When you have a crack in a plaster wall, if you want your repair to last you need to put fiberglass tape over the crack before plastering it up.Brian in Niagara Falls, Ontario has a great idea for patching a series of cracks. He puts a spray glue over the area, then pushes window screen into the...
It can get confusing at the store when you look at the wide variety of putty knives and scrapers. Even just in the Richard's line of tools there is enough choice to make you wonder. First notice that some are rigid and some are flexible and some more flexible than others.If you want to apply...
We followed Jerry Cloemenzi?s use of special tools during the professional installation of real plaster crown moldings.Of note: he used a framing hammer to punch holes in the drywall right where his plaster was going to glue the molding to the wall. That gave him great toothing into the wall....
Leo Montagnese with Omega Modern Mouldings in Woodbridge, Ontario makes faux stone mantels that look like real carved stone. When you look at one and compare it to a plaster-molded mantel, you notice that the colour is different, but mostly that there are interesting and random holes in the ...
A viewer sent in the tip of pouring a little water over left-over drywall compound to keep it from drying out and then just pouring it off before starting the next job. It does work, and you can get the same results by pushing a sheet of the plastic food wrap right down into contact with the sur...
Before you get serious about tackling a drywall job, you should practice using two spatulas together, usually one a bit larger than the other. Butter one or both of them up with drywall compound (often called "mud"). Now slide one over the other with the two spatulas at right angles to each oth...
Isn't it frustrating to go to the store and look at that wall full of spatulas, trowels and glue spreaders. Why are there so many? Which one do you need for your job?First the difference between flexible and rigid spatulas. If you have ever tried to apply thick window putty with a rigid spa...
If you have ever undertaken the task of applying tape and drywall compound on an inside corner, you know it is hard to work on one side without bothering the other side. You may not realize it, but there exist special spatulas for this job. The 'inside corner spatula' has two faces that are spr...
Although some people simply want a rough stucco look on their ceiling, the primary reason so many ceilings are stuccoed is to hide a poor drywall job. Yes, stucco will cover many faults. It is also very forgiving to work with.Whether you apply it with a compressor system or with special loop...
This article deals with a block wall above grade. For a below grade block wall see Basement Perimeter Drainage and Leaking Foundations.
Bryan is faced with a totally un-insulated cinder block wall with 1x2 strapping and a plaster covering. He is thinking about stripping it back to the block...
