Ceilings: Featured Article
Make a good impression both indoors and out with stamped tiles and trim… more
Q: I'm restoring a house that was built in 1840. One bedroom has a ceiling with two large areas of plaster that are missing, although the wood slats are still in place. I'd guess the missing plaster amounts to about 20 percent of the ceiling area. When I ran into this problem in another room, I wound up replastering the whole ceiling. This time I was thinking of covering the ceiling with drywall. The joists are 24 inches on center. Can the ceiling take the extra weight?
— H.T., Massies Mill, VA
To patch a hole in a wall or ceiling that's wider than your largest putty knife, use a steel ruler. Overfill the hole with spackle, then draw the ruler across the surface, scraping off the excess.
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