What to Do About Water Damaged Ceiling Plaster Repair!

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Water damaged ceiling plaster repair ensures a safe and secure ceiling overhead, while also preserving the look and feel of real plaster and all those decorative details in your structure’s ceiling. While you might be tempted to overlook certain signs of needed water damaged plaster ceiling repairs, it’s good to consider some vital reasons for ensuring this work is done properly and quickly and by a trained and licensed professional.

Important reasons to invest in plaster ceiling repair water damage include:

1. Severely damaged plaster ceilings might collapse!
2. Ignoring water damage behind plaster increases the risk of mold growth in the home.
3. Water damage creates unsightly streaks and stains.
4. Softened plaster is more likely to crack or suffer added damage.
5. Damaged plaster doesn’t insulate a home as well as plaster in good repair.

There are many other reasons to consider plaster ceiling repair for water damage, whether for a home or office, and for leaving this work to a pro. It’s also good for a homeowner or commercial property owner to note the differences between plaster and drywall, and why it’s advantageous to replace damaged plaster with new plaster installation rather than other building materials.

If your home or office boasts plaster ceilings and walls or even just plaster crown molding, consider some important information about this material overall. This will help you decide the best choice for when your structure needs water damage plaster repair on the ceiling and elsewhere ans how it is best to fix a plaster ceiling.

Reasons to Invest in Water Damaged Ceiling Plaster Repair

To understand what you need to do about water damaged plaster ceilings and repairs, it’s good to know why stucco ceiling is damaged and why you want to call a repair pro to get the job done right. Note some important information about plaster, water damage, and ceiling and wall repairs you might need to have done.

• Plaster doesn’t hold moisture as easily as other materials so when a plaster ceiling, wall, or other surface in your home or business suffers water damage, the water is typically trapped behind that stucco. Trapped moisture leads to a softening of the building materials as well as the risk of mold and mildew growth along the home’s framework.
• Plaster is very heavy and installed or applied in layers. Once plaster shows signs of damage, cracks and other ruptures might spread along the surface of lower layers of stucco, leading to even more damage. Heavy plaster can then also collapse from the home’s framework! This is dangerous and leads to even greater damage to the structure.
• Water damage often means unsightly streaks, stains, and other marks along the front of plaster or stucco, and these are difficult if not downright impossible to remove with cleaning products and supplies.
• Damaged and softened plaster tends to crack, chip, or otherwise suffer even more unsightly surface damage, and those cracks might run right through your beautiful medallions and other such details and features!
• Plaster is an excellent insulator for a home, keeping out heat and cold and absorbing sound waves, for a quieter interior environment. However, cracks and other surface damage allow cold or hot air to pass through so your home is not as insulated as before.
• Many prewar homes especially enjoy the look and feel of authentic plaster, and original stucco especially might add to the value of your home. Damaged plaster, on the other hand, detracts from the appearance of a structure. Investing in authentic plaster ceiling water damage repair ensures that you protect the overall value of your property.

Water Damaged Plaster Ceiling Repair Is Not a DIY Job

Fixing water damaged plaster is not the same as patching up softened or otherwise damaged drywall. One important consideration is that the reason for water damage must be addressed before making repairs, or your home might suffer from mold and mildew growth and new plaster also get water damaged! A plaster repair company near you will send trained contractors who can check for plumbing leaks, roof leaks, poor ventilation and trapped humidity, damaged appliances, and other such reasons for water drips behind plaster.

As said, plaster is installed in layers; it’s not a solid material you nail or screw to the wall, as you do drywall. When severely damaged areas of plaster need replacing rather than repair, a plaster installation contractor is best skilled at applying those layers as needed, ensuring they dry properly between each application. Their expertise ensures a proper fix to a plaster ceiling and they are skilled at that applying those layers safely. To be sure that your new plaster blends well with the current stucco.

Recreating details in stucco is also a challenge for homeowners. Many plaster applications include swirled designed, raised detailing, and other such features that require skill and expertise to recreate. It’s difficult enough to create a smooth finish on plaster without marks from your tools; imagine how much more challenging it is for an amateur to create detailed patterns and finishes! A plaster installation professional near you ensures a perfect, seamless installation you’re sure to love.

Once applied, plaster also typically needs paint or another coating of some sort. However, it’s a challenge to match new paint with aged colors or specialty finishes. A plaster repair contractor might recommend repainting an entire room or ceiling, or know how to mix and match new paint colors with older, antique colors and finishes.

What Causes Water Damaged Plaster Ceilings and Repair

Plaster is a very durable material that lasts for decades, if not even centuries before it needs repair and replacing! Since the material is so strong, you might note what causes water damage to plaster ceilings. This information can help you ensure you keep your home’s plaster in good condition and avoid otherwise unnecessary repair and replacement costs.

One common cause of plaster water damage is a water leak behind a wall or along a ceiling. Leaking or burst pipes, bad plumbing connections, overflowing bathtubs, and other such plumbing issues result in trapped water or water that runs down framing and then damages plaster ceilings and walls. Trapped humidity also leads to eventual water damage.

Plaster ceilings and walls also tend to crack as a structure shifts and settles. Since plaster is applied in layers and then dries and hardens to become on solid piece, it might then crack or split as a structure settles on one side. While this is not the same as water damaged plaster ceilings and walls, these cracks and splits also need professional repairs so they stay intact over the years.

Advantages of Plaster Over Drywall

In some cases, water damage plaster ceiling repair is not possible and sections of plaster need replacing. It might be tempting for homeowners to then replace plaster with drywall. While drywall is easier to install, plaster offers many advantages over other building materials and can be the better option for homes over time.

• Plaster offers more natural insulation against outside heat and cold and offers more sound insulation than drywall. Your home’s interior is often more comfortable when you choose plaster!
• Plaster has no organic compounds that feed mold. Drywall, however, is comprised of paper and wood, so that mold grows easily along its surface and backing! To avoid the risk of mold growth in your home, choose plaster.
• Drywall also burns somewhat easily, feeding a house fire. Plaster has a very high flashpoint, meaning it doesn’t burn easily, so plaster walls and ceilings might starve a fire and let it burn out rather than spread.
• Plaster is easy to spread around corners and curves, without gaps, seams, cracks, and unsightly fasteners. If your home has awkward corners or turns in a room, forego the use of drywall and other materials and use plaster to create a smooth, even finish in those areas.
• As plaster is easy to shape and form, it’s also easy to create swirl patterns, raised textures, indentations, and other details in plaster. You don’t need to rely on messy, cumbersome wallpaper to get the textured finish you prefer in your home when you choose plaster rather than other building materials.
• Plaster typically adds to the charm of prewar homes as well as Mediterranean, tropical, and European styles. Replacing plaster with drywall detracts from these looks and can even affect the value of those properties.
• Drywall cracks and comes off in chunks under pressure! If you have active children or pets in the home, keep your walls solid and secure and free of the risk of damage and holes by choosing plaster over drywall.
• Ants, termites, rodents, and other pests eat through drywall rather easily, whereas plaster is tougher and thicker and doesn’t offer the same materials those pesky critters love to chew on!
• Adding crown moldings, medallions, and other details to plaster creates an attractive look that cannot be duplicated with drywall and similar materials.

Consider all these advantages of plaster when choosing the best material for water damaged ceiling plaster repair. Despite the cost, plaster is a better investment for your home and offers lots of advantages over drywall and other materials. We are the company to turn to that will fix your plaster ceiling correctly.