Water Damage On Plaster Walls

Outside damage caused by bad guttering or roofing will inevitably end up with water cascading down the same part of a wall causing long term damage.

Water damage on plaster walls.

If you re not sure of the cause of a damp patch on a wall try the foil test. When salts from the masonry substrate come in contact with water they migrate to the surface of the plaster appearing as dry bubbles or efflorescence. When you hit lath stop the bit won t go through wood pull out the bit and drill another hole about 3 inches from the first and about 2 inches from the crack. Next remove the damaged plaster.

After some investigation we learned we needed a new roof on the building and brick pointing overall. Drill into the plaster photo by david carmack. The second step in this guide on how to repair water damaged plaster walls is to remove the damaged plaster. Water damage on plaster wall.

Plaster applied to a masonry wall is vulnerable to water damage if the wall is constantly wet. Ready mixed compound will not be hard enough and is vulnerable to any residual moisture in the wall material. Bubbling plaster bubbling plaster. To make plaster walls plaster is applied wet to a wooden lath wall structure and allowed to harden.

Try to be as gentle as possible but if the damage is deep you ll need to get the blade in to dig out any soft material. Using a 3 16 inch masonry bit drill a hole in the plaster about 2 inches from the crack. Dry the wall surface with a fan heater then tape some kitchen foil tightly over the affected. How to repair plaster walls 1.

The repair process on this page can be used to repair water damage to the surface layers of plaster walls and ceilings. As such water is a plaster wall s enemy. The damage that water causes to plaster walls depends largely on the. Once the water damage becomes severe then the plaster will begin bubbling and bulging.

Plaster that has gotten wet is best repaired using setting type joint compound also called mud. The source of the moisture must be eliminated before replastering the damaged area. 2 gypsum plaster gypsum plaster is not good at withstanding damp conditions. About a year after we moved into our apt on the top floor of a five story co op we started noticing water damage on one wall of our bedroom.

You may reach this stage without any noticeable water stains but when this happens a portion of the plaster will have to be removed and patched. Use the steps in my post how to. Take away all material that is bubbling flaking or peeling using a putty knife.