Page 288 - 2018 National Home Improvement

2018 National Home Improvement Estimator, All Rights Reserved Page 234

Veneer plaster is used in one or two 1/8” coats over a veneer plaster base such as blueboard. Blueboard
is similar to drywall, with a paper surface designed to bond well with the veneer plaster. Apply enough
plaster to trowel a smooth, even finish over the entire surface. It’s a lot of work, but veneer plaster hides
imperfections and joints better than regular plaster, and provides a hard coat that protects the paper
surface below.

Cottage cheese or popcorn texture is applied with a compressor, hopper and applicator gun. Although
popcorn ceiling texture isn’t currently in fashion, and you’re not likely to be installing it, you may still be
called on to do a repair job. Aerosol sprays are available to match the existing cottage cheese texture if
you’re only patching a small area.

No matter what finish you apply, the job isn’t done until the surface has been primed and painted.

Repairing Drywall
Fill nail holes and small cracks in board by applying a smooth coat of drywall compound. Let it dry.
Then sand the surface smooth. Repairing larger holes in drywall isn’t as easy. There’s nothing but wall
cavity behind a full penetration of the board. Drywall compound will fall into holes wider than about 1/2.”
Cover larger cracks and small holes with self-adhesive fiberglass tape. Then press stiff drywall
compound into the mesh. When the first coat is dry, apply a finish coat. With a patch like this, feather
the drywall compound 12” on each side of the crack to avoid leaving an obvious ridge. Again, don’t count
on getting this right the first time.

Holes larger than a golf ball need some type of backing to hold the drywall mud until it sets. You can
buy a drywall repair kit with clips that support drywall cut to cover nearly any size hole. If these drywall
clips create lumps or otherwise don’t work for you, make a patch kit with cardboard, string and a short
length of dowel. Cut a piece of stiff cardboard slightly larger than the hole. Loop a short length of string
through the center of the cardboard patch. Then fold the cardboard in half and insert it into the cavity.
Pull the string tight, flattening the cardboard against the cavity side of the board and closing off the hole.
Tie the loose end of the string around a short dowel laid across the hole. Then apply a coat of drywall
compound over the hole and against the cardboard backing. Leave the patch slightly concave. When
dry, cut the string and remove the dowel.

Many experienced drywall experts use neither clips nor cardboard. Instead, they cut a piece of scrap
wood that will fit through the hole and extend about 2" to either side. They screw this in place with
drywall screws on either side of the hole. This puts a firm foundation behind a portion of the hole. Then
they cut a piece of drywall to fit the hole and screw it to the scrap wood. Once in place, they lay lengths
of self-adhesive fiberglass drywall tape over the patch so it laps several inches onto firm wallboard. Then
they apply a finish coat of joint compound and feather out several inches beyond the patch. When dry,
they sand the patch smooth. Once primed and painted, there should be no evidence of the repair.