Cracked, loose and broken plaster in older homes, repaired with plaster or a flush drywall patch.
Call (616) 677-8849 Get a Free QuoteDescribe the drywall damage in the form, or call and talk it through. Call (616) 677-8849.
Plaster wall repair fixes cracks, holes and loose plaster in older homes, using plaster, drywall or both. Grand Rapids has a lot of old houses: 37.5% of housing units were built in 1939 or earlier (American Community Survey 2020-2024). Many of those walls are plaster over wood lath, not drywall.
Call (616) 677-8849 to be matched with a local provider who repairs plaster and drywall walls.
Heritage Hill has about 1,300 buildings dating from 1844 and is one of the largest urban historic districts in the country (Experience Grand Rapids). Neighborhoods across the city carry the same era of homes: tall walls, thick trim, and plaster that has been painted many times.
There is even a local link to the material. The Alabastine Mine in Wyoming, dug by hand in 1907, produced gypsum used for stucco plaster and an interior wall finish called alabastine (Alabastine Mine history). Gypsum is also the core of modern drywall.
| Problem | Usual repair |
|---|---|
| Hairline cracks | Open slightly, tape with mesh, fill and skim |
| Loose or bulging plaster | Re-attach with plaster washers or adhesive, then skim coat |
| Holes to the lath | Base coat fill, or a drywall patch shimmed to plaster thickness |
| Large crumbling areas | Remove to the lath or studs and replace the section with drywall |
| Many cracks over a whole wall | Skim coat the wall, or cover with thin drywall |
Mixing plaster and drywall is normal in Grand Rapids homes. What matters is that the drywall patch sits flush with the plaster and the joint is taped so it does not crack.
Old walls can hide old hazards, so good plaster and drywall repair starts with questions.
About 76% of Grand Rapids housing units were built before 1980 (ACS 2020-2024), so these questions apply to most houses in the city.
More drywall repair help.
Doorknob holes, anchor holes, dents and fist-sized damage patched, sanded and blended so the drywall patch disappears.
Drywall Patch & Holes →Wet or stained drywall cut out, dried, replaced and finished after a leak, an ice dam or a basement water problem.
Water Damage Drywall →Sagging, cracked, stained or holed drywall ceilings repaired and matched overhead.
Ceiling Drywall Repair →Larger drywall jobs: basements, remodels, new walls, full sheet replacement, taping and finishing.
Drywall Contractor →What drywall repair costs, what changes the price, and how to compare quotes in Grand Rapids.
Drywall Repair Cost →Plaster and drywall wall repair for older Grand Rapids homes. Call (616) 677-8849.
(616) 677-8849If most of the plaster is still firmly attached, repair usually costs less and keeps the character of the house. If large areas are loose, crumbling or water damaged, replacing those sections with drywall is often the practical choice.
Yes. A drywall patch is common in plaster walls. The trick is building the drywall patch up to the plaster thickness, often with shims or two layers, then skim coating so the edge disappears.
Plaster itself is not, but older painted surfaces may have lead paint in pre-1978 homes (EPA), and some older patching compounds contained asbestos before the CPSC ban in 1977. Ask the provider how they test and control dust.
Plaster washers are thin discs screwed through loose plaster into the lath to pull it back tight. The washers are then covered with compound and the wall is painted.
Plaster is hard and does not flex. Decades of house settling and seasonal wood movement crack it, and cracks often follow the lath lines or run from door corners.