Cracked plaster in the Prairie-era houses, the ceiling under a March ice dam, the wall behind a leaking radiator, the knob hole and the two-flat ceiling after the upstairs bath, patched and primed. Priced in writing on the call.
BBBAccredited BusinessKaminskiy Care and Repair repairs walls and ceilings in Oak Park homes, where most of the walls are older than drywall. The Prairie-style houses, Victorians and foursquares of the Wright and Ridgeland districts are lath and plaster from the 1880s to the 1920s; the Chicago bungalows south of Madison carry plaster on rock lath from the 1920s to the 1950s; the two-flats and courtyard buildings along Oak Park Avenue stack one owner's bathroom over another's ceiling. Then the winter does its work: a radiator valve or a supply line in an outside wall freezes and lets go in January, an ice dam backs meltwater under the shingles in March and the stain blooms on a second-floor ceiling, and the plaster, already cracked along the lath, lets go. Each wall is repaired in the material it was built in, finished to match and primed. Water waits for the plumber or the roofer and a dry meter reading. The price is in writing on the call and most patches are finished in one visit.
Eight repairs, one crew, priced in writing before we start.
Oak Park is a plaster town with drywall in the additions and the finished basements, and the winter is hard on both. A plaster crack follows the lath and a section goes hollow when the keys break; a drywall ceiling under a March ice dam sags before it stains. We patch plaster as plaster with a bonding agent and a setting compound, replace drywall as drywall, match the smooth, sand or skip finish, and say which wall you have on the first 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 PaintPlaster and drywall are different repairs and our technicians do both. Say what the wall is made of if you know and the size against your hand, and the price is in writing on the call before anyone drives over.
We answer in under three rings and get you priced and scheduled in minutes.
A clear, written quote with upfront pricing. You approve before work begins.
Kaminskiy-certified pros finish the job with a workmanship warranty.
Every drywall repair carries our one-year workmanship warranty, in writing, and is done by a Kaminskiy-certified, background checked technician.
Most of Oak Park was built before drywall existed. The Prairie-style houses, Victorians and foursquares of the Frank Lloyd Wright and Ridgeland districts carry plaster on wood lath, three coats over a century old, and the bungalows of the 1920s to the 1950s carry plaster on rock lath, the first gypsum board. A crack follows the lath, a section goes hollow when the keys that lock it to the lath break, a corner crumbles, and the ceiling sags in a long bow. Plaster is patched with a bonding agent and a setting compound keyed into the lath, or a hollow section is reattached with plaster washers before it is skimmed; a drywall patch screwed into plaster is the repair that fails. Drywall shows up in the additions, the finished attics and the basements, and is repaired as drywall.
January: a radiator valve, a steam trap or a supply line in an outside wall freezes and lets go, and the wall below it is soaked by morning. February: the furnace has dried the house until the plaster cracks at the corners and the drywall tape in the addition lets go at the ceiling line. March: the thaw after heavy snow backs an ice dam up under the shingles of a bungalow or a foursquare and the stain appears on the second-floor ceiling or at the top of an exterior wall. April: the rain finds the finished basement wall from the outside. Each has its own trade to fix the source, and the wall or ceiling is repaired after the meter reads dry.
Along Oak Park Avenue and on the apartment streets, one owner's bathroom sits over another owner's ceiling, and the ring on the ceiling of the first floor began in a shower pan or a toilet seal upstairs. The association and its declaration decide who pays for what crosses the floor; we repair the ceiling on your side after the source is fixed and the board reads dry, and write the scope as its own line. Dark growth bigger than a dinner plate is a licensed mold remediation company's job before ours, and we say so on the call.
A plaster crack is cut back, bonded and filled; a hollow section is reattached and skimmed; a crumbled corner is rebuilt. A drywall hole smaller than your hand is a backed patch, bigger than a hand is a paper patch, poster-sized gets a framed backer and a new section, and a ceiling soaked by the ice dam is a full sheet screwed to the joists with every seam taped. Three coats, a sanding, the finish matched and primer are the same on every one of them, and the filler-and-paint patch from the hardware store skips every step, which is why it shows.
Prairie-style homes, Victorians and foursquares from the 1880s through the 1920s with plaster on wood lath, ornamental plaster ceilings, radiators and old supply lines in the walls, and the March ice dam on a wide eave. Plaster cracks along the lath, goes hollow at the keys and crumbles at the corners. Plaster patched as plaster, the ornament left alone, and a pre-1978 painted surface handled lead-safe by a certified firm.
