After a Huge Flood From Above...
Oh! Very important: Make sure the plasterers use mesh on every surface, or you may get cracks after a few months. With the mesh, you will not have cracks.
callalily
in Construction 13 years and 2 months ago
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7 replies
mdominic | 13 years and 2 months ago
My wife and I own a pre-war co-op and we had a huge flood from above. The water came through both bathrooms and part of one of the bedrooms. My insurance Co. sent over a water extraction team to dry out the walls. Several walls and parts of the cieling are wet, even though it it not visible everywhere it reads 99% wet on a moister reader. The problem is that they want to remove the original plaster to avoid mold. My insurance promises they will find us an expert plasterer to replace it, or I can use any company I choose. 1) Do I have to remove the plaster to avoid mold, or is there another way? 2) Can someone recommend a highly skilled master plasterer (licensed)? Any advise would be appreciated.
greenmountain | 13 years and 2 months ago
As a craftsperson with the skills you need (I renovate bathrooms), I can advise, but don’t be surprised if your insurance company won’t pay enough to cover the cost of my insurance companies, and the repairs you get, are not what you expected.
I would only remove the original plaster if it is falling down. If it is sheet rock, go ahead and replace it, but real plaster is worth keeping if it can be saved. Just let it dry out. Safely remove the loose paint and material, Patch it where needed with plaster, not sheet rock or joint compound. If you are going to have mold in your wood joists, taking down the plaster won’t change that. In older buildings ceilings were put up with wood lathe, but probably not yours. The material you have probably does not support mold. For mold to grow it needs food (wood or the paper on sheet rock or rock lathe), water and air. Mold does not eat plaster, only the organic dust and debris sitting on top of the ceiling. Guessing from the appearance, Jackson heights houses were built in the late 1920’s and apartment buildings in the late 1930’s and early 1940s, so if you live in an apartment, you probably have wire lathe, not wood. I don’t know about your particular building, but there is a good chance your plaster will not support mold. Wire lathe, on the other hand, after repeated wettings, rusts away, so cracked plaster, while still hard as a rock, tends to fall down because it is no longer reinforced by steel. Rock lathe does have paper covering it, but in my experience, I see it in walls, not ceilings. After bidding on a similar insurance claim recently in a private home, I found they would not pay enough for me to replace ceilings, woodwork and paint to the quality of what had been there before the flood. They would only pay for the usual cheaper, lower-skilled work, which does not look as good or last as long. We could discuss renovations of bathrooms, or a kitchen, starting with what little insurance money you can get, but that is not what you are asking about. But, saving period plaster and repairs with period techniques is always my recommendation where possible. My fees may seem high to your insurance company, but I have 5 insurance companies to pay. You can find me in the directory under shower stalls. – Green Mountain.
mdominic | 13 years and 2 months ago
Thanks for your reply. I believe that I have wood lathe. The ceiling in the bathroom was plasterboard. It was the only plasterboard in the house. That collapsed when we had the flood. Underneath was the original plaster ceiling crumbling. Under the plaster was mostly wood and cement. There were a few places where they used wire and other metal lathe, but it looks like those are from later repairs. Knowing that, does the plater need to be removed. As far as insurance goes I carry 26k, but the fault was not mine and my insurance will go after my co-ops insurance. They also have to let me use any companies I choose. That’s NY law.
mdominic | 13 years and 2 months ago
Anyone else? What would you do?
cupolacoffee | 13 years and 2 months ago
There was a thread earlier this week with several recommendations: http://forum.brownstoner.com/question/MJ5mN7*nn74=/plaster-moulding-repairer Also, you’ll find much more info and recommendations in the Forum archives: http://brownstoner.staging.wpengine.com/forum-archive/plaster
restorationcontractor | 13 years and 2 months ago
They should have left you with a commercial dehumidifier until the area was dried out. We use the Dri-Eaz 1200, you can rent these if you need to. We used them on a major flood repair job after Irene, and a recent waste line leak repair job that had thoroughly saturated a common brick interior masonry wall (this brick is like a sponge). It is amazing how much water these things will suck out, and they are relatively quiet too. From your description and the fact that there was sheetrock attached below it sounds like the original ceiling was badly damaged before the water leak. I would have it removed and replaced with skim coated blue board. This is still a bit of work to have done properly. Removing the existing plaster, lath and all the debris that are inevitably in the ceiling. If there are rooms where the majority of plaster is intact, you should have the deteriorated sections removed, any loose plaster that is salvageable can be secured with plaster washers. Add insulation or sound batts for soundproofing (if needed), replace any broken wood lath, apply a bonding agent, scratch, base, and finish coats, sand, primer, paint and your done. You need skilled tradespersons to do it either way. If you can, post a photo.
callalily | 13 years and 2 months ago
Mold cannot grow in plaster, period. I suppose it could grow in lathe. But it’s not highly likely. If it were me, I would leave it. If it all dries out in three days, it won’t mold. I would definitely remove the sheet rock — in fact, I’d skim coat over the original plaster. If you need a plaster person, Raul Agrippa is reasonably priced, although he tends to work from noon to 9 pm, I have been told. 305-494-2539\. Also Victor, mostly painting, faux painting, but also plaster, and works for a faux painter and artist, 718-607-5107\. Helps if you can supply materials, since he does not have a truck. When I lived in Jackson Heights, our building had so many leaks, there was at least one person on staff who did nothing but plaster all day long. However, I don’t know that he could handle decorative plaster work or coving. Whatever you do, don’t let them replace plaster with sheetrock — it won’t look at all the same, and the quality of the soundproofing and the mold proofing is not as good. Good luck and don’t worry.