Wall & plaster repairWalls worth painting.
Cracks, holes, loose plaster and tired old patches — repaired properly, then painted so the repair disappears. By Bob Guiffre, painting for more than 37 years, and his son, Bobby.
What we repair
The repairs behind a flawless finish.
On walls and ceilings, in plaster or drywall — the damage that paint alone can’t hide.
Plaster cracks
Hairline and settlement cracks opened up, bridged with mesh tape and filled with setting-type compound — far less likely to return than a quick smear of spackle.
Loose plaster
Plaster that has pulled away from its lath is fastened back tight with plaster washers before it’s patched, instead of being painted over and left to sag.
Holes & dents
Doorknob holes, anchor holes, dings and gouges in plaster or drywall, patched flat and sanded smooth.
Nail & screw pops
Popped fasteners reset and covered so they don’t telegraph through the finish.
Water-damaged areas
Once the leak is fixed, damaged material is repaired and the stain sealed with a stain-blocking primer so it can’t bleed back through.
Skim coats
Walls covered in cracks and old patches can be skim-coated, giving the paint one smooth, even surface.
Older homes
Plaster isn’t drywall — and it shouldn’t be treated like it.
Many homes in the Pointes and across Metro Detroit still have their original plaster: hard, dense and quiet, applied over wood or metal lath. It moves with the house and the seasons, and when it cracks, the fix has to allow for that.
What a lasting plaster repair involves
- Finding the cause first — a crack that keeps reopening or a stain that keeps coming back usually has movement or water behind it.
- Re-securing loose plaster to the lath, so a patch isn’t holding up a sagging section.
- Bridging cracks with mesh tape and setting-type compound, which hardens chemically and shrinks less than premixed patching products.
- Building up repairs in thin layers and feathering them wide, so they disappear into the wall instead of leaving a bump.
- Priming every repair before the finish coats so it doesn’t flash through.
How it runs
Repair, prime, paint.
Repairs and painting work best as one job: the same hands that fill the crack know exactly how the finish coat will treat it. Bob and Bobby are on every project, from the first patch to the last coat.
- Assess. Tap and look for loose areas, map the cracks, and find the cause of any water damage.
- Secure. Fasten loose plaster back to the lath where it has pulled away.
- Tape & fill. Bridge cracks, fill holes and dents, and build repairs up in thin layers.
- Sand & feather. Smooth everything flat to the surrounding wall, checked in raking light.
- Prime. Seal every repair so it takes paint like the rest of the wall.
- Paint. Finish coats in the sheen you choose — and the repair is gone.
Guides
Walls, plaster and paint.
Painting plaster walls in an older home: cracks, calcimine and what to fix first
Plaster is harder and more solid than drywall, and it takes paint beautifully once it’s sound. Here’s how to handle cracks, loose plaster, calcimine and the old layers underneath first.
Read the guidePainting ceilings: choosing color and sheen, and avoiding roller marks
The ceiling is the biggest surface in most rooms and the hardest to paint evenly. Here’s how to choose a color and sheen, roll without lap marks, and handle the stains and cracks older ceilings collect.
Read the guidePrep is the paint job: what good preparation looks like
Paint is only as good as what it’s stuck to. Here’s what careful preparation involves, inside and out, and how to tell when it’s being skipped.
Read the guidePainting an older Grosse Pointe home: materials, style and care
Plaster, old-growth trim, original windows, decades of paint and wind off the lake: what Grosse Pointe’s older homes ask of a paint job, and how to plan for it.
Read the guideHow to touch up paint so it doesn’t show, inside and out
A good touch-up disappears. Here’s how to keep, prepare and apply leftover paint so small repairs blend in, and how to tell when a spot fix won’t.
Read the guideWhat affects the cost of interior painting, and how to get quotes you can compare
An interior paint job is priced by the hours it takes. Here’s what adds those hours, room by room, and how to describe your project so every painter quotes the same work.
Read the guideFAQ
Repair questions.
Can plaster be repaired instead of replaced with drywall?
Usually, yes. Cracks, holes and even sections that have pulled away from the lath can often be repaired: loose plaster is fastened back tight, then the area is taped, filled and smoothed. Plaster that is crumbling across a large area, or badly water-damaged, may be past repair — that’s something we’ll point out before any work begins.
Why do cracks come back after they’re patched?
Most often because they were filled, not bridged. Houses move with the seasons, and a crack smeared over with spackle tends to reopen. Opening the crack, bridging it with mesh tape and filling it with setting-type compound makes a far more durable repair. A crack that keeps moving because of a structural problem needs that cause looked at, too.
Will the repairs show through the new paint?
They shouldn’t. Patches are feathered flat into the surrounding wall, sanded smooth and primed, so they take paint the same way the rest of the wall does. Skipping the primer is what makes patches “flash” — show up as dull or shiny spots in angled light.
What about water-damaged walls and ceilings?
The leak has to be fixed first, and the area has to dry. Then damaged material is repaired, and the stain is sealed with a stain-blocking primer before painting so it doesn’t bleed back through the new finish. Our guide to painting ceilings covers water stains in more detail.
Ready for walls worth painting?
Tell us about the cracks, holes or problem walls and we’ll be in touch to talk it through and set a time to see them.