Note: when repairing plaster walls, please don't use drywall tape.

A408Studio is working on an interior restoration project near Friendly Center.  The home, built in the 50's, is full of immaculate plaster board (the "modern" replacement for wood and expanded metal "lathe") and plaster finishes.  The Owner called us when portions of her plaster in the living room were failing... looked like the wall had a bad case of the chicken pox.

Once restoration resumed, we discovered the previous attempts to fix the plaster were performed using drywall tape and mud... and painted over.  That is not an appropriate fix, and with some easy taps on the wall with a hammer, those patches fell off.  

Drywall materials are not designed to bind with lime/plaster - they are designed to bind with gypsum (the main ingredient in "drywall").

Regardless of the technique used (plaster board or plaster lathe), plaster should only be repaired or restored with products design to be used with plaster.