Back cracks in plaster drywall can indicate structural issues.
Plaster is a material used in a lot of houses. Over time, as a house settles, cracks may appear in the plaster used for the ceiling. These cracks are quite normal, but if there are long cracks that run the length of the room, or cracks appear quite frequently even after repair, there may be an issue with the home foundation. Call out a contractor if you expect this may be the case. Otherwise, a patch will take you a few hours to take care of.
Instructions
1. Place a piece of plastic on the floor underneath the crack to catch dust.
2. Set up your ladder under the crack.
3. Insert a drywall screw into your washer and place the end of the screw to the side of the crack. Screw it into the plaster, into the lath, which is the wooden board the plaster is attached to. You will feel if the screw has hit wood by the resistance on the screwdriver. Remove the screw if you miss the lath and move it to the right or left to try again. Don't worry about holes; you'll cover them later. Put a screw with a washer attached every few inches.
4. Slightly fill a tray with drywall joint compound. Take a bit of the compound onto a trowel and wipe the along the crack to cover it. Apply it over the washers and the entire crack.
5. Cut a piece of screen, such as what you have on the porch to keep out insects, and push it into the wet compound. Run the trowel over it again to hide the screen under the joint compound. Let the compound dry for 24 hours.
6. Sand the area with 100-grit sandpaper. Apply more compound if necessary to fill in any holes created.
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