I’m stumped. I own a 1930 vintage home built of hollow tile and brick. The interior walls are plasterd in a coarse finish over the hollow tile structure. One area about 1’x6′ under a picture window has cracked and flaked off, due to moisture i assume and have corrected. My question is how do I prepare plaster to replicate the original orange peel texture. The local concrete supplier has suggested I use mortar mix and trowel it on. I am not comfortable with that plan, it seems to hard a surface when compared to plaster. I appreciate any input from anyone who has any experience in this type wall construction/finish.
Replies
Is there some reason you don't want to use plaster, like it was originally done?
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Plaster will be perfect, I simply have never worked with it before. Many times I have used joint compound to make small repairs but this is a flat wall adjacent to a window seat and is very prominent in the living room. I want to do it correctly. I would look for a plasterer but the job is so small no one wants to quote it. If you have any suggestions regarding lime to sand to water ratios and tips on troweling I would appreciate them. Thanks for the response...
I'd just use Structolite basecoat with a veneer topcoat (I forget the exact product name). I prefer dealing with plaster veneer for large areas instead of joint compound since it's more "plastic" and flattens out better under the trowel. There is a bit of a learning curve, but it's cheap enough to pick some up and play with it on some scrap until you get the hang of it.
There's a bunch of vids on plastering if you Google it. Might be worth a try if you wanna give it a go. If not, I'm sure a little more searching will turn up a plasterer who does patch jobs. Around me, nobody wants to do big plaster jobs anymore -- just patching. Hey, mebby you should move the house to P-Burgh! ;-)
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Mike thanks for the response, I will look for the Structolite, experiment and if all else fails,, welllll maybe Pittsburgh is a solution after all.....
What a great and helpful site this is....
tough to say without seeing the texture you need to match, but I had a similar situation and used a product I found at Home Depot. Its located near all the other wall repair products, its a knock-down finish that comes in an aerosol can - you need to patch the wall so its smooth, then you spray this finish on, let it set up a little, then knock it down with a taping knife. I was hugely skeptical at first but it worked like a charm - once it was painted it was impossible to see the difference.hope this helps and good luck.
Kal-Kote is the veneer product I couldn't recall earlier. If you decide to use it, be forewarned that it sets up at around 30 minutes, and once it starts to set, it goes pretty quickly. You may wanna try using a retarder for the first time or two until you get the hang of things.
Plastering is a handy skill to have -- seems like you have a perfect excuse to get started on it. Worst that could happen is you'll have to scratch it off and try something else. ;-)
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
If you are uncomfortable working with the plaster and the job is too small to get a quote, have someone come in on a T&M basis.
Are you sure it isn't sand texture paint over smooth plaster?
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
Check with the Old House Journal website - they have a lot of info on matching plaster and repairs.
>>The local concrete supplier has suggested I use mortar mix and trowel it on.
"To a hammer, every thing's a nail," I guess
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thank you for the tip, I went there. It is a very helpful site and may provide my solution. thanks again...