Plaster Solutions

Anybody wanna split a bag of Structo-lite?

It's weighing upon me that I'd probably better get the plaster on my 3rd floor study ceiling repaired before I get too deep into refinishing my 2nd floor hall floor. Last thing I need is plaster dust getting tracked into the finish before it's fully cured.

So this past Tuesday I had a contractor in, a plasterer used and recommended by an accountant whose new office I saw at our town's Christmas open house last November. The plasterer came, looked at the gaps, and said, "I can do that for $375.00."

This seems reasonable for the job; not as low as I'd hoped, but a lot less than the apocalyptic sums that sprang to mind last summer when it all started crashing down. If it weren't for the fact that he works on a cash or check basis and would want full payment once the job was finished, I would have signed him up then and there.

But I told him I'd have to look at my cash flow and see when I could schedule him to come.

That was last Tuesday. But yesterday I was reading Greg's Petch House blog, about the plaster he's repairing after the 6.4 earthquake they had in California early this month, and I got to thinking, Hey, maybe this is something I can do myself. If I give up trying to find genuine lime plaster and just go with Stucto-lite over wire mesh, I should be able to handle this, right?

I did a search on Houseblogs.net and read a few other people on the subject; unfortunately, the best source had pictures I couldn't view. But why couldn't I tackle it? The big thing is making sure I have all the equipment-- trowel, hawk, mixing trough, etc.-- I need before I start. Which I'm perfectly capable of organizing.

Well, yeah. But what's still worrying me is that bag of Structo-lite. The plaster guy told me it came by the 80 pounds. I used to be able to lift 80 lbs. I once could lift over 100 lbs.-- but that was more than twenty years ago. I've seen on-line you can get it in 50 lb. bags, but I doubt I can lift that, either.

So, does anyone want to split a bag with me? And I take only what I can carry?

And where do you get the stuff in western Pennsylvania, anyway?