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Posted by mdb on February 12, 2007, 10:53 am
Yes, the construction is all masonry. Brick facing with a block core.
Plaster lath attached to the block interior surface. The only voids are in
the blocks. I did go up into the attic to see if I could see any leakage
issues. Nothing. Nor is there any obvious leaking happening on those
interior walls. It's the entire cold wall surface where the original paint
flakes away from the skim coat. So I don't think injected insulation is an
option for me.
Thanks
>
>>> I have a 1950's brick home in Virginia with true plaster interior walls
>>> and
>>> it's time to repaint a stairway wall. The paint is in pretty bad shape.
>>> It
>>> flakes off easily with the blade of a chisel, with all layers of paint
>>> right
>>> down to the plaster skim coat coming up. It's as though the paint never
>>> really bonded to the original plaster. This failure to bond seems to
>>> have
>>> occured only on the exterior walls so I wonder if the lack of housewrap
>>> and
>>> thus colder surfaces might explain the peeling. The task before me is to
>>> either scrape all the old paint off or perhaps to paper the wall. But
>>> I'm
>>> also wondering about adding a layer of 3/8" sheetock directly to the
>>> plaster. The plaster wall is quite cold to the touch and I wonder if I'd
>>> gain some insulation, especially if I added a layer of some sort of very
>>> thin insulation before adding the sheetrock. Back when our home was
>>> built,
>>> contractors just put lath directly on the brick or block without any
>>> additional insulation. I know I'd have to remove molding around windows
>>> and
>>> at the baseboard, but that's not a huge project. I'm not sure how I'd
>>> handle
>>> the joint where ceiling meets wall because the ceiling goes off at a 45
>>> degree angle, not the normal 90 degrees.
>>>
>>> Would I gain much feeling of warmth with the additional sheetrock? What
>>> product would be best for the thin foam insulation? Any new products
>>> better
>>> than plain sheetrock which I know doesn't have much of an R factor?
>>>
>>> Thanks.
>>
>> I would blow insulation in walls, you will need 2 holes one near
>> bottom one near top of each stud cavatity, remove all the lose
>> plaster, prime area with kilz oil to help adhesion, then skim coat
>> with drywall compound. it adheres great.
>>
>> this elminates all the moulding issues, can result in a excellent job
>> and insulation saves energy.
>>
>> I would look into closed cell foam for that wall its a self vapor
>> barrier, about R6 per inch, theres a minimal expanding type for this
>> application.
>>
>> I would take a close look for water problems in this area that may be
>> causing the peeling plaster, either wall siding or some sort of roof
>> flashing problem. Mght be worth popening the wall at the worst place
>> and taking a look, you might find a leaking drain pipe or something. I
>> did this recently here for the same reason and found a bath leak,
>> actually 2 that were somehow migrating into this wall nearby and
>> causing plaster peeling
>>
> 1950s brick with plaster walls could easily be a Real Brick house (no stud
> cavities)- they were still being built in that era. OP's comment that the
> lather may be directly on the brick or block would tend to support that
> idea.
>
> MDB, please enlighten us- Stick frame or masonry walls?
>
> aem sends...
>
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