Home Improvement: How to Repair Damage to a Ceiling
Wallboard Ceilings
The ‘popped’ nail is considered a common occurrence and a minor defect in wallboard ceilings. This generally happens when older houses ‘settle’ and shift. Wallboard panels are nailed to the ceiling joist above them and sometimes a nail can work its way loose. This is quite easy to repair and you can follow this same procedure if a nail has popped from a stud on a wall.
Insert a wallboard screw about 2 inches away from the nail. This will make certain that it will go into the joist above. Then remove any debris covering the protruding nail and use a nail set and hammer to knock it below the surface.
A small hole in the wallboard is not much harder. It can be covered with fiberglass or paper wallboard tape and covered with joint compound. But a hole larger than 3 �¯�¿�½ inches may need a backing piece to serve as a base for the compound. You will need a scrap piece of wallboard slightly longer and wider than the hole. Drill a hole in the middle of the scrap piece and sip a length of strong that is about 6 inches long through it. Tie a nail to the string on the backside of the board. The nail will prevent the string exiting the hole. Then apply joint compound around the edges of the front of the wallboard. Slip the piece through the hole. The front side of the wallboard should face outward. Then use the string to pull the board against the back of the wallboard surrounding the hole, then pull the string taut and let the compound set.
Afterwards, apply the compound and cover it with a fiberglass mesh tape. Build up the layers to bring the patch almost flush with the surface and allow the compound to harden between layers. Cut off the string before adding a final layer flush with the surface. After compound is dry, sand it smooth with a piece of fine wet-or-dry sanding block.
Lath-And-Plaster Ceilings
Most older houses were constructed with lath and plaster ceilings. Nailing thin battens or laths to the joists above and then adding plaster formed this. Then it was forced through the small gaps between the laths so that, when set, the plaster was anchored in place. Our 60-year old charmer even had a lath and plaster ceiling on the front porch!
How a hole is filled all depends on the size and condition of the laths. First of all, take an old paintbrush that isn’t any good for painting and brush the area thus removing any dust and debris from the area that you’ll be working. Wearing safety goggles and a mask is a must for this project.
If the laths aren’t broken, coat them with a latex-bonding agent to make them less absorbent before filling. If the laths are broken and the hole is less than 3 inches across, just push scrunched up newspaper into it to serve as a backing before plastering. Or you can use tin snips to trim the expanded fiberglass mesh to size. Then fit it in place by curling its edges around the back of the laths. This is easy because the mesh is flexible.
Then use a cold chisel and ball peen hammer to undercut the hole’s edges so that the plaster will have a better trip. Make certain that you do this gently to avoid creating any further damage. Then, again, use the old paintbrush to ‘brush’ away any debris. Coat the edges with a latex-bonding agent.
Place an excess of patching plaster onto a float and push it up into the repair until it’s flat against the ceiling. This will force the plaster through the holes in the mesh. Slide the float over the repair and scrape off as much excess plaster as you can. Sand it smooth when the patch is dry.
SOURCES:
“The Book of Repair and Restoration” by Tony Wilkins
“The Complete Guide To Finishing Walls and Ceilings” by Tom Lemmer
