Plaster in the 1910s to 1930s houses, drywall in the postwar streets, foothill settling cracks, the Santa Ana truss crack and the ring under a roof vent, patched in the right material and primed. Priced in writing on the call.
BBBAccredited BusinessKaminskiy Care and Repair repairs walls and ceilings in Altadena homes under the San Gabriels: the lath and plaster in the 1910s to 1930s houses around Christmas Tree Lane and the east side, the first drywall in the 1940s and 1950s streets of the west side, the hillside houses above Loma Alta on cut-and-fill lots that crack from the window corners, and the ordinary list in all of them, the knob hole, the nail pops, the ring on a ceiling under a roof vent after the January storms, the wall a plumber opened. In the homes that stood through the January 2025 Eaton fire we also replace smoke-stained or water-damaged drywall, plainly and after the house has been cleared. Each wall is repaired in its own material, finished to match and primed. The price is in writing on the call from our Glendale office down the 210, and most patches are finished in one visit.
Eight repairs, one crew, priced in writing before we start.
Altadena sits where the foothills meet the flats, and the walls show it: plaster in the old houses under the oaks, drywall in the postwar streets, hillside lots that settle toward the canyon, Santa Ana winds that come down the canyons first and dry every attic, and an earthquake now and then to open the corners. We bring the plaster trowels and the texture hopper, match the finish on a test board, and say plainly which crack is cosmetic and which deserves a second look.
AFTERBEFORE
Hole & Crack Repair
Water Damage Repair
Ceiling Repair
Texture Matching
Big Patches & Full Sheets
Nail & Anchor Holes
Corner Bead & Cracks
Primed & Ready for PaintUnder the mountains the small repairs do not wait well; a wind-season crack or a wet ceiling is routine for a Kaminskiy-certified technician now and a bigger job by spring. Say what the wall is made of if you know and the size against your hand, and the price is in writing before anyone drives up the 210.
Priced and on the calendar during the first call.
A written quote you approve before anyone drives out.
One crew, truck stocked, warranty in writing.
A one-year workmanship warranty, in writing, on every Altadena drywall repair.
Slope, wind and the ground. The streets above Loma Alta and along the canyon mouths are cut-and-fill lots, and a house settles toward the fill over the decades, so the crack runs diagonally from a window corner on the downhill side. The Santa Ana winds come down Rubio and Eaton canyons before they reach anyone else, dry the attic, and arch the roof trusses, which lift the ceiling tape off the walls every fall. An earthquake opens hairlines at the corners of doors and windows. We tape and feather the cosmetic cracks and tell you plainly when a wide, stepped or growing one is a foundation question.
The 1910s to 1930s houses around Christmas Tree Lane, Santa Rosa Avenue and the east side are lath and plaster: a crack along the lath, a hollow section where the keys broke, a crumbling corner, a piece of cove. Plaster is repaired with a bonding agent and a setting compound keyed into the lath, never a drywall patch screwed in. The 1940s and 1950s streets around the Meadows and Farnsworth Park were the first drywall, nailed board with a fine orange peel and a sprayed ceiling that is tested by a licensed lab before anyone sands it. A house from before 1978 has its paint handled lead-safe under the EPA's certified-firm rule.
Altadena water comes from the roof more than the bath: a flashing at a vent, a valley full of oak leaves, a gutter that overflows in a January storm, showing weeks later as a ring on a hallway or bedroom ceiling. The roofer fixes the source, the ceiling dries and reads dry on the meter, then we replace the stained section; plaster that stayed wet is removed to the lath and rebuilt. A dark patch bigger than a dinner plate is a licensed mold remediation company's job before ours, and we say so on the call.
Smaller than your hand, a backed patch; bigger than your hand and smaller than a laptop, a paper patch; poster-sized, a framed backer and a new section; soaked, crushed or bigger than that, a full sheet screwed to the studs with every seam taped. Plaster gets its own method and its own compound. Three coats, sanding, the matched finish and primer are the same on all of them, and the hardware-store spackle patch skips the backing, the tape and the texture, which is why the last one shows.
Houses on cut-and-fill lots that settle toward the canyon, with diagonal cracks from the window corners on the downhill side, smooth and skip-trowel finishes in the remodels, and the Santa Ana wind that reaches these streets first and lifts the ceiling tape every fall. Tall view-room ceilings are priced after a look; the repair leaves finished to match and primed.
The 1940s and 1950s streets where the first drywall went up: nailed half-inch board, fine orange peel, nail pops down the hallways and sprayed ceilings that are tested by a licensed lab before anyone disturbs them. Bigger lots, old oaks over the roof and the ring on the ceiling under a leaf-choked valley after the January storms. Textured to match and primed.
