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Subject Author Date
Plaster walls Rich 02-24-2008
|--> Re: Plaster walls Matthew Dunphy02-25-2008
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Posted by Rich on February 24, 2008, 4:53 pm
Hi,

Another quantry in my 80 year old house. 2 of my rooms were left in
their original plaster state with many crack repairs having been done
over the years. They are also uninsulated to the exterior...I am
itching to either rip out the plaster, insulate and drywall. I know
this is opening a can of worms, but what tips or suggestions does
anyone have to make the job seem a little more do-able as a DIYer?

Thanks for your help.


Posted by RBM on February 24, 2008, 5:19 pm

> Hi,
>
> Another quantry in my 80 year old house. 2 of my rooms were left in
> their original plaster state with many crack repairs having been done
> over the years. They are also uninsulated to the exterior...I am
> itching to either rip out the plaster, insulate and drywall. I know
> this is opening a can of worms, but what tips or suggestions does
> anyone have to make the job seem a little more do-able as a DIYer?
>
> Thanks for your help.

Sheetrocking is cheap. The labor is in the demo. If you can demo the rooms,
even one at a time. save all the trim if it's in good shape, insulate, then
hire sheetrockers and tapers to do the drywall, then finish the trim
yourself, it'll be worth it. A horsehair plaster job is going to be over an
inch thick, so window and door trims will need some extra work, but the
rooms will be suddenly much larger. It's also a good opertunity to install
new wiring.
>



Posted by Rich on February 25, 2008, 10:06 am
Those are all good points...thanks.


>
>
> > Hi,
>
> > Another quantry in my 80 year old house. =A0 2 of my rooms were left in
> > their original plaster state with many crack repairs having been done
> > over the years. =A0They are also uninsulated to the exterior...I am
> > itching to either rip out the plaster, insulate and drywall. =A0I know
> > this is opening a can of worms, but what tips or suggestions does
> > anyone have to make the job seem a little more do-able as a DIYer?
>
> > Thanks for your help.
>
> Sheetrocking is cheap. The labor is in the demo. If you can demo the rooms=
,
> even one at a time. save all the trim if it's in good shape, insulate, the=
n
> hire sheetrockers and tapers to do the drywall, then finish the trim
> yourself, it'll be worth it. A horsehair plaster job is going to be over a=
n
> inch thick, so window and door trims will need some extra work, but the
> rooms will be suddenly much larger. It's also a good opertunity to install=

> new wiring.
>
>


Posted by Matthew Dunphy on February 25, 2008, 11:27 am
> Hi,
>
> Another quantry in my 80 year old house. 2 of my rooms were left in
> their original plaster state with many crack repairs having been done
> over the years. They are also uninsulated to the exterior...I am
> itching to either rip out the plaster, insulate and drywall. I know
> this is opening a can of worms, but what tips or suggestions does
> anyone have to make the job seem a little more do-able as a DIYer?
>
> Thanks for your help.

Taking down the old plaster walls & ceiling in my similarly aged
house
was a pleasure. If you don't already have em, pick up ventilators
for
anyone who'll be helping out, or your lungs will hate you.

It's going to be a very dirty job, dress appropriately, and make sure
that the room is empty of stuff with appearances you value. If
you can't move everything, get some 6 mil and cover up what's left.

Our demolition was essentially hammers and brute force. I assume
you already have safety glasses :) Heavy duty black trash bags are
also in order, as plaster gets heavy. Some kind of gloves are good
too, assuming you've got wood lathe & nails behind that plaster.

While you've got the walls off, consider any upgrades you can do.
Plan, plan, plan. We rewired the entire first floor (2nd floor is
getting
similar treatment in a few months) and I put speaker cable access
in the living room, so that one can easily set up a surround system
regardless of what side of the room you choose to put your TV in.

Good luck!

Posted by Heathcliff on February 25, 2008, 11:48 am
> Hi,
>
> Another quantry in my 80 year old house. 2 of my rooms were left in
> their original plaster state with many crack repairs having been done
> over the years. They are also uninsulated to the exterior...I am
> itching to either rip out the plaster, insulate and drywall. I know
> this is opening a can of worms, but what tips or suggestions does
> anyone have to make the job seem a little more do-able as a DIYer?
>
> Thanks for your help.

One thing I noticed when moving from a new house to an older one with
plaster walls was that the house was considerably quieter. Those
plaster walls transmit less sound. If you decide to take out the
plaster, you might consider having it replaced with a double layer of
drywall to make up the extra thickness, and provide more mass for
soundproofing. -- H

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