A gentleman called me the other night in a panic about his plaster ceiling collapsing. My first thought was, is anyone injured? A plaster ceiling can weigh more than 10x what a drywall ceiling weighs and can cause significant damage and injuries when it falls to the floor! This is why it is important to address plaster bulges that appear on your ceilings with relative urgency, especially if they develop cracks!
Thankfully no one was injured!
The homeowner described it as a very loud bang. It was also an instant drop with no warning. (A member of the household was in the room when this occurred.) The following photo was sent to me via text.
The piece that fell off the ceiling, measured approximately 18″ wide by 3 feet long. In a situation like this, its imperative that anything that is breakable, be removed from the room. The amount of plaster that came off by hand, was quite substantial. We disassembled the light fixture, and carefully removed the loose plaster from around the light first. After that, we carefully and methodically removed the loose plaster from the ceiling. The image below shows how low the ceiling was hanging,
Below is how much we removed. Its important not to hit this with a hammer as that would potentially destabilize the rest of the plaster. Care must be taken to ensure we don’t inadvertently destabilize the rest of the ceiling which is relatively easy to do.
Plaster bulges can be very deceiving and can open up massive sized holes. What started out as a large size plaster bulge 2 feet wide by 4 feet long, turned into a hole 7 feet wide by 8 feet long. Our recommendation for this homeowner is to hire a local company to hang a new drywall ceiling, as they are outside of our service area. We reached out to a couple of colleagues of ours to get them squared away with a reputable drywall contractor.
The lesson learned here is that once a plaster bulge cracks its only a matter of time before it hits the floor. There will be no warning as to when that occurs.
Repairing plaster bulges before they detach from a ceiling can by expensive. This has to do with the fact that as you can see from the above photos, while the initial damage appears rather straight forward, the amount of actual damage can be substantial. For the inexperienced this often results in expensive change orders for the homeowner, or the homeowner can’t find anyone that wants to take on the job.
With over 25 years of experience in residential construction, Dave specializes in ceiling repairs and high-end interior painting, often exceeding contractual obligations to ensure the highest level of craftsmanship. His ability to maintain exceptional customer satisfaction in such a demanding field is a testament to his expertise, integrity, and dedication to quality.
Dave Carrigan Jr. is the owner of Carrigan Painting, a 5-star-rated residential painting and plaster repair company serving the first- and second-ring northern suburbs of Buffalo, NY. For 15 consecutive years, Carrigan Painting has maintained a perfect 5-star reputation—an achievement nearly unmatched in the industry.
As the author of The Painter’s Plastering Blog, Dave shares expert insights on home improvement, plaster restoration, and industry trends. He also personally manages Carrigan Painting’s website and YouTube channel, providing homeowners with valuable resources and a firsthand look at the company’s craftsmanship.
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Explore Carrigan Painting’s work:
🔹 Interior Painting | 🔹 Ceiling Repairs | 🔹 Plaster Repair | 🔹 Drywall Repair
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