949 Cape Cod.  The backing is NOT lath but it looks like a cement board or another sheet of plaster.

Will Big Wally’s Plaster Magic work on this?

The plaster substrata that you have is called rock lath. The long cracks that you observe run at the border of the rock lath pieces. The rock laths are boards that are 16″ X 48″. The symptom that you see is typical of rock lath aging. It is not a very sound system. As your building moves the plaster cracks along these lines. There is nothing you can do to prevent this, you can only mask it. The good news is that barring other issues it shouldn’t fall down soon.

In order for Big Wally’s Plaster Magic to work it needs two materials to glue together. In this case the plaster is not delaminating from the lath making it a condition where the adhesive will not be useful. If the plaster is coming away from the rock lath or the layers of plaster are separating then you can use Big Wally’s Plaster Magic.

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It’s important to leave the plaster clamped to the lath for a full twenty four (24) hours. Thia allows the adhesive to set completly. Remember clamp the plaster into soft contact with the plaster.

The adhesive shrunk into the holes overnight. Is this normal?

Short answer…Yes it’s normal…this allows you room to apply the joint compound when you are filling up the holes.

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Be sure to watch our instructional videos at Big Wally’s Plaster Magic website.

When repairing plaster there are two major issues to consider.

Stability

Cosmetics

Until the plaster is stabilized no repair will last. Once the plaster is stabilized almost any repair will last.

You test for plaster crack stability by:

1. Placing one thumb bridging the crack
2. Using the other hand press on the plaster on one side of the crack and then the other side of the crack
3. If there is movement across the crack it needs to be stabilized.

There are four ways to stabilize plaster.

1. Big Wally’s Plaster Magic is low odor, flexible, water based adhesive system designed to address the conditions found within plaster walls and ceilings.  Big Wally’s uses the wood lath or masonry lath to bridge the cracks and reinforce the plaster structurally. (In certain instances customers have used it to reattach plaster to wire lath.) Reattachment is accomplished by knowing the anatomy of the plaster walls and ceilings and using those existing elements assist in the repair. Big Wally’s Plaster Magic is flexible so it moves with your building. When using Big Wally’s Plaster Magic you do not need to apply mesh tape to the cracks, dig out the cracks (HINT: this actually weakens the plaster by ripping the internal fibers of the plaster), or apply anything to the surface of the plaster. Not doing these tasks saves half of the time of other methods.
2. Screws and washers stabilize the plaster by compressing the plaster to the lath. Often this will crush the plaster further weakening it and only holds the plaster where the washer is. Screws and washers have rigid narrow point of attachment, only holding the area covered by the washers so you need LOTS of them. After they are installed they must be covered up and the cracks reinforced with tape or screening. This means either multiple layers of joint compound or plaster leaving a hump on your otherwise flat plaster.
3. If you just use drywall tape (either mesh or paper) to bridge the cracks the plaster has not been stabilized except in a minor superficial way. All that has been accomplished is that the crack has been hidden for a short while; the plaster is still loose on the lath and moving.
4. Using fiberglass sheeting or “wallpaper” to reinforce the plaster is just a surface treatment. The application is smelly, messy, and if you don’t like the texture too bad. You still need to use screws and washers (or BWPM) to stabilize the plaster if it needs it. It’s not cheap, not effective in the long term and if there is ever a problem with it there is no way to fix it.

Big Wally’s Plaster Magic is the most cost effective method of plaster repair on the market today.

Be sure to watch our instructional videos at Big Wally’s Plaster Magic website.

After the plaster is stable the rest of your repair is cosmetic. How do you want your plaster to look?

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