Water Damage On Plaster Walls

Water damage on plaster wall.

Water damage on plaster walls.

Next remove the damaged plaster. Once the water damage becomes severe then the plaster will begin bubbling and bulging. Plaster applied to a masonry wall is vulnerable to water damage if the wall is constantly wet. After that long expensive process.

How to repair plaster walls 1. Take away all material that is bubbling flaking or peeling using a putty knife. 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.

Plaster walls are uncommon in newly built homes but if you live in an old house some of your walls may be made of lath and plaster. 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. 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. 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.

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. Dry the wall surface with a fan heater then tape some kitchen foil tightly over the affected. Bubbling plaster bubbling plaster. 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.

After some investigation we learned we needed a new roof on the building and brick pointing overall. Use the steps in my post how to. 2 gypsum plaster gypsum plaster is not good at withstanding damp conditions. Patch plaster to repair the damaged sections.

Drill into the plaster photo by david carmack. The damage that water causes to plaster walls depends largely on the. Plaster that has gotten wet is best repaired using setting type joint compound also called mud. As such water is a plaster wall s enemy.

The source of the moisture must be eliminated before replastering the damaged area. The repair process on this page can be used to repair water damage to the surface layers of plaster walls and ceilings. To make plaster walls plaster is applied wet to a wooden lath wall structure and allowed to harden.