Chicago bungalows and 1920s to 1950s brick homes with plaster on rock lath, a finished attic in drywall, a finished basement in drywall over block, and a low-pitched roof that holds an ice dam. The attic ceiling stains after the thaw, the basement wall softens at the bottom after a spring rain, the plaster cracks at the window corners. Each repaired in its own material and finished to match.
Courtyard buildings, two-flats and three-flats with one unit's bath over another's ceiling, plaster in the original rooms and drywall in the remodels, and single-family homes with the same plaster as the rest of the village. The ceiling under the upstairs bath, the hallway wall after a move-out, the condo board or the landlord who needs the list priced in writing.
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.
The Village of Oak Park requires a permit for most property improvements and publishes no exempt-work list, so the rule is the one in the residential code the village adopted, the 2024 International Residential Code from January 2026: painting, papering, tiling and similar finish work need no permit, and ordinary repairs need no application. A plaster or drywall patch, a replaced sheet in an existing wall or a ceiling repair is that work. A new opening, a removed wall, a framing change or interior demolition is a permit job, and in a historic district exterior work is reviewed first, so we say so before anyone opens a wall.
A pipe that split in a January cold snap or a ceiling soaked by a March ice dam is a sudden loss and is usually covered; the radiator valve that dripped all winter, or the basement seepage that comes every spring, usually is not, and the adjuster asks when it started and whether the house was kept heated. Photograph the stain and the source the day you find them, keep the plumber's or roofer's invoice, and we write the plaster or drywall scope as its own line. We do not fix the pipe or the roof; new board goes in only after the meter says the framing is dry.
In a two-flat or a courtyard condominium the Illinois Condominium Property Act and the building's declaration decide whether the association or the owner upstairs pays for the ceiling below; we repair your side, write the scope separately and leave the question of who pays to the documents. Nearly every Oak Park house was painted before 1978, so the painted surface is handled lead-safe by a certified firm, and a ceiling sprayed or a joint compound applied before 1980 may carry asbestos: tested by a licensed lab first, abatement by a licensed contractor if needed, before our patch.
Can't find your answer? Call 708-809-2577 and ask us anything.
Call 708-809-2577The price is in writing on the call, in under ten minutes, and most drywall patches are finished in one visit. A plaster repair, a reattached ceiling or a wall that has to dry out after a leak needs a short second visit for the final coat, scheduled before we leave.
If the house is from before about 1950 and the wall sounds dense and solid when you knock, it is plaster, and it matters: plaster is patched with a bonding agent and a setting compound keyed into the lath, or reattached with plaster washers where it has come loose, not with a drywall patch screwed in. Our technicians repair both and tell you which you have on the first look.
Usually an ice dam: meltwater backs up under the shingles and comes through the ceiling or the top of an exterior wall. A roofer clears the dam and fixes the flashing or the ventilation, the ceiling dries and reads dry on the meter, then we replace the stained section. Painted over wet, the stain is back by the next thaw.
The plumber fixes the valve or the trap; we repair the wall after it dries. The stained plaster or drywall below the radiator comes out, the framing is checked, new board or new plaster goes in, and the finish is matched. We never touch the heating system.
We repair the ceiling on your side once the source is fixed and the board reads dry. Who pays is a question for the declaration and the association's insurance under the Illinois Condominium Property Act, and we write the scope as its own line so the board and the adjusters can read it.
Material first, then size, water and finish: plaster or drywall; a crack, hand-sized, poster-sized or a whole ceiling; dry or water-damaged; smooth, sand or skip finish. Say which on the call and the price is in writing before anything is scheduled.
Yes. One knob hole, one plaster crack, one nail pop is a welcome call, and a room of nail and anchor holes after a move-out is a menu item of its own, anchors pulled, every hole filled flush, finished and primed for the turnover paint.
All of Oak Park, the historic districts, South Oak Park and North Oak Park, plus River Forest, Forest Park, Berwyn, Elmwood Park, Cicero, Maywood, Austin, Galewood, Brookfield and La Grange. Call 708-809-2577 to confirm your address.
Tell us what the wall or ceiling looks like, or text us a photo. We'll call you back with a price and a time. Calling is still the fastest way: 708-809-2577.
Priced in writing before we start. Kaminskiy-certified technicians. A one-year workmanship warranty on every job.
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.
