Stucco Classico: Ornamental Plaster Repair

Repair Example

Here is a repair job performed on a nineteenth century home.  The ceilings were eleven feet high.  This house suffered a long period of neglect.  Some plumbing had been installed, and the repair work was done poorly.  Moreover, the plumbing developed a leak and dripped for a very long time.  The floor's joists rotted completely.  The area was covered with a piece of drywall.

After removing the bad material, the ceiling was tested for structural soundness and found to be unsound.  Other tradesman repaired the structural issues.  Once this work was completed, the repairs could begin.  New wood lath was installed. A scratch coat and brown coat was installed in a lime stucco, to match the original material.  This required a wait between coats.  The surrounding plaster was reattached using a proprietary acrylic-based adhesive.  A coat of gauging plaster and lime was used to finish.

For the ornamental plaster, an impression was taken of the mold where (reasonably) sound, and a mold was created so the moulding could be run on the wall.  The hollow portion of the moulding was deep enough that it actually required the brown coat to have a recess in it.  Moreover, movement over the years had created some irregularities in the moulding and wall.  It would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to repair this moulding by running the moulding on a bench and installing it later.  Below are some images (click to enlarge).

Finish shot:

2nd finish shot:

3rd finish shot:

Here is the complete brown coat while the cornice is run:

Stucco Classico: Plaster Repair for Pennsylvania