Is this laeth and plaster? If so you can buy metal laeth and put that on the studs. Make sure the rough side faces in. You can use joint compound if you want to fill it. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > There are two fist-size holes in our bedroom wall. No, it wasn’t me. They’re > on the ceiling line about six feet apart. Apparently lightning hit the house > somehow and shot two nails out from behind the plaster. Weird. > Anyway, how do I repair these? Initially I though it was as easy as buying > some replacement plaster and a putty knife, but now I’m wondering if I > shouldn’t also replace whatever fabric or screen I’m seeing inside there. > Also, what kind of putty/plaster should I buy? > Thanks in advance… > -jk
> Anyway, how do I repair these? Initially I though it was as easy as buying > some replacement plaster and a putty knife, but now I’m wondering if I > shouldn’t also replace whatever fabric or screen I’m seeing inside there. > Also, what kind of putty/plaster should I buy?
The key to doing plaster repairs is that the repair has to be physically sound. If it flexes or moves at all it will crack. This means removing all the loose material and replacing it. Making the hole bigger will make the job easier, not harder. Plaster walls usually have three layers: lath (metal or wood), brown coat, and finish coat. The "fabric or screen" sounds like metal lath. You can buy it at home centers. Remove enough of the plaster so that you have solid lath on all sides of the hole, and patch the lath. You can really use almost anything to patch the lath as long as the result is solid and rigid and plaster will stick to it. Then you want to build up the brown coat to within 1/4" to 1/8" of the surface. Brown coat is a special plaster that has fiber in it so it can form thick layers. Ordinary plaster will slump and crack if it is more than 1/4" thick. Typically the brown coat is about 3/4" thick. Brown coat is not ordinarily available at home centers. I buy it at a hardware store in a neighborhood with lots of old homes. A brand I would recommend is StructoLite. Brown coat is easy to work with and satisfying to apply. When the brown coat is hard, you apply the finish coat. There are two schools of thought. Old timers use plaster, smoothed with a wet trowel, no sanding. That’s the way the house was built. Buy the plaster where you buy the brown coat. Modernists use drywall compound, three coats, sanding after each coat. Drywall compound gives a bigger margin of error if you are unsure about your skills. Note that if you have plaster walls, you almost certainly have lead paint, which means you should take precautions with sanding. Nick Keenan
There are two fist-size holes in our bedroom wall. No, it wasn’t me. They’re on the ceiling line about six feet apart. Apparently lightning hit the house somehow and shot two nails out from behind the plaster. Weird. Anyway, how do I repair these? Initially I though it was as easy as buying some replacement plaster and a putty knife, but now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t also replace whatever fabric or screen I’m seeing inside there. Also, what kind of putty/plaster should I buy? Thanks in advance… -jk
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Hi, > I’m looking for help in repairing a pipe that seems to have cracked. > Here’s some background info. > I had an acrylic shower stall installed a few years back. Recently, I > noticed water stains appearing on the ceiling below the shower location. > I removed a section of the ceiling drywall and noticed that there was > a section of the drain pipe passing through a joist that is leaking. Now > this leak is located directly over a joist (it happens to be a double > joist – 2 2×8 pieces hammered together). > It seems like what is happening was that when the shower is in use, > the floor of the shower is flexing a little. From what I saw the flexing > is about a quarter of an inch or so. This is causing the drain pipe > connected to the shower to also flex. However, a few inches beyond > the shower’s P-trap, this pipe passes through and actually sits on the > joist mentioned above. It seems like the flexing of the pipe on the > joist was putting enough strain on the pipe to cause a leak. > I’d like to solicit input on the appropriate method of remedying this > problem. Here’s some questions that I have. > How do I repair this crack? Do I need to cut off the damaged > section of pipe? If not, there is not enough space at the joist for me > to > access the the crack, let alone slip any material around the pipe. > If I do cut off and replace the damaged piece of pipe (I’ll have to make > cuts on either side of the joist), what couplings can I use to reconnect > the pipe? The difficulty I see is that this pipe runs for about a feet > before it bends and runs alongside (and right next to) another joist. I > can’t see how I can spread the 2 sections of pipe far enough to get > the pipe ends into a standard solvent-weld coupler fitting. That whole > section of pipe (from P-trap to 90-elbow) is only about 20" long; I > think it will be difficult