Charley Holliday

Plaster restoration

The Hole Man
Richmond, VA
Phone: 804.301.4155
Email: charleyholliday@mac.com

Okay, you might have heard that it’s dusty, it’s dirty, it’s time consuming and it can be expensive. But if you want your walls restored or maintained properly it’s the way to go. Charley Holliday, a master of the art of traditional plastering, says it best: It’s the pride of looking at the finished product.

Charley has been doing traditional plastering for a quarter of a century. When the drywall process made its appearance in the mid-1950s, he quickly realized that it wouldn’t be as durable as plaster and that it wouldn’t satisfy people who wanted the walls of their houses authentically restored or repaired.

"Often, you can see the taped joints on drywall, which has a tendency to show the nail and screw heads after temperature fluctuations," Charley explains. “Plaster is much more resilient and has more depth," he says. "Overall, it has a more uniform finish. In many old houses the walls are uneven. Plaster can compensate for discrepancies in the framing and wall surfaces in a way that drywall cannot. Drywall just isn’t as durable as plaster.”

What process do you typically follow when plastering a wall?

I apply three coats. The first one is called a “scratch coat.” After that’s applied I cover it with a wire mesh. When that cures, I apply a “brown coat.” That’s followed by a top coat of regular plaster. If I put the scratch coat on early in the day, I can apply the brown coat in the afternoon and a top coat the next day. I let that set for an hour; then I wet it and smooth it with a trowel to fill in any irregularities. Finally I put on what I call a "skim coat" for the really small nicks and blemishes.

How soon after plastering can someone paint the repaired wall?

I advise clients not to paint a newly plastered surface for two to three weeks.

What kind of paint is best to use on a plastered wall?

An oil-based primer is best. Water based paints will work, but oil-based ones give a richer and smoother surface. If you’re going to take the time and expense to do the plaster right you should put on the finishing touch that will look the best and is the easiest to keep clean.

Which one of your many jobs are you the proudest of?

I did a 1795 house that had hand-cut lathes that were very jagged. The plaster was an inch and a half thick. I had to dig out parts of the plaster to do the repair. On another job, I replaced eighteen feet of plaster molding on a ceiling and twelve feet of a side wall on a half-timbered English Tudor country house. The house was originally constructed in the 1860s as a hunting lodge, and about fifty years later converted into a formal residence. An air conditioning system with a faulty overflow tray had caused water to come pouring into the house. The repair was really extensive.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced in plastering?

In one case, I did a really extensive repair on a house that had been damaged when a huge tree fell on it during a hurricane. The tree crushed a brick wall and I ended up having to redo almost all the plaster in the house: baths, bedrooms, sun porch and ceiling. The job took fourteen months.

We’ve talked about plastering over wooden lathes, but how do you work plaster on brick?

I take the plaster down to the brick, which I then scrub with a wire brush. A bonding agent is required to get the plaster to adhere to the brick. What you have to do in a situation like that is compensate for the absence of lathing.

You get calls because property owners need plaster repairs. What can they do to avoid those plaster problems from occurring in the first place?

Water damage is the biggest problem. The best advice is to check your plumbing systems. Wax seals and flanges on the bottoms of toilets are the most typical problem. Also, cracked joints are common on plumbing that’s fifty or sixty years old. Water starts to seep through to the ceiling into the room below. I get more calls caused by leaky toilets than anything else. With every flush there may be only a few drops of water that seep through. It may not sound like much, but hour after hour that takes a toll on plaster.

What kinds of things should a home owner look for on the outside of his or her house?

A standing seam metal roof is a potential problem as are built-in gutters. My advice is to check the flashing on your roof and the collar vents.

What’s the single best advice you would give to those who want the rooms of their house authentically restored?

Make sure the walls are done in traditional plaster. It’s beautiful, authentic and long-lasting.