How Do You Repair A Hole In A Victorian Lath And Plaster Wall?
These are instructions for fixing a large area of missing plaster on a Victorian era lath and plaster wall where the lath is composed of horizontal slats of rough sawn wood. Knock off any loose plaster around the edge of the hole. Clean up the edges of the hole with a utility knife. If it’s close to rectangular, cut it to a rectangular shape. Ideally you want the edges of the hole on the studs. Cut a piece of 1/4 inch drywall to just under the size of the hole. Use some common sense here and measure the thickness of the plaster. The plaster I’ve seen is this thick, but it may be a different thickness in your area. Screw the drywall onto the wall over the lath. Put the screws into the studs, not the lath. Use fix-it-all or another non shrinking plaster repair compound to bridge the gap between the drywall and the lath and plaster. Don’t put it on too thick. You want the joint a little lower than the rest of the wall. Tape and mud the joint between the plaster as you would for a joint be
