Plaster is not drywall and it does not forgive drywall technique. In North Miami's pre-1960 houses, walls are often three-coat plaster over wood or metal lath, and the correct repair means re-keying loose sections, bonding agents, and building the patch in coats.
Skim coating an entire wall after repair is frequently the right move — it evens out decades of patchwork and gives a genuinely flat surface for paint rather than a map of previous owners' attempts.
Why this matters in North Miami
Older bungalows around Griffing Park and Oak Grove are the most likely North Miami homes to still have original plaster worth preserving rather than tearing out.
What plaster includes
- Crack repair and re-keying loose plaster
- Three-coat and veneer plaster patching
- Full-wall and ceiling skim coating
- Historic texture and profile matching
- Water-damaged plaster restoration
- Priming and finish painting
Plaster questions from North Miami customers
- Should I replace plaster with drywall?
- Not automatically. Sound plaster is denser, more soundproof and more fire resistant than drywall. We repair where the substrate is solid and only recommend replacement where it has failed broadly.
- Why do my plaster cracks keep coming back?
- Because the loose keys behind the surface were never addressed. Surface filler on a moving substrate always reopens; re-keying stops it.