For the record it's a 1906 house so it's probably original plaster for all I know.

Looks like original rock lath. If that piece came off that easy, the rest of it is probably getting loose too. May want to find out why and fix it all instead of one piece.

You can either re-plaster it or fit a piece of drywall in there.

Well in that case you better go get some plaster repair at a box store. Next go out to your grandpa's/uncle's farm and start brushing out every horse and jackass you can find. As you collect the horse/ass hair be sure to keep it free of dirt.

When you get home tomorrow add approximately 2 cups of horse hair to every bag of plaster for the "authentic" 1906 traditional plaster. Smoooth out the best you can, followed by a minimum of 6 or seven layers of paint over the following week.

Should blend well

Get yourself a bucket of joint compound and a wide trowel and pan. Put a thin layer of joint compound on it, trying to push some to key through the lath. Let it dry for like a day. Repeat the process until the plaster matches the existing plaster. Using a wet sponge, smooth everything out to match. Texture with a stomp brush to match what you got, prime, paint. It's a lot easier than you think.

I fixed a hole just like that doing this.

How does one end up ripping off a piece that large by "accident?" At this point, just keep going. Replace it all with drywall.

This is lathe and plaster.

Option 1 - Cut out a square area of plaster. Keep the strapping, and slap a 1/2" piece of drywall in there. Tape and mud the seems, then paint.

Option 2 - Trim the edges so they are clean, then re-apply plaster.

Option 3 - demolish the entire wall, and just hang new drywall off the existing studs. You may put in new bracing while you're at it.

I think that it would be easier to buy a 4x8 sheet of 3/8" drywall and cut it to roughly fit in the hole. Screw it in and mud on top (more labor, harder to mess up), or shim it out so that you just mud the joints (requires a bit of skill, but isn't too difficult).

Edit: Mudding the joints involves joint tape. If you want to match the texture, peel back a few inches of the existing texture so that you can tape from the old to the new...

See, originally I wasn't concerned because I was just going to replace everything with drywall anyway, but I don't have money for that, so now I just wanna fix it and make it not ugly lol.

What did the piece of plaster look like? That is very clean lathe to have just removed original plaster from it... and there are two remaining screws that would more likely be used for drywall or plaster boards.

This is what I was thinking was the easiest solution, but wasn't sure how it would look.

One sheet of drywall probably won't cost much more than a big bucket of plaster/joint compound. The plaster is obviously pulling away from the lathe. I would just put up a sheet now.

I think that matching the texture will be the most challenging part of this...

I'm thinking they really do mean everything -- as in whole walls, rooms, or the whole house. That could get pricey depending on one's budget.

There's bad advice here. The lathe originally was covered by a plaster blend, plaster mixed with horsehair (readily available then) and sand, both of which added strength and "bulk". You can look it up with some research. If you want it "restored", find a plaster who knows the old ways.

Far more practical, and what I've done, is to cut drywall to fit, screw it to the joists/lathe, using 5/8, 1/2, and 1/4 inch boards to get as close without going over to the original thickness.

Get some 90 minute setting type plaster/joint compound (NOT the bucket of pre-mix) to fill in the "gap"; Don't over fill because sanding is a huge pain. Use paper tape to bridge from old plaster to new to prevent cracking

Final level happens with the sandable pre-mix stuff, then sand smooth.

Make sure what is left is well attached, there are kits to help secure remaining plaster if its loose.

This is time consuming to fix with just mud. Cut out a square and put up drywall

Just skim coat everything.

You're going to want half of those paint layers to be lead paint if you really want to be authentic.

That's not plaster that's drywall bro

Depends if you want the quick or the right way.

Quick way: with soft joint compound.

Right way: with hard, durable plaster! Plaster takes quite a bit of time to learn how to do well, but results in a really tough wall.

Your better off getting half a sheet of sheet rock. Maybe a 2x4 as a nailer. While you could scre the hell out of that and re-plaster it will never come out as nice or as easy as replacing it with sheetrock. My whole home is plaster and lathing..I hate the crap! Use a sheetroch knife to remove anything loose and even up the edges. Depending on where the studs land you may need a 2x4 or some kind of wood nailer for the sheet rock. Plaster is cheap and cures very hard. You may find it easier to just use modern mud aka joint compound and tape

You don't have experience with plaster and lathing do you? And you don't put joint comping on lathing. Lathing is flexible..plaster is 10x harder..and the irregular borders would need be screwed down..it will never hold. He need to cut the loose stuff out and replace with sheet rock

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Put another poster up. Mario Bros. Maybe?

Checks walls. Yup, still there, buddy. Hard as a rock.

Which is why your way sucks. Matching will never happen because they aren't the same material. Plus you have to screw it into studs. I've knocked out whole sections of buckled plaster and done this. It works perfectly and matches 100%.

