How to tie in lath and plaster to new drywall!!! 3 foot wide roll amzn.to/3ZImTuN Disclaimer! As an amazon associate I make a small commission from sales through this link. Thanks for the support!
DIYer here who owns an early 1900s home: I've used USG Structo Lite for this up in Minnesota, the United States. ACE Hardware can order a big bag for you and Structo Lite is a JOY to work with - It's a setting mud that you have to mix, made of gypsum with pearlite aggregate, which can be used to key into old lathe, build out wonky walls (you can put it on real thick) or even shape into molds. It does not sand much better than Durabond, but it's just a lot easier to build big, strong and lightweight. If I need a real flat surface, I start with Structo Lite on old lath that I've painted with concrete bonder, doing everything to make it as flat as possible (if it's big, a darby is perfect, but a straight piece of wood might work as a makeshift darby - if it's small, just a big square trowel like our Vancouver guy uses here is sufficient) and then, when it's dry, go over it with a thin application of Easy Sand 45 or 90. And streaks can be sanded at that point. If you still have pits, you can use Plus 3 or any pre-mixed lightweight joint compound so you don't have to work as hard on the mixing and sanding end of things. I went at a closet this way last summer and the wall is one of the straightest, smoothest, hardest walls in my house.
Quickset easy sand says on the directions not to be used as a skim coat. Minimum thickness of 1/8 I believe. Love duribond, structo lite but I always skim with topping compound or sll purpose. Stay away from from plus 3 or lightweight. Scratches too easy. BTW I am not a DYI er. 30 yrs GC
As a handyman who does tons of drywall repairs, I agree completely with "why you don't demo the wall and start over". It's more work than people realize.... Add in the fact that the customers will only pay so much for the job and so you need to choose the most expedient option for them all the while you are doing quality work. I've learned a ton from your channel - thank you!
This video is a life saver my home is 120 years old and all lath and plaster. There are some cracks in the plaster and I was told countless times it would have to all be ripped out and dry walled. This method worked out amazing! Thank you soo much!
My god, thank heavens you didn’t listen!!! My house was built in 1879 and I was told to tear out my old windows by a couple idiots …. Jokes on them, with a little care I rebuilt them and they’ll last another 100 years probably!
@vancouvervixen4253 that's next on my list is figuring out. I have glass I need to replace. I just want to replace the glass the rest of the frame is in exalent shape and thermal insulation is ridiculous in the home.
Im a 2nd generation Drywall Installee and Finisher. Everytime I watch your channel I realize that the 100s of ways I know how to do things isn't even a fraction of the ways. Love it
I used fibafuse for an older garage ceiling repair, where there was little to no backing and pretty much every joint had cracked. I scraped out the cracks first, filled with hot mud then used fibafuse. Turned out perfect
Great work as usual Ben! Thank you for all your dedication! You were the one who made me become successful in many drywall repairs I've done over the past 2 years. This is exactly how I would have done this repair! Thank you for all your knowledge and teaching abilities. You make a great mentor!
@@jordanabi-samra9709 Sounds like Durabond would be a good choice for me. I have 1950's rock lath (looks like plaster over concrete) and the wall got wet, the plaster peeled off, but the concrete material is intact.
@@Ronbo765 that being said, I’d go one step further and get a cement bonding adhesive and brush some on the repair before applying the durabond 90. You don’t have to but it doesn’t hurt. That’s just what we do at my company
Awesome! I've watched a bunch of your videos. I have that old house. All this information solves so many how to's. Your teaching style really works for me. Straight forward and thought full. Gosh! Can't tell you how helpful. Thank you thank you
I agree with your attitude towards the work . Especially your approach to the repair aspect. I'm doing that exact same thing now. Great work by the way.
I haven't done d/w in years, but recently had to do a patch in a plaster wall that a lavatory sink had been hanging on (sagging.) I tapped into all of the knowledge of Ben's that I had absorbed and did a halfway decent job of it too. The sink now has better blocking inside the wall now. Thanks Ben.
