Usually plaster holds up pretty well. The steel lath you describe sounds like plaster. When any type of wall material gets wet, it gets damaged. Plaster holds up a lot better than drywall.
What is usually used nowadays for a backer board in wet areas for plaster is green board. Green board is water resistant. Wonder board is another type. Wonder board is usually used under tile, its cement. What I usually do is cut the plaster back to the nearest 2x4, half way over the 2x4. Clean it up and cut a piece of green board in to fit in the opening. Use drywall screws to anchor the green board piece in the hole to the 2x4's. Then skim in freshly mixed plaster. Drilling a few holes in the green board for the plaster to get a grip onto helps it stick when it sets.
Plaster is an art. Don't expect perfect results on the first try. It will probably take a lot of sanding and a few applications but once you get it blended in and get all the low spots out the results can be pretty good. I had to do it a few times. When you see plaster guys on TV shows lay plaster up in one sweep, they've been doing it for years. Its not as easy as they make it look. Also giving the fresh plaster some curing time of a week or two before you try to paint it helps the paint stick. It can remain damp for awhile.
I had a shower valve fail once, the plaster did just what you described but that shower head leaked for a long time before I realized it was behind a wall it was leaking. I did just what I described above and it is still holding up, that was 20 years ago. You can't see where the hole was. I had to open the wall to get to the shower head. My house is plaster.
Steve
Looking for a materialthat will patch a hole in a wall, and that will not fall apart if it gets wet.
My condo bathroom has a hole in the wall between toilet and tub. The toilet leaked a while ago but has been fixed. The wall is wire mesh covered with something like plaster. After the wall got wet, the plaster fell out of an area about a foot square.
I want to patch the wall with something that will hold up better if the wall gets wet again. I would sand and paint it.
Recommendations appreciated. adTHANKSvance!
Carol B.
Posted by: Steve Wilson <virtualwilz@yahoo.com>
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