Had similar. The repair is actually fairly easy if you're relatively patient. Square off the hole to eliminate the jagged parts. Take a quick measurement from the lathe to the outer edge of the plaster still there - it looks like its > 1/2" inch so I'll base my next steps on that: Like previous posts have said, get yourself some 1/2" drywall - looks like you might make do with a half-sheet (4x4'), plus get a couple of packs of wood shims, 1 1/4" drywall screws. fiberglass mesh adhesive-backed drywall tape and joint compound (plus a pack of the plastic drywall taping knives if you don't have any). Cut the replacement drywall to roughly match the squared off opening. Then, use the shims in pairs perpendicular to the direction of the lathe to shim out the replacement drywall to shim up the drywall patch to the existing surface of the wall - screw the shims to the lathe with drywall screws and make marks at the top and bottom so you know where the paired-up shims are located. Put the drywall in place and screw the drywall to the shims. Tape the gaps between the repair and existing wall, and finish up the gaps with the joint compound, feathering the compound out onto the wall and repair board to minimize any waviness. Prime and paint.
Sounds like lots of steps but definitely one of the quickest ways to get a relatively smooth repair with a minimum of heartache.

Nah rock lath was attached to framing, it wouldn't have the wood lath.

Can you say a little more about the product to use for the final coat?

You can get in a bucket or a box normal sold in a couple gallons. Drywall mud not spackle. https://www.acehardware.com/departments/paint-and-supplies/patch-and-repair/joint-compound/12922

Looks to me the original plaster never squeezed between the lathe. That would probably do it! It sure would make it easy to tear it all off if OP had to.

Lathe is suspiciously clean. Looks like the plaster never squeezed through the lathe which is why OP had a spongey wall. This makes me question what is holding the plaster to the wall at this point! Tearing all that plaster off would probably be a breeze, wouldn’t even need a hammer!

That is the stuff, instead of setting when mixed with water via chemical reaction, the bucket/premixed stuff dries, you can't apply it too thick, hence the setting type for the main leveling. Its also a lot softer than the setting type, so its easy to sand.

Cat in the wall eh?

I would use a lightweight, not all purpose, for the final coat. Much easier to sand.

I used to be a handyman and had to do the same thing on a ceiling

Looks like that sections already been replaced in the past so they could have just thrown sheet rock on it and said good enough

I used this tutorial to repair my entire dining room. Very helpful. https://www.oldtownhome.com/plaster-repair-series/

This place was built between eras. After lathe and plaster but before drywall. The top comment is your best bet. Get close and finish with finesse

I’ve done this sort of repair using base and then finish plaster. You could also use drywall and drywall compound. That’s not your biggest issue. The biggest issue is matching the texture thats on the wall. You’ll likely never get it to look completely right. Aprofessional will probably tell you the same. be prepared to either skim the whole wall or accept a bit of a flawed look on a repair. Sorry. Textured plaster sucks to repair.

OP: I used to live in a house with plaster just like this. First step: pull out all the loose plaster. If it ain’t attached, it won’t stay attached. Second: use a product called USG structo-lite base coat plaster and apply it to the bare lath, all the way up to the old plaster. It’s lightweight and spreads like peanut butter but dries hard as concrete without shrinking and cracking. Be sure to apply it just slightly shallow to the height of the original plaster, because once it dries it’s hard to lower. Third: Skim the top of the structo-lite with drywall mud and sand it smooth. Bingo!

this video is exactly what this guy said. Do this.

https://youtu.be/hKxya3jNhYg

Don't forget the asbestos, either.

Move the poster a bit lower. Problem solved.

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You need a spade, you slide it along the lathes behind the plaster and it'll come off very easy.

I used to manage an old building and this is the way, but there is one problem: leaks. If there really is a leak issue, that drywall is going to mold, turn black, and stink up your apartment.

Old buildings have lots of leaks: old galvanized drain lines, internal roof drains, rainwater intrusion from rotted tin lintels, poorly sealed ancient windows, retrofitted shower pans on old ass flooors, etc. from my experience, catching the leak and fixing it was one thing, but ripping apart walls to find mold from old Sheetrock repairs and abating that was a nightmare (and potentially a reoccurring one).

Plaster doesn’t rot, just gets wet and dries out.

Make the whole square. Put in drywall that's the same thickness, either half or quarter inch. Then just tape and mud the seams

I have a similar house, with similar problems. (1907 Edwardian in the SF Bay Area.)

Leaks in the bathroom plumbing 70yrs ago led to delamination, and bad patching made it worse. Already fixed up minors problems in one bedroom wall, but still have to deal with something just as bad as yours in the hallway.

