I used Big Wally's magic glue a couple weekends ago and I think you could use it to glue the chunks back on. Someone would need to hold the chunks in place while you screwed and squirted. And AFAIK, it's only available online, so you'd need to wait for shipping. And it's not cheap. But if those obstacles aren't a big deal, it should work.

Thanks! I watched a Big Wally video before posting, and then after reading your response, I went back and found another of his videos that was very similar to my situation.

I wouldnt bother trying to glue an old piece back on - its not that big of an area Not sure what exactly DAP plaster wall patch is - if its real plaster it should work -use a bonding agent (elmers pro bod is one) on the lathe and edges of old plaster to assure good adhesion

piece o cake!

I'm thinking that Big Wally's conditioner product is a form of glue.

Use plaster wall patch or Fixall. Do a first patch and then a second, finish patch to bring it flush with the adjacent wall surface, using a 12" drywall knife. This will give you a much better result than trying to glue the old pieces in place and deal with the cracks and the potentially non-planar pieces.

You can also use drywall mud--made repairs on these types of problems many times in rental property. Just be sure to spray water on the lathe, soaking real good so that it won't suck the water out of the drywall mud which cause it to fail. Use fiberglass tape on the transition to the plaster.

I had similar plaster damage in a stairwell leading to my basement... I just used several thin layers of joint compound to fill and level the area, making sure it dried completely between each layer. It's held up perfectly!

just to add yet another method...you can buy the plaster base coat, structo-lite, it's available pretty much anywhere. put that on fairly thick and then top with either a true top coat or something like easy-sand. i have had good luck doing this.

In my last house I had a similar issue. I squared up the missing area and screwed in a piece of drywall of equal thickness. Tape & mud and I couldn't even tell it was fixed.

Yes--I've done the same thing as to using a piece of drywall as a patch and then taping and mudding it. Works great and is very durable.

Thanks for all the tips. I used the Elmer's ProBond Advanced (thanks, Kashka Kat!), applying it with a small brush to the lath and the edge of the existing plaster. Then I applied ready-to-use DAP patching plaster in two coats, which, by the way, did not dry quickly. Then I top coated with drywall mud, oil primer, and finally paint.

Yeah - looks great! Cant see where the hole was. Plaster dries slow in winter when it's cold. Plaster takes amonth to cure so if it peels that might be why ( I don't know about drywall compound though, maybe youll be ok)