The 1910s to 1930s houses with lath and plaster, coved ceilings and a century of patches in three materials. Cracks along the lath, hollow sections, crumbling corners. Plaster is patched as plaster, keyed into the lath and finished to the sand or smooth coat around it, and the painted surfaces of a pre-1978 house are handled lead-safe under the EPA's certified-firm rule.
The Glendale office covers the foothill side of the basin; the Los Angeles drywall repair page has the basin-wide picture, the City of Los Angeles permit rule and the water-damage paperwork in plain words.
Hold your hand over the damage and tell us: smaller than your hand, bigger than your hand, poster-sized, or a whole sheet. We price it on the call, in writing, in under ten minutes.
Water damage is repaired after the source is fixed. If the stain is still wet we tell you who fixes the leak, and we schedule the drywall for when it is dry.
Backing where it needs it, new board cut to fit, every seam taped, three coats of compound sanded smooth, your texture matched, then primer.
Dust contained and the room left clean. Most patches are finished in one visit; a full sheet may need a short second visit for the final coat, scheduled before we leave.
Altadena has no city hall; the permit counter is Los Angeles County Building and Safety, and the county's building code carries the state exempt list under its own section number. Painting and similar finish work are on it, and an ordinary repair to a structure needs no application, which is what a plaster patch, a drywall patch, a sheet replaced in an existing wall or a ceiling repair is. Off the list, and a permit job: a new doorway, a wall taken out, anything that touches framing. Before a job that size we ask the county rather than guess, and we tell you the answer before the work.
In Altadena the water usually came through the roof, and the state insurance department's guide splits it in two: rain through a hole the wind opened is a sudden and accidental loss and generally covered, while a valley that has leaked a little every winter falls under seepage and leaks and generally is not. The guide also says what to do: find and stop the leak at the source, photograph the damage, and hold the extensive permanent repairs until the adjuster has been to the house. The roofer's invoice and our drywall line, written separately, are what the adjuster reads; we touch nothing until the ceiling meters dry.
Altadena has no homeowners association; the county's community standards district is about what shows from the street, and an interior repair is nobody's business but yours. The rule that does apply inside is the garage: the wall and ceiling between the house and an attached garage are fire separation under the state residential code, half-inch board on the garage side and five-eighths Type X under a room above, and a full-sheet repair there goes back with the same board.
Can't find your answer? Call 747-298-8227 and ask us anything.
Call 747-298-8227The Glendale office is twenty minutes down the 210, and a technician can usually be at the house within days. You get the price in writing on the call; a drywall patch is generally done in one visit, and plaster sometimes wants a second short visit for the finish coat.
If it was built before about 1940 and the wall sounds dense when you knock, it is lath and plaster, and yes: a bonding agent and a setting compound keyed into the lath, or plaster washers for a loose section, finished to the coat around it. A drywall patch screwed into plaster is the one that fails.
On a foothill lot a diagonal crack from a window corner is the house settling toward the fill side, and in most houses it is cosmetic: taped, feathered wide and textured, it stays closed. If it keeps widening year on year, or the door beside it rubs harder each season, we tell you to have the lot looked at rather than patch it again.
After the roofer has fixed the flashing and the ceiling reads dry on the meter, yes: the stained section comes out, the joists are checked, new board goes up, taped, three coats, textured and primed. Painted over wet, the ring is back by the next storm.
After it is tested. A ceiling sprayed before 1980 may carry asbestos, so a licensed lab samples it first, and if abatement is needed a licensed contractor does it before our repair. We never sand or scrape an untested older ceiling.
Material first, plaster or drywall; then the size against your hand, whether water was involved, the finish to match and the ceiling height. Say which on the call and the price is in writing in under ten minutes.
Not for a patch, a replaced sheet in an existing wall or a ceiling repair: the county code follows the state's, which exempts finish work and ordinary repairs. A new opening, a removed wall or a framing change is a permit job, and we say so first.
All of Altadena from our Glendale office, including the foothill streets above Loma Alta, the Meadows, Christmas Tree Lane and the east side toward Sierra Madre, plus Pasadena, La Cañada Flintridge, Sierra Madre, La Crescenta and South Pasadena. Call 747-298-8227 to confirm your address.
Describe the wall or ceiling, or text a photo, and we call back with a written price and a time. Calling is still faster: 747-298-8227.
Priced in writing before we start, matched to the wall, warranted in writing.
We answer in under three rings, 24/7.No price games. You get a clear written quote before any work begins, backed by our workmanship warranty.
