Removing some rotted wood above a window bay caused more destruction than would have been desired, and am hoping for some advice on how best to repair the holes in the plaster.
Ceiling – Repairing broken plaster
ceilingplaster
Related Solutions
You should be able to just pick off the worst bits and apply new joint compound. Do it in 2 thin layers if the plaster is thick. It will look a bit patchy if you don't sand and paint afterwards.
That crack is most likely directly inline with a seam between two sections of the underlying drywall. Environmental effects or settling of the building structure over years can lead to cracks like this opening up.
Probably the best fix for this is to sand to roughen up the area for six to eight inches or so on either side of the crack. Then apply some good quality mesh style drywall joint tape:
(I would actually install in two overlapping layers).
Then use a drywall mud knife to embed the tape into a layer of drywall mud that is feathered out over a wide area on either side of the mesh tape. If the drywall mud is installed carefully over multiple applications you can minimize the amount of sanding required.
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Best Answer
It looks like there is more damage likely hidden under the plaster and the wood members there would be structural. You should remove the plaster to get to and repair this damage or verify that there is none.
I suggest removing all the plaster of the relatively small area that is the ceiling of the bay window and replace with drywall after the repair work is done.