Lath and plaster in the Craftsman districts, drywall and sprayed ceilings in the 1950s ranch tracts, slope cracks above the Arroyo and the ordinary knob hole, patched in the right material and primed. Priced in writing on the call.
BBBAccredited BusinessKaminskiy Care and Repair repairs walls and ceilings in Pasadena homes, district by district, and in Pasadena the first question is what the wall is made of. The Craftsman houses of Bungalow Heaven, Madison Heights and the Historic Highlands are lath and plaster, and plaster cracks along the lath, goes hollow where the keys broke and crumbles at the corners; the 1950s ranch homes of Hastings Ranch and East Pasadena are the first drywall, with sprayed ceilings that are tested before anyone sands them; the Arroyo and Linda Vista lots settle toward the slope and crack diagonally from the window corners. Add the knob hole, the ring under an upstairs bath, the wall a plumber opened and the anchor holes after a Caltech tenant moves out. Each is repaired in its own material, finished to match and primed. Water waits for the source to be fixed and the wall to dry. The price is in writing on the call, in under ten minutes, and most patches are finished in one visit.
Eight repairs, one crew, priced in writing before we start.
Pasadena has every wall there is: three-coat plaster on wood lath in the bungalow districts, the first drywall in the postwar ranch tracts under the foothills, smooth skims in the remodels, and a hundred years of patches in all of them. The Santa Ana winds off the San Gabriels dry the attics and lift the ceiling tape, the Arroyo lots settle, and every house in the city has felt an earthquake. Our technicians carry the plaster trowels and the texture hopper, and the repair is matched to the wall it is in.
AFTERBEFORE
Hole & Crack Repair
Water Damage Repair
Ceiling Repair
Texture Matching
Big Patches & Full Sheets
Nail & Anchor Holes
Corner Bead & Cracks
Primed & Ready for PaintPlaster and drywall are different trades and our technicians do both. Tell us what the wall is made of if you know, and the size against your hand, and a Kaminskiy-certified technician prices it in writing on the call before anyone drives up the 134.
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 Pasadena drywall repair.
A Craftsman wall is three coats of plaster pressed through wood lath, held by the keys that squeezed through the gaps, and it fails its own way: a crack along a lath line, a section that goes hollow and drummy where the keys broke, a corner that crumbles, coving at the ceiling that lets go in a piece. The repair is a bonding agent and a setting compound keyed into the lath, or a plaster washer to pull a loose section tight, finished to the sand or smooth coat around it. A drywall patch screwed into plaster is the repair that falls out in a year, and we do not do that one.
Hastings Ranch, East Pasadena and the Lamanda Park streets were built in the 1950s with the first drywall, half-inch board nailed to the studs, a fine orange peel and a sprayed ceiling. Seventy dry summers have popped the nails, and the Santa Ana winds that come down the San Gabriels every fall dry the attic and arch the roof trusses, which lift the ceiling tape off the walls on schedule. A ceiling sprayed before 1980 is tested by a licensed lab before anyone sands it, and a house from before 1978 has its painted surfaces handled lead-safe under the EPA's certified-firm rule.
The Craftsman houses take their water from the roof and the porch: a flashing, a gutter that overflows under the oaks, a shower pan in a bath that was added in 1960. The two-story homes take it from the bath above. The roofer or plumber fixes the source, the wall dries and reads dry on the meter, then the stained section comes out; plaster that has been wet for months is removed to the lath and rebuilt. A dark patch bigger than a dinner plate is a licensed mold remediation company's job first, and we say so on the call.
The Arroyo and Linda Vista lots were cut and filled, and a house settles a little toward the fill side over the decades, so the cracks run diagonally from the window corners on the slope side and the doors on that side rub. An earthquake opens hairlines at the corners of every opening, where the board or the plaster was cut. Both are cosmetic in most houses and get taped, feathered wide and finished; a crack that is wide, stepped or growing year on year is a foundation question, and we tell you that rather than patch it twice.