I'll be following this thread with interest. Thanks for posting!

Shrinks and longer to dry.

If you go this route, don't use pre-mix plaster.

It'll shrink like crazy! :)

Go for the 30-90 minute powder you have to mix. Watch some YouTube videos. :)

Edit: Powder you have to mix yourself. Pre-mixed dries out and shrinks. Freshly mixed 'mud' will cure and retain it's shape. It's also a lot more durable when cured. (But. you're still gonna need more than that to cover this depth. :)

Rotten plasterboard. Yeah, they will insist on replacing the whole panel of the same below building standard shit. If you want do it yourself, but better, pull the nails, get a panel of lets say made of 1×1s spaced by 1×2s creating a vertical grill that fits the space you need replaced (inside a 1×2 'picture-frame') and nail each together as you add them. Then you can file a pattern of groves and notches in the outfacing egdes of the 1×2s to make it look old and antique picture frame. I recall a diy guy who blow-torched his untreated timbers, and then nailed them together. I recall the doctor who tardis had a dark red-brown varnished wood room with routered edge circles for an antique style if thats your thing, but something that is ultimately nailed together as a timber panel that can be attatched to the wall behind it by screws is likely your thing.

Or something quick- a painted polycarbonate panel that fits the whole section attatched by hinges and a magnet pair on the inside.

It will not ever look right. Patch it for practice until you can fix it proper.

But then you took an arrow to the knee?

depending on the backer and the composition plaster can definitely lose structural integrity from damp. things like gypsum on brick can get absolutely shredded by salt migration from the brick. then instead of dealing with moldy drywall you have to deal with a wall section that has disintegrated into fine sand, ymmv what you prefer

even lime plaster on lathe can disintegrate if damp is trapped in the plaster behind an impermeable layer like thick paint or wallpaper

definitely source of water intrusion needs to be fixed before any repairs are done to the area. simply a waste of money and effort otherwise

This same thing literally happened to me 12 hours ago. The previous owner had put new plaster up badly. A 5” hole quickly turned into 2ft hole.

OP could use glass mat drywall and avoid that issue

if you want to do it exactly the same way it was, you’ll need to find some calcium hydroxide power (called lime), empty it into a bucket and keep it in excess water for a week, then mix the resulting putty with sand 1:3 ratio, add in hair or synthetic fiber for reinforcement and apply it to the wall just like they did a hundred years ago. then spend the new few days spraying it to make sure it doesn’t crack as lime plaster tends to when it dries out. on the bright side if you do it right this mix will be quite resistant to damp

however if you are in america you will not be able to find a single contractor who knows how to do this for reasonable money, so a drywall patch is the practical choice. here in europe we also have very cheap gypsum plasters like knauf goldband which could go into this hole easily, but they aren’t as damp resistant as the old stuff, which is also more expensive here

Heck yeah! Vancouver carpenter for the win :D

He noticed the texture was a bit off so he tried to break through hoping to find a hidden level

You seem knowledgeable - I'm going to hijack and ask a question. I have a section of plaster that was adhered directly to brick. A less-than-knowledgeable about old houses contractor (and I won't hire again) cut a section out, about 8"x8" square. Now I need to fix it. I don't even know how I would go about putting drywall on that. Any suggestions?

Best way is to buy some piece of furniture, put it there and sell the house!

/s

Try placing a bomb there, looks like a secret room is behind it.

Am I crazy, or is the photo showing drywall attached to lathe and not plaster?

Drywalleriest carpenter on the internet.

You get a gypsum based adhesive for putting the drywall directly on surfaces. Call dot and dab attaching. Just cut out a square of drywall, throw a handfull of adhesive on the wall and stick in the square.

​

For a pro tip, cut the patch a few inches oversize, and cut off the plaster on the excess leaving the paper attached. put a layer of jointing compound under where the paper overlaps the old drywall and it'll be much easier to feather out and blend later

If this is the result of you trying to peel a small piece off then you should absolutely start a demolition company. Just walk into a building and sneeze. Super easy money.

100% what you said with the addition of five minute mud 25 minute mud and 90 minute mud

The only goal with each of the types of mud is to not create anything to Sand

Final coat with wet mud with some water added

I totally understand this guys only gonna buy one bag of mud

And he could probably just fill the entire hole with five minute mud like the way they did the plaster

Yup no keys; needs more investigation

Pro here, lots of questionable advice on this thread. I have a lot of experience with old plaster. This could be repaired with a piece of drywall but that’s not the best way to do it. It’ll look different, especially over time. To do a proper plaster repair I would first coat all edges of the existing plaster with plaster bonding agent. This seals and stabilizes what’s there and keeps the old plaster from wicking the moisture out of the new plaster - which would make a weak bond = which will cause a crack over time. This is an important step even if you were to go the drywall route. I’d also coat the lath with bonding agent. This will help the plaster stick instead of just relying on the keys that are formed when the wet plaster squeezes through the spaces in the lath.

