Drywall and plaster repair in St. Joseph

Two different materials, two different repairs, and in this town you cannot assume which one you have until someone looks.

Drywall

Straightforward when it is straightforward. Holes get backed and patched, seams get taped, and the whole thing lives or dies on how well the patch is feathered and how the texture is matched.

The part people underestimate is texture matching. A perfect flat patch on an orange-peel wall is more visible than the hole was. Matching takes a test panel and a bit of patience, and it is the difference between a repair you never notice and one you see every time you walk past.

The other part people underestimate is drying time between coats. Compound needs to dry, not be rushed with a heat gun, or it shrinks and the seam telegraphs back through the paint a month later.

Plaster

Original plaster over wood lath fails at the keys — the plaster pushed through the lath gaps to lock it in place. When keys break, the section goes loose. Skimming over loose plaster is wasted money.

Correct repair depends on scale: small loose areas can be re-anchored with plaster washers and screws, then patched; larger failures usually come out and get replaced, either in plaster or in drywall cut to the same thickness so the wall stays flat.

Hairline cracks that keep coming back are usually movement, not material failure. Filling them repeatedly does not work. Bridging with tape and compound, or with a flexible system, does.

Water damage

The repair is the easy part. The question that matters is whether the source is fixed. A ceiling stain from a roof leak that is still leaking will be back, and so will we, and neither of us wants that.

If you do not know where the water came from, say so and we will find it before anyone patches anything.

Ceilings

Ceiling repairs are harder than wall repairs — gravity, sight lines, and lighting that rakes across every imperfection. Priced accordingly, and worth doing properly rather than fast.

One caution specific to older houses: if you have a textured or acoustic ceiling in a pre-1978 home, it can contain asbestos. That gets tested before it gets disturbed, not after.