Plaster patch in my 1920s Chicago flat turned into a 3-week saga

Last month I finally decided to fix a crack in my living room ceiling that had been there since I moved in 2 years ago. Figured it was a simple patch job, 2 hours tops. Nope. Turns out the lath behind it was rotted in a 2 foot section, and the plaster just crumbled when I touched it. Ended up ripping out the whole corner, redoing the lath, and learning how to do a 3 coat plaster finish from a YouTube channel run by some old guy in Vermont. Cost me about $90 in materials and a ton of patience. The ceiling looks way better now, but I'm never touching the other crack in the hallway. Anyone else ever unwrap a 'quick fix' and end up in a full restoration project?

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wade4382mo ago

Three coats of plaster later and I've got a ceiling that looks better than my landlord's work, but my shoulders feel like I ran a marathon with a bucket on my head. The old guy in Vermont made it look so easy, like he was frosting a cake instead of wrestling with a hundred pounds of wet powder. I've got a crack in my hallway too, and I'm pretty sure it's going to stay there until I sell this place or it brings a wall down, whichever comes first.

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