When that has dried the product you need for the first coat of plaster is called Structo-lite. It’s a plaster product that is made with perlite, that keeps the weight down and gives it some texture that helps the next coat to bond to it. The Structo-lite gets troweled over the lath pushing pretty hard to try to form new keys as it squeezes through. Sometimes a nice straight board will help to get a flat surface - use it as a screed to get a consistent thickness. This is just the first coat so it doesn’t have to be perfect. When this dries it’s rough texture is perfect to bond the next layer. Durabond joint compound mixed from powder is the thing to use but be careful - it cannot be sanded so don’t leave high spots. The final coat will be a sandable layer - either Easysand mixed from powder or regular premixed joint compound. This layer can be sanded when dry to get a perfectly flat wall.

The Structo-lite when applied with the plaster bonding agent will expand and contract with seasonal changes in temperature and humidity the same as the old plaster and will not crack at the joint with the old plaster like many of the other techniques here will.

I’ve been restoring old houses for 35 years and the old timers who taught me this stuff are long gone.

https://www.usg.com/content/usgcom/en/products/walls/drywall/plasters/structo-lite-basecoat-plaster.html

https://www.usg.com/content/usgcom/en/products/walls/drywall/plasters/plaster-bonder.html

Bigger poster

How about Krusty the clown. It's load bearing poster.

Learned so much from that dude!

Looks more like sheetrock than plaster to me.

That's a great comment

I plastered my entire kitchen. A lot of it looked like this. I used the following products:

Base coat - structo light base coat plaster Top coat - east sand 90

Notes on technique: spray the wood lath with water before applying base coat.

I mostly use mud squeegees instead of drywall knives. Much more forgiving. Also your final texture is very forgiving for the occasional mudder You can do this!

I've used about every product under the sun and what I've described here works best for me.

Other options include using sheet rock and trying to level up the the rest of the wall or removing the wood lath and replacing with metal diamond mesh.

Oh also you have wall paper there. In case you didn't notice.

Cornice adhesive will do it.

If you're taping onto existing painted walls I would use a premix taping compound or all-purpose compound. Powders don't stick well to paint.

I would do this, except I'd rip plywood to 3" wide, to attach to studs. Wood shims tend to split. Composite would be better. Otherwise a good solution.

Cut it square and put a piece of drywall to replace it. Do not waste time trying to replaster.

OP: i accidentally ripped off half my wall

brother that is not a hole

How about one of Rita Hayworth, if you want to be a real funny guy but also give a nod to a masterpiece.

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I've rehabbed a lot of properties with plaster walls. What I would do here is cut this so it's somewhat of an even rectangle with a stud at each end. Remove the lath strips. Cut a sheet of drywall thick enough to come close to the finished wall without sticking out and hang it up. Depending on the wall/thickness, you may be able to keep the lath strips in there or use them to bump out the drywall to meet the wall.

Tape up the joints with fiberglass tape. There's a plaster/joint compound called "one pass wall repair" that does really well with plaster. Use very small batches as it sets up fast. Use that to blend/skimcoat the new drywall. You can get away with drywall mud, but the one pass blends better. Let it set, wait a day, sand it out, repeat until it looks good, paint.

a section that small is also possible to just fill in with new gypsum in one or two coats and level it off to be quite flat with the existing wall. i guess drywalling is a more useful skill to develop in general however, depending on region and materials availability

You know you can't bomb cracked walls to find secrets in real life, right?

Thanks, completely agree you have to fix the moisture issue. I’ve definitely had plaster repairs fail in this way when leaks persist. I guess my point was that it’s been preferable in my experience to go the plaster route and deal with this rather than the effects of mold growth in the walls. You always “think” you fixed the underlying cause of a leak in an old building, but sometimes it’s less apparent or there are multiple causes. I’m getting PTSD thinking about managing this leased 120 room 1909 San Francisco nightmare.

True. A box of pollyfila and a few days patience is a fine option

Final result is softer

it must air dry, so thicker coats will take forever to dry, vs the powder that "cures" via chemical reaction with water

As the others noted, it shrinks more, which creates problems when filling in big/deep areas

I strongly recommend using a setting type plaster/joint compound when filling large areas. It will cure in the time indicated (5-90 minutes) no matter how thick its applied, heat management is the biggest concern

I'd stick with 90 minute mud as a beginner, more waiting but more time to figure out what you are doing. Pure mud you'd need to get it pressed through to create new keys for adhesion, and the horsehair & sand in the greycoat adds strength, not sure pure plaster would last as long

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