"Is the plaster that I have purchased the same as Easysand?" Easysand and Durabond are USG products. They are setting type joint compound, supplied as a powder and mixed with water. There are some other brands of setting compound out there. The problem with 'patching plaster' (even the USG stuff( is that the final coat is rarely just plaster, but a mixture of plaster and lime putty. Plaster sets way to fast (even with a lot of retarder) and straight lime putty sets way to slow (months). The mixture of the two provides a surface that sets in a few hour and then continues to harden for weeks. Durabond and Easysand both harden by the same chemical reactions as plaster, and not by drying out like premixed drywall mud. If you do not have much experience with plaster repair, stick with Easysand. Mix it about as thick as peanut butter (no limps please) and then apply with either a drywall knife for small repairs, or a plasterer's trowel for large areas (youre areas are small). Do not try to achieve a perfect finish on the first coat, but try to not leave excess material. The second coat will be easier to smooth since it will be thinner. Easysand can be scraped with a drywall knife after it hardens to remove any lines or other marks sticking out, and then another layer applied. You do not need to wait for Easysand to dry before recoating, just harden. Durabond is as hard as real lime putty plaster and very difficult to sand. Sanding also removes the smoothness from tooling with steel.

sfsuperstar: "My husband's really doesn't like the ridge, and the rest of the ceiling is so smooth he thinks trying to blend a 3/4" deep ridge will look obvious, so his tentative plan as of this evening is to remove the ridge of mesh to try to flatten it, then try to redo the crack repair smooth." That sounds reasonable. You may have to widen the crack just a bit more and clean it out, trying to cut under the edges as much as you can so the patching material has a place to grab in to and hang on. sfsuperstar: "It seems that the sagging part isn't an edge of the mesh, but is a center part of the mesh -- like an upside-down mini-mountain ridge. Should he try to cut out just the ridge part of the mesh with an exacto knife, or does he have to remove the whole mesh tape (even the part that's not sagging)?' I would guess it depends on how easily it cuts. I've not used it before, so I can't say. If it ravels and gets frayed and stringy, then it may be hard to cover over again with whatever you use. sfsuperstar: "And should he re-repair the crack / removal damage with flat drywall tape and joint compound? Or is there something plaster-specific that he should use? I'm not familiar with the patching plaster you mentioned." It may be OK to use the drywall tape, but I would wonder how much it would give or move under changes in temp and humidity in the ceiling without breaking loose at some point. I really don't know! We got the patching plaster at the hardware store; it's dry and comes in fairly small bags, and you just add it to a small amount of water in a container and let it absorb the water, stirring or 'folding' the mixture only very gently. If memory serves, drywall compound is still water soluble after it dries, while the patching plaster is a bit more impervious to water once it dries. Drywall compound also has a tendency to crack easily as it dries if it's applied to thickly, and the patching plaster doesn't do that as readily.

Zenpotter, I would never try to discourage you from repairing your bathroom walls with authentic lime putty, reinforced with horsehair, and smoothed out with a wooden float. My understanding is that 100 per cent lime putty takes about one year to fully cure. Regardless of what type of finish is applied, it will be necessary to fasten some sort of lath, such as wood lath, or wire lath, or rocklath, to the structure of the house. This is generally done with nails. You might have to actually remove more of the original plaster, in some places, to get good access to a wooden beam or stud, in order to securely attach the lath as needed. If you decide to use sheetrock as your backing for finish plaster, then it will be necessary to coat the sheetrock with an adhesive, after it is installed, but before the finish coat plaster is applied. However, if wood lath or wire lath is chosen, then you can apply a modern base coat plaster, pre-mixed. The pre-mix base coat will very likely contain chopped fiberglass to improve its strength, instead of horsehair. Since chopped fiberglass is not so good to breath, you should use come care when mixing this with water, to avoid raising a cloud of dust. Base coat plaster will set up in less than an hour, and can be coated with finish plaster the same day, if necessary. There is no great skill involved in application of base coat plaster. You have to mix it with reasonable care, and press it in place with sufficient force that it penetrates the lath, and binds firmly to the wall or ceiling. It needs to be troweled reasonably flat, and should be slightly below the intended surface plane, so there is some allowance for finish coat plaster. Base-coat does not have to be perfectly flat, or free of tool marks. Finish coat plaster is made from slaked lime and gauging plaster(aka plaster of paris). High quality type S finish lime, made from dolomite limestone, is easy to work with and gives good results. Finish coat plaster application is a learned skill, and not easy to describe in detail. As soon as the plaster is mixed, it begins to set up, and will harden in less than 30 minutes. You have to work fast, and there is a limit to the size, in square feet, that can be done in one mix. If the base-coat plaster is fresh, and still damp, then no misting will be required. If the base-coat has thoroughly dried out, it will rob moisture from the finish coat plaster, and interfere with both application and cure. Misting the base coat with water, before troweling on finish coat, will prevent this problem. If you decide to teach yourself how to apply finish coat plaster, my suggestion is to start with an area around one square foot, for your first trial. With initial success, you will gain confidence, and can begin make larger mixes, and plaster larger areas. The wall doesn't care if it gets plastered in small increments or in one fell swoop.

PS - renov8tor - re your statement above about how contractors should be able to make drywall look perfrectly flat - Do you mean thiis be via the use of attaching the furring strips first? Or do you mean they should be able to attach it directly to the ceiling and have it be flat? If the latter then that's contingent on removing all plaster and lath, correct?, As it happens Im thinking of having the ceilings downstairs drywalled and while I;ll hire someone to do it I want to know exactly what it is that I want! I figure I would leave the lathe in place, but not the plaster.... and then attach the furring strips at the joists??? Theres old acoustical tile in the dining room. Havent tested it for asbestos yet (it is of that era) but assuming its not I would remove it. Or is there any quick- n easy way of just covering it over with something and then skim coat over that????? Thanks (sorry to hijack your thread OP but hopefully this is still of interest to you.)