to even spread it a quarter of an inch, let > alone > the inch? required to get the pipe into the coupler. > Of course, if I have to remove the pipe, I intend to enlarge the hole > in the joist by another half an inch so that the pipe is no longer > resting > on the joist. I’m wondering, though, do I need to wedge some wood > beneath the shower in order to minimize the flexing? Isn’t this flexing > going to damage the acrylic shower floor eventually? > I’m surprised that the floor is actually flexing at all. The shower has > a > plywood board attached to the underside of the pan. This board is > then supported by 1 piece of 2×2 wood across the back end of the > shower and by front face of the shower at the front end. There are no > supports on the sides. The flat part of the shower pan is about > 24"x24". Do people generally add more supports underneath the > shower? Can adding more supports under the shower actually cause > more harm to the shower? > And finally, what to do with my wet ceiling drywall? Do they all have > to be removed? I noticed that cutting through the drywall was "too" > easy. As well, some of the backing paper was separated from the > drywall. > Any guidance that can be provided will be most appreciated. > JM
Make 2 cuts and remove the broken pipe. Use either a "No-Hub" (Fernco) coupling or a "Mission" rubber coupling at each splice. The No-Hub has a stainless band with "hose" clamps at each end. The Mission coupling has no band, just clamps. In your application I would prefer to use the Mission coupling as it will afford a little flex. Either coupling can be slid onto the pipe (with the clamps removed or loosened) and then backed onto the other section of pipe. Cut the new pipe maybe 1/2" short to allow for the rib in the couplings. A little lube (silicone) on the coupling inside helps. While you’re up in there, check the shower drain fitting for tightness and any signs of leakage. Often, when the base flexes, these will fail. If possible, I would add more support under the base. I don’t think wood is going to do it. A loose cement mix or even expanding foam will help stabilize it. Jim
Hi, I’m looking for help in repairing a pipe that seems to have cracked. Here’s some background info. I had an acrylic shower stall installed a few years back. Recently, I noticed water stains appearing on the ceiling below the shower location. I removed a section of the ceiling drywall and noticed that there was a section of the drain pipe passing through a joist that is leaking. Now this leak is located directly over a joist (it happens to be a double joist – 2 2×8 pieces hammered together). It seems like what is happening was that when the shower is in use, the floor of the shower is flexing a little. From what I saw the flexing is about a quarter of an inch or so. This is causing the drain pipe connected to the shower to also flex. However, a few inches beyond the shower’s P-trap, this pipe passes through and actually sits on the joist mentioned above. It seems like the flexing of the pipe on the joist was putting enough strain on the pipe to cause a leak. I’d like to solicit input on the appropriate method of remedying this problem. Here’s some questions that I have. How do I repair this crack? Do I need to cut off the damaged section of pipe? If not, there is not enough space at the joist for me to access the the crack, let alone slip any material around the pipe. If I do cut off and replace the damaged piece of pipe (I’ll have to make cuts on either side of the joist), what couplings can I use to reconnect the pipe? The difficulty I see is that this pipe runs for about a feet before it bends and runs alongside (and right next to) another joist. I can’t see how I can spread the 2 sections of pipe far enough to get the pipe ends into a standard solvent-weld coupler fitting. That whole section of pipe (from P-trap to 90-elbow) is only about 20" long; I think it will be difficult to even spread it a quarter of an inch, let alone the inch? required to get the pipe into the coupler. Of course, if I have to remove the pipe, I intend to enlarge the hole in the joist by another half an inch so that the pipe is no longer resting on the joist. I’m wondering, though, do I need to wedge some wood beneath the shower in order to minimize the flexing? Isn’t this flexing going to damage the acrylic shower floor eventually? I’m surprised that the floor is actually flexing at all. The shower has a plywood board attached to the underside of the pan. This board is then supported by 1 piece of 2×2 wood across the back end of the shower and by front face of the shower at the front end. There are no supports on the sides. The flat part of the shower pan is about 24"x24". Do people generally add more supports underneath the shower? Can adding more supports under the shower actually cause more harm to the shower? And finally, what to do with my wet ceiling drywall? Do they all have to be removed? I noticed that cutting through the drywall was "too" easy. As well, some of the backing paper was separated from the drywall. Any guidance that can be provided will be most appreciated. JM