Should I replace old plaster?
Question:I have an older house that I am remodling, and most of the walls are old plaster. Some of it is cracking and coming off the walls and other spots seem okay. Other spots have drywall over the plaster. My husband thinks thatwe shoudl tear all of the plaster down and drywall, but that sounds like too much work and money. Is there any better solution? Is the Drywall fine on top of the plaster?
Answers:
For best results, I would tear down the old plaster. I have an older house like you and I had a window on the corner of my kitchen looking into my living room. I didn't like it so I ripped it out and covered it with drywall. It doesn't look bad, but you can tell where the window used to be. I will be ripping the plaster down eventually, but I remodeled my kitchen and needed a quick fix for now.
Better get ready for some hard work though, plaster doesn't come off very easily and it makes a huge mess. good luck to you. If you are going to be doing much home improvement, I would get a home improvement book from Home depot or Lowes. It has about every kind of project in it from electrical to installing cabinets and floors. good luck to you.
For the best results you will have to tear down the plaster and drywall. If you don't anything that you do to the wall will look crazy. Trust me!!
Depends if you want a good job,and for it to last.Old plaster contained among other things harsh chemicals such as Arsenic.New plaster products are enviromentally safer and more elastic. Much easier to apply.You can get a 5kilo(we use metric here in nz)bag for about $25NZD. That's 15lb for $7 your money.My advice to you would be to take down all old plaster.Does drywall mean Gib Board? We take off old wall,line room with gib board, not forgetting to insulate inner wall first(compulsory here). Then plaster over,either smooth or stucco,according to your requirements. Paint with Acrylic paint. Last for years. Good Luck!
I too have an older "character" home that had lots of original Spanish plaster and coved walls. I found it was more work to tear off the old lathe and plaster, but it was absolutely necessary in order to update electrical and insulation. In the end I "blue boarded" my home and had it re-plastered so it still had the original feel. It was costly, but well worth it because it will last for many more years.
there is 1/4 inch drywall I used 1/2 on my house right over the old plaster lath I did redo the interior trim and made my own door frames because of the extra thickness. a few of the very bad walls i scraped the plaster off .
with the old plaster under the new drywall I feel its way more insulated. the walls are like a big heat sink they hold the heat in the winter and stay cool longer in the summer.
if there are any lead paint issues or other stuff in the plaster you will not be disturbing it , it will be sealed in under the new wallboard.
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