This is great information! I can think of about three or four jobs that I would have loved to use this stuff instead of trying to piece together a smaller patches. Thank you.
Thank you so much. I am contemplating restoring and staying in my grandmother's house in the future and you just made it seem a lot easier. Fix the plaster versus ripping it all down
thanks for the amazon link. Ive been using this product as joint tape for years i did not know it was available in 3' wide rolls this product is going to be used on a fire restoration of a historic home.
Great shout! We just did a Reno - with an addition on to an existing plaster finish. We did not go to this extent and the cracking of the old plaster is hard on the eyes for sure. The budget for the job and the customer had a ceiling and understanding , respectively. This is very, very helpful and in my future this will certainly help when I quote a job. Many thanks from old Toronto! Wishing you lots of success, good health and smooth pulls this year! 👍🏽
Dude... IF. you can mud ( and you are downright NASTY at doing mud) YOU CAN PLASTER!!!! Once you start doing plaster you will NEVER mess with drywall mud again. I plaster everything now. No dust. drys fast, smoother surface. Compound is trash.. Give plaster work a try. You absolutely can do it. You're a pro taper.
I've got a badly cracked plaster wall. I was going to just demo and drywall, but this video is the first one that gave me hope I might be able to salvage it.
3:37 Thanks 😊 so much. This had always proved to be so daunting, you have made it lots easier. Modernization of available products has been a tremendous help.
If i had watched this post first I'm sure that i would have followed your advice. I did use durabond for the base coat and then coated over that with general purpose. It came out fine i just hope that it holds because I didn't use fibafuse. Thanks for the leason.
Great videos, Thank you! I was recently asked my opinion on a friend's renovation, who was using a neighbor as the GC of the job. It was an ugly baby, and I called it as such. The neighbor got PISSED at me for pointing out obvious flaws, and later told me to "never talk to his people again" and slammed the front door as he left. Classic A-hole. I appreciate your demonstrations and dialogue. You do top-notch work.
WOW! This video was so helpful.....I have the same issue on one of my living room walls....Wasn't sure how to repair the huge area that the plaster fell off.......I have chimney bricks behind the laths........Now I know why the plaster fell off and now know how to repair it myself.....Thank You So Much for sharing your amazing skills.
One thing that I haven't seen you do but I always do is whenever I tear off crumbly plaster, I always make sure that the edges have been glued back to the lath. Basically just drill holes, spray in some watered down PVA, then jam in a mastic gun and squeeze in some construction adhesive, then use a screw and washer to squeeze it down. Once it has gone off that plaster is rock solid to the laths and will hold better to whatever you fill with. I've done this method with cracks that I've only repaired with filler (no tape at all) and you can bounce yourself off the wall and it stays rock solid.
Nice job! I am a plasterer in the states. Here we use a product called Structo-lite for the base coat. You did a very nice job. I watch all of your videos.
I remember when my wife and I sold her old home and it had plastered walls that needed a bit of work. We found a guy who did a wonderful job and it was actually a selling point that we retained the original walls. After the neighbor's tree fell on the home a couple years later the new owner had to gut the upstairs and start over. They also got rid of the knob & tube wiring, which I don't think anybody missed.
I’ve used fiberglass window screen over cracked and plaster where the keys were broken and the plater was just a little loose before this amazing product was available. Totally sound afterwards.
😊a "darby" is a flat tapered piece of aluminum and is flexible. What you have is a "featheredge," which has a ridged backbone. Anyways, no biggie. Great video I am plasterer 1963😎👍
Did a project to where a lot of old houses turned into various weird apartments, we were pointing up and fixing large patches like this. Skimming thin-set for daaaays, jesus what a work out. Something you can do for 20 years a thousand times but just that one specific thing for like a week straight really starts to be felt.