Craftsman and Spanish houses from the 1900s to the 1930s with lath and plaster, plaster coving and a century of patches in three materials. Cracks along the lath, hollow sections, crumbling corners, a missing piece of cove. Plaster is patched as plaster, keyed into the lath and finished to the coat around it; the landmark districts protect the outside, and an interior repair is nobody's business but yours.
Larger houses on slope lots above the Arroyo, plaster in the older ones and smooth or skip-trowel drywall in the remodels, with diagonal settling cracks from the window corners on the slope side and tall ceilings over the view rooms priced after a look. A smooth wall shows every edge of a careless patch, so these get the wider feather and the raking-light check before primer.
1950s ranch homes with the first drywall, fine orange peel, sprayed ceilings tested before anyone disturbs them and nail pops down every hallway. Truss lift along the ceiling line every Santa Ana season, the ring on the hallway ceiling under a roof vent, and the wall the plumber opened to reach the galvanized line. Textured to match and primed.
The Glendale office covers the San Gabriel Valley 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.
Pasadena's own exempt-work sheet lists painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, counter tops and similar finish work as needing no building permit, adds that a zoning permit may still apply to exempt items, and the state residential code needs no application for ordinary repairs; a plaster patch, a drywall patch or a ceiling repair in an existing wall is that. The city's bathroom remodel handout treats removing and replacing the wallboard as part of a permit job, so a full-sheet replacement is checked with the Permit Center on Garfield before we start, and a new opening, a removed wall or any framing change always is.
The state insurance department's guide lists sudden and accidental water damage as covered and damage from seepage or leaks as not covered, and the adjuster will ask when it started. Photograph the stain and the source the day you find it, stop the leak at the source, keep the roofer's or plumber's invoice, and do not make extensive permanent repairs before the adjuster has seen the damage. We write the plaster or drywall scope as its own line and replace nothing until the wall meters dry.
A Craftsman house carries lead in its paint and the painted surfaces are handled lead-safe under the EPA's certified-firm rule; a ceiling sprayed before 1980 may carry asbestos and is sampled by a licensed lab before anyone scrapes it, with abatement by a licensed contractor if it is needed. The wall and ceiling between the house and an attached garage are fire separation under the state residential code, and a full-sheet repair there goes back with the same half-inch or five-eighths Type X board.
Can't find your answer? Call 747-298-8227 and ask us anything.
Call 747-298-8227We answer in under three rings and the Glendale office is fifteen minutes down the 134, so usually within days. The price is in writing on the call; most drywall patches are finished in one visit, and a plaster repair may need a short second visit for the finish coat.
Both. A Craftsman wall is lath and plaster, and we repair it with 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 repair that fails, and we say which wall you have on the first look.
Usually, yes. A short run of cove is rebuilt in place with a setting plaster and a profile knife cut to match the original; a long run is priced after a look. The repair is primed and ready for paint.
Because they were filled, not taped. A crack at a door or window corner moves a little with every shake and every dry summer, so it is taped with paper or mesh, filled, feathered wide and textured; then it stays closed. A crack that is wide, stepped or growing gets an honest word about the foundation instead.
After the plumber has fixed the leak and the ceiling reads dry on the meter, yes: the stained section comes out, the joists are checked, new board or new plaster goes in, finished and primed. A still-wet or sagging ceiling is priced on the call after a look.
The material sets more of the price here than anywhere: a drywall patch and a plaster repair of the same size are different visits. 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 or a ceiling repair in an existing wall: Pasadena's own exempt-work sheet lists finish work as needing no building permit. Replacing whole sheets, a new opening, a removed wall or a framing change is checked with the Permit Center first, and we say so before the work.
All of Pasadena from our Glendale office, including Bungalow Heaven, Madison Heights, the Historic Highlands, the Arroyo, Linda Vista, San Rafael, East Pasadena and Hastings Ranch, plus Altadena, South Pasadena, San Marino, La Cañada Flintridge, Sierra Madre and Arcadia. 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.
