I have recently bought an old house in NJ. Clinton-Hackettstown area. Built 1885. I would like to try and restore some of the old plaster, but can't find anyone who actually carries and sells it?
Any ideas? I looking for the "Lime?" plaster or veneer. They kind that would go on smooth on the outside. I see manufactures for it but can't find it. (USG, National Gypsum).
But I did find the paster washers in Boston! (Charles Street Hardware)
You will probably have to go to a drywall supply house as it is NOT a DIY'er material and is VERY unforgiving if you don't know EXACTLY what your doing...You can even mess it up just by mixing it wrong.....If you do go the plaster route you will need basecoat to build up to within a 1/4-1/8 inch of finished surface and Finish Coat Plaster for the finish coat...We use USG Imperial Basecoat and Finishcoat...Don't forget to get a jug of bonding agent as well because new plaster WILL NOT BOND to old plaster without it and follow the directions EXACTLY... You will not get the plaster off tools,ect after it sets..Also the new plaster MUST cure 3-5 weeks BEFORE painting and use ONLY primer that is approved for going over new plaster.....Go to a real paint store and ASK..I recommend calling a pro if you REALLY want plaster.....Much easier for a DIY'er to put a piece of dywall in the patch, apply mesh tape over the joints and use USG Sheetrock Brand Durabond Setting type joint Compound to bring it up to within a 1/8 of an inch of the finished surface and USG Easysand setting Type Joint Compound for finish coat...Regular compound takes forever to dry...Good luck....
Your best bet is a drywall supply house. Get out the Yellow Pages and start phoning. The two most widely used brands are Gypsolite and Structolite.
Some (but by no means most) Lowe's stores carry Gypsolite.
Plaster is a pain to learn and use, I would not bother new products are quicker to use.
Sometimes hiring an experienced person will provide you with a better end result than you going thru an exasperating learning curve. And a long learning curve at that.
Yes, you can learn and acquire the needed hand-tool skills, but the question is do you have the time and energy? Does your wife have the patience for your to overcome the learning curve? We're not talking about laying a carpet here, for years and years your learning curve will be on the Wall. For all your friends to see. All your wife's friends to see. Right - There - On - The - Wall !
Your learning curve will be touched upon every Holiday for the rest of your life. By your wife. Even if you move to another home.
But, then again, it is your choice, your home, and your family. Enjoy.
Phil
LOL.........is this the voice of experience?
The hard coat (white stuff) is sold here at the brick yard where other masonry supplies are sold. I don't know if the fill stuff is even sold any more. I made my own using mortar mix and a little extra lime when I needed some.
I will point out that Durabond 45 is easy to find and makes a wonderful filler material. Topped off with some easy sand setting type drywall mud and you have a repair that will stand the test of time. I have been doing it that way for over 30 years.
If you have a large defective area is easier to chip it out, fill the void with drywall screwed to the studs and lath and then skim coat that.
try a easy experiment, remove all loose material, clean well and rinse twice, give it a coat of kilz, let dry a few days,
then apply a thin coat of drywall mud.
its pretty easy to work with.
try one poor condition small wall, thats what we did it turned out great and refinished many of the plaster walls which were water damaged 20 years earlier
today you would never know............
cheap and easy to work with
Those products are typically used in curved walls , eyebrow dormers , ect. over wire mesh (even on some conventional drywall jobs that have curved walls , ect.) because you have to put it on really thick (2-3 inches) and it is MUCH lighter than basecoat and won't pull the mess of the wall or ceiling due to the weight which is why you see it more...Everyone likes curves nowadays it seems...Basecoat is used in all other applications as it is much stronger...Finishing is the same though....
Basecoat is still sold today...We use it all the time....I also reccomended the method you described above ...Best way to go..IMO...
I applaud you for giving plaster a shot. It's a long learning curve, but as a dedicated DIYer, I have mastered the learnign curve to a degree that I produce good work. I've patched a lot of cracks and missing plaster sections in our 1925 house, and I've veneer plasterd the entire stairwell.
There is exactly one place in my medium sized city (Rochester, NY) to get plaster products, a building supply place that normally caters to drywall contractors. I stand out like a sore thumb when I go there to get stuff in my Dockers and button collar shirt when I go there after work. I would suggest contacting USG or National Gypsum to see if they cam tell you where your local dealers are. It may be hard to find by yourself. I don't believe any of the big box stores will carry what you need. As other have mentioned you will need base coat plaster to fill voids where all the plaster has come loose, finish coat plaster, bonding agent, and perhaps a good stainless steel Marshalltown trowel among other tools.
Ken
I applaud you for giving plaster a shot. It's a long learning curve, but as a dedicated DIYer, I have mastered the learnign curve to a degree that I produce good work. I've patched a lot of cracks and missing plaster sections in our 1925 house, and I've veneer plasterd the entire stairwell.
There is exactly one place in my medium sized city (Rochester, NY) to get plaster products, a building supply place that normally caters to drywall contractors. I stand out like a sore thumb when I go there to get stuff in my Dockers and button collar shirt when I go there after work. I would suggest contacting USG or National Gypsum to see if they cam tell you where your local dealers are. It may be hard to find by yourself. I don't believe any of the big box stores will carry what you need. As other have mentioned you will need base coat plaster to fill voids where all the plaster has come loose, finish coat plaster, bonding agent, and perhaps a good stainless steel Marshalltown trowel among other tools.
Ken
Good for you Ken...Not many people would have the dedication and patience to to learn plaster by themselves...Bravo.....
My brother has a 100+ yr old house and has had to do a lot of plaster repair. He has found a 50-50 mix of plaster of paris and Poly-Filla makes a perfect match. YMMV.
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