I enjoy you videos I own a 140 year old house that has the plaster walls im always fighting cracks and this seems to me a way I might be able yo get them under control and the glue to help strengthen the drywall mud never heard about that I think im going to try it since im about to finally finish my daughters room in my house I hope this helps me out
Didn't know FibaFuse came in huge widths like that! Awesome! I have a weird architectural feature that sees drywall butting up against MDF, and it seems that no matter how much I fill and sand, fill and sand, it will not get flat. It's edge-lit from above, so the tiniest little inconsistency stands out. It needs to be level-5 flat, and I just don't have the skills for that with mud alone.
Good video the only thing I’d recommend is putting a bonding agent on the old lathe before plastering/mudding . It’s not necessary but I always do it when I’m doing a replaster .
Where was this video 20 years ago when every wall in my janky house looked like that! 😂 That looks fantastic and who really doesn't want to put drywall mud on with a paint roller??
I have a 100 year old house my attic ceiling has plaster and it's starting to loosen and break I'm wanted to learn how to update and repair the plaster ceiling and walls.
I had the same problem with the old house cracks everywhere plaster falling off. I asked the owner it’s just going to put quarter inch sheet rock around the whole room and it worked out perfect.
I use California One-Kote with diamond metal lath stapled to the wood lath. However, you didn't quite have the space for that here. The three-foot Fiberfuse (sp?) is a great method. I wish I'd used that in a few applications.
Excellent work as usual Just to make sure I understand That fiberfuse can b used to cover a 20 in X 20 in hole in the wall Just as well as cutting a piece of sheet rock and screwing it in
my tip is to remove any "loose" plaster and screw the edges of the joint back down. Use a hand screwdriver or a slow speed tool. It will secure the edges akin to drywall and help with future hairline cracks. There are other products on the market, basically glues that you drill holes in the plaster and squeeze the product into, thus rebonding the material back to the lath. Adding some water or even a watery PVA wash to the lath will increase your adhesion during repair. That fiberfuse is a good fix, personally i would just remove the section of the plaster wall and replace with drywall. but that creates it's own issues as where do you start and stop?
Love what you said,you have the right attitude in what you said there close towards the end about finding Solutions to problems without whining.... Great as always How's the skating coming has it been cold up there.?
As a person that’s done a lot of these repairs you can also just use cement/lime plaster instead of a setting compound and not use the fib/mesh. I will add fob/mesh or fiberglass mesh can be added for some extra structure and retention especially on ceilings after you screw the existing plaster up in any loose spots. Plaster and stucco work do take a little more experience in getting things flat and smooth as they don’t have the cheater step of sanding after which can make things easier for compound work. Plaster also has the benefit, and the problem, of being HARD relative to joint compounds.
I haven't seen any cement that can bond to wood. Including modified thinset. I'm wondering if you missed the part where he mentioned the back of the lathe was blocked so the gaps won't allow the plaster to flow through and key in.
@@bsmithril: No I didn’t catch that portion but with a good bonding agent you’d be surprised just how much stuff plaster can bond too. Lime also adds some adhesion and flexibility as does upping the Portland percentage. Outside of plaster I have used modified and setting thinnests to bond kirdi or ditra to plywood and haven’t had either come off; modified thinnests are made to be quite sticky, though they don’t smooth all that great.
Pro tip: use latex modified thinset. Mix it up stiff, and if you're in a hurry, you can mix 50/50 fast setting thinset. It bonds to almost anything. When it firms up, screed it smooth, and after its fully set, follow up with normal compound.
General Question Ben... I usually do two coats of Sheetrock 20 and then sand and use the pink spackle to fill any remaining perfections, since I am doing patches and painting on the same day. I have not had any issues with this method, but I am curious why you use an all purpose mud. What is the usual dry time for the all purpose mud and I use the Bin sealer primer after my finish sand, wait about an hour and then apply my first coat of finish paint after that. The second coat if required is applied a good hour after the first, or based on the manufacturers recommendations. I hope you can shed some light on my questions, as I would rather tell clients that the patches will take two days, then sacrifice quality! Thank you for all your time putting together these videos, and you have helped me greatly with my mudding! (Now plastering as well haha)
I just wanted to say thank you for your hard work in paying these videos. They’ve helped me in ways that you won’t expect. I’m an artist and most recently decided that I want to do a piece which would require me to use drywall as my canvas. The problem is, I will have a raw edge. Do you have any suggestions on what I can do to cover that raw edge seamlessly? Mud is one way, but that may crack over time. I have to find something that’s secure and won’t make me worry. Any suggestions? Many thanks to you!
