Repairing walls in Cloquet homes
Much of Cloquet was rebuilt after the 1918 fire, so a lot of houses in town are about a century old and have been updated one room at a time since. That history shows up when something needs fixing: a hallway might be original plaster, the bedroom next to it might be drywall hung in the 1970s, and a patch from a previous owner might sit in the middle of both. A good repair in these houses has to account for every layer, not just the hole you can see.
What tends to go wrong
- Diagonal cracks running up from door and window corners as an old house keeps settling
- Ridges and hairline splits where earlier owners joined drywall to plaster without taping the seam
- Brown rings on upstairs ceilings after ice builds up at the eaves in a hard winter
- Gouges and anchor holes left behind when paneling, shelving or cabinets come off a wall
- Nail pops in newer homes on the edges of town as the framing dries through its first heating seasons
Matching what is already there
Older Cloquet walls are rarely flat or smooth in the way a new wall is. Some have a hand-troweled plaster finish, some have a light sand texture from a past repaint, and ceilings may carry a spray texture. Before a patch is primed, we look closely at the surrounding surface and reproduce it, whether that means a skim coat, a knockdown or a stippled finish, so the repair does not stand out once the light hits it from a window.
Small cracks and holes are usually patched in place. When a section of wall has been patched several times or the plaster behind it has let go, cutting out the area and fitting a full piece of drywall tends to hold up better than adding another layer of mud.
Popcorn and textured ceilings
If a damaged ceiling in a pre-1980s Cloquet home has a popcorn or sprayed texture, have a sample tested for asbestos before anyone cuts or sands it. Once it is cleared, the repair can move ahead.
To get a free estimate, call (218) 522-9671, or snap a photo of the crack or stain and send it with your request.