Plaster Molding Repair Suggestions Pleas
ovolo
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
Hello people. – I have not posted in a while. Could someone in this group please tell us how to most efficiently do this repair. I think I made a latex mold for a crown molding on NYC brownstone renovation in the 80’s but I cannot remember a thing.
We only have to do approx 12′.
Any pointers will help. Thank you.
I did downsize the photo’s a bit but I apologize if thy are still too large for the dialup. Also seem to have a repeat.
Arthur
Replies
Cast your pcs short and get em up, then use a sheetmetal scraper to finesse more plaster into the inbetween areas..make a register to keep things in alignment, such as a 2x4 below at the bottom..the metal templat will track off of that.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"Success is not spontaneous combustion, you have to set yourself on Fire"
Yup, latex mold; like Sphere says, make is short; you can buy kits to do the mold easily. Thanks goodness for latex, we used to make them out of plaster of Paris, a nightmare if there ever was one.
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
As others say, you can use molds, but that looks to me like it was originally run in place. For as much as you've got to do, I'd probably run this rather than mess with making a mold and dealing with all the patchwork.
Plaster was run in place by mounting temporary guide rails, loading plaster on the wall/ceiling and then running a tin profile on a wooden backer along the rail to cut in the plaster. This was done in several passes with different profiles, each one getting closer to the final profile. The final pass was run with guaging plaster. You can also do this on a bench on an oiled wooden base to make sections that can then be fastened in place when set -- kind of the same idea as molds.
The bench method makes for easier miters, since if you run it, you pretty much have to do the corners by hand. But the running method makes for a cleaner look if you have long sections. You can also combine the two, running the long sections and patching in corners made up on the bench.
It's fun, but slow. It would probably pay to find an old plasterer who can do this if you don't want to invest in the learning curve.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Edited 1/31/2008 8:13 am ET by MikeHennessy
From what I understand, it would be easier to run this profile with a template cut from sheet metal, flat on a bench. First check Decorators Supply in Chicago, they have been making plaster decorations forever and the same profiles are available from 100 years ago.
Hie thee to thy public library, & check out a book called "Time - Life Book of Home Repair and Improvement - Walls and Ceilings", where you will find detailed diagrams & instructions for running the molding you need.