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Absolutley love everything about this product...except the price, but, when you need it it is the best and often only answer to no cracks or call backs. Glad to see you pushing it and love the video , as always! Someday I would like to demo a patch like this and see just how durable it really is....Ben, is that something you would be willing/able to do?
Love your vids! I have old plaster ceilings with those numerous cracks (from age and weight of new attic insulation). They seem somewhat stable. Would you recommend that 3’ fibafuse method and skim coat rather than individual fibre tape strips? Not a fun job either way!
Hello! I love your videos! I find myself watching them in early am as I mentally prepare myself to start doing this same work in my first home. Have you come across any warped walls? I have a wall in my office/man cave that has huge dip in the middle - most liked caused by the window installation and poor framing/finishing. Do you have any advice or video suggestions on how to tackle the problem?
Can you do a video on popcorn texture repairs? I have a room with popcorn on floor ceiling and walls, and while I'm not wild about the look, the plaster and lath are in good enough shape that I want to leave well enough alone if I can touch up a couple of small problem spots
Love the channel, your help is slowly improving my mudding skills. I have a question maybe you or your subscribers can help with my next project. I took down old paneling and the finish plaster coat just crumbled but the key scratch coat is still in good condition. You said to use carpenters glue but it's a big room. Are there other options like just wetting the walls so the mud won't dry to fast and crack, or using primer on the old key scratch coat, or any other suggestions?
Nope. leave the lath and coat with Plaster Weld, Structolite for the scratch coat, then plaster, or compound, or a mix of those. Dozen years of using this method in NYC, also Seattle and Portland. Not so easy toget Structolite on the West Coast - usually have to order it. Plaster walls are worth saving - far superior to sheetrock.
Thank you for your videos! We had largish holes in our lath and plaster ceilings caused by workers reinforcing our attic joists and accidentally stepping through in a few spots. Our contractors patched the ceilings and in some cases put drywall over the larger holes, including adhering with liquid nails. They then put mud on top to complete the patches. We ran out of money and can’t afford to pay them to paint! Can anyone recommend what kind of primer is best for going on top of plaster mud before we paint?
You need structolite for that hole then cut back a little on your base so you can level and run finish lime and molding plaster that will fix everything I know I'm a 36 yr plaster
With the concrete fill, do you still need to push the mud through the keys of the slats so that the slats hold onto the mud? And Thank you for all your videos, they allowed me to have a little more confidence in my DIY projects.
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7:40 Best wide mesh demo ever! A pro tells me this is best for blown out plaster. Neither taping nor “heavy” mud is widely available in US. Would you recommend setting, light, all purpose, or topping for embedding? Maybe add glue too? I’ll use a short roll of 36” fiberglass mesh from HD. I also find durabond easily usable on the first lathe coat.
Think I got it. Your glue video suggests Easy Sand setting compound with weldbond is what I should use to embed mesh/fibafuse over a painted wall. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RxIduTQXToQ.html
I would embed it with all purpose if you are doing a large area. Setting mud could be a pain in the butt. Make sure your mud is pretty thin so it wipes out nice.
@@vancouvercarpenter Thanks Ben, then it sounds like a little glue for strength and adhesion with all purpose is the way to go. There's a bunch of hairlines I haven't prepped with scoring, screws, and durabond during the initial treatment so I'm a little skeptical that all purpose and mesh alone will hold up especially because I'm going over sanded paint. I think this is a good approach. Plaster Magic seems over-rated when there are many hairlines and most of the lathe is well attached. I want strong mud that will hold onto the paint and mesh.
Would you use this fiber mesh over wood paneling to cover over all the cracks how would you go about muddying Over with channeling to make it look like she rock