Big hole in the ceiling

[dj]

I have a big hole in the ceiling of my living room caused by a leaky roof. I think we have fixed the leak and want to do at least an "average" job of fixing it myself. If the leak is actually fixed, I do it right. At this point, I don't know where to start, besides knocking down all the loose plaster. Please remember, this house was built in 1922, and frankly, I don't even know what the "cement like" surface is in the middle. This is the ceiling between my first and second floors. Do I just use spackle? patching plaster" or what to start with.

[Terry Coombs]

  Peel all the loose plaster from the cement like surface , then spray the substrate with a 50/50 mixture of Titebond II and water to bind the surface . When that's dried a couple of days trowel on a layer of either premixed drywall mud or (preferred) use a dry mix quick setting drywall compound - 90 minute probably if you have no experience . Build the area up flush with the rest of the plaster one THIN layer at a time .

[philo]

Excellent advice.

I had to do some plaster-work when I first moved in my house 40 h=years ago. I had zero experience and doggone it, it has held up just fine all these years.

[Clare Snyder]

It's a nasty job. You have lathe and plaster. Either wood lath or expanded metal you need to cut it back to the joist on both sides and to solid plaster at each end, then fasten blocking to the side of the joist to fasten new drywall to - 12/2 or 5/8 inch from the plaster surface depending what drywall you want to use for the patch. You will also want to install blocking between the joists at the same hight to keep the drywall from sagging/bowing. When the drywall is in you will need to fill the gaps with a SETTING type drywall compound which fries rock hard - making sure to level it with a dampsponge before it dries. It is REALLY HARD to sand. Then finish with normal drywall compound or a mix of PolyFilla and plaster of paris - I like to skim coat the drywall with this mixture as it mimics the texture of the existing plaster (instead of the "paper finish" on drywall) and sands relatively easily and doesn't soften whenyou wet it if you paint with latex. If you patch with regular drywall "mud" you pretty much need to seal it with a non-water-based primer before painting for best results

[micky]

I thought it would look a lot worse. All but the bottom layer or so are paint, I think, but the paint layers are thin. You can follow Terry's advice and get the plaster up to level of the next to last paint layer, or even even with it. Do you expect to paint too?

Bear in mind I've never done this!

[Hawk]

Exactly how I would approach.

[Clare Snyder]

That works if the base plaster has not all gotten soggy and fallen out. I had to do it "my" way when a roughly 15 square inch "hole" turned into over 96 square feet of soft soggy gyp-roc lath spanning from the kitchen to the dining room in friend's house last year. Instead of blocking to hight we installed 2 layers of drywall - one screwed every 8 inches and the other glued and screwed every 18 inches staggering the joints. The 2 layers were chosen to match the thickness of the old plaster - 5/8" screwed on and 1/2 inch glued over top.

[Terry Coombs]

  I ran a home repair business that for many years focused on resto and repair work in Midtown Memphis . Most of those houses were built in the same era as the OP's house and had many of the same problems ...

[A noiseless patient Spider]

People like you and your husband built America. God bless you both!

[Colonel Edmund J. Burke]

Well, DJ, that beats a big hole between her legs any day.

[gfretwell]

If you have never done anything like this before and you want it to look good, hire someone. If having a spot that you will be looking at for years wondering what went wrong, go for it.

[micky]

When there is a drip through the ceiling, it probably pays to punch a hole where the drip is so that all t he water comes straigtht through, instead of puddling up there. and soaking the plaster or sheetrock.

You can tell it's been puddling, sitting, and soaking because a whole bunch of water, much more than the drip, runs through the hole, or falls down when the plaster falls down.

Don't ask me how I know this.

[Wade Garrett]

+1