Storm season sees a surge in home damages as the terrible weather batters your property. Most notably, a lot of homeowners end up with plaster board issues thanks to water leaks through the roof. If left unattended, water damaged plaster can become a serious and costly problem.
Thankfully, there are ways to conduct safe and effective plaster repairs to solve this issue. If you want to understand what happens when your home suffers from water damage – and how it’s fixed – then here’s all you need to know:
What happens when water damaged plaster damage is left unattended?
Water damaged plaster happens (obviously) when water is present. A little splash of water isn’t an issue – you can wipe it off right away. But, in storm season, if water leaks through to your plaster board, then you have some substantial problems on your hands.
Firstly, the water softens the plaster, and it begins to loosen up. If you don’t take steps to dry out the plaster and remove all this moisture, then you quickly end up with damp, which turns to mould. As a result, you get all the issues that mould brings; unappealing black marks, bad air quality, and it’s tough to clean.
Then, what happens if water leaks inside the plaster board? This can occur if water sits on the surface of your plaster wallls for too long. Inevitably, it soaks through to the wooden structure beneath. From here, the wood soaks up all the water and expands. Then, this newly expanded wood pushes against your plaster board and cause cracks to appear.
How do you carry out plaster repairs?
The plaster repairs process varies depending on the extent of your problem. For water damaged plaster board, it typically looks like this:
- The cause of the leak is found and stopped
- Your plaster board is surveyed for water damage to identify all the damaged areas
- Damaged plaster board gets scraped off, typically using a knife-like tool to remove the mold from the wall
- The water damage then gets sealed off using a special primer-sealer
- Plaster patching is required to go over the damaged area in a new coating of plaster. It’s crucial to make sure you match it perfectly with the existing plaster colour.
After this, smooth down the surface and work on blending it in with the rest of the wall. As a result, you end up with plaster board that looks good as new!
When your plaster damage is so severe that cracks have appeared, it’s usually recommended that a new board is installed. Thus, the damaged wall will be knocked down and taken away, and a new one can be installed. Of course, any water leaks have to be taken care of beforehand, or you’ll just end up with the same issue.
Conclusion
In summary, plaster damage can be extremely inconvenient. The longer you leave it, the more damage it creates. Therefore, it’s an excellent idea to act quickly and get plaster repairs as soon as you spot any water damage. We offer an extensive plastering service that includes both repairs and installation.
So, if you need some help, don’t hesitate to give us a call.
