Plaster removal advice requested

tjfslaughter · 10-02-2012, 10:41 AM

Hello all!!

I just closed on a house that has no insulation, I am going to address this issue. I have 2 questions:

1. I am in the process of removing the plaster (no metal lathe). Is it possible to remove the plaster and just cut the slats (between the studs) with a circular saw or sawzall and leave the slats on the studs (only the width of the studs). I would guess the perfect solution would be to remove them from the studs, I am looking to save a little time..

2. The house has very detailed chesnut mouldings and I would like to not remove them around the windows and base mouldings. Could I score the plaster about 6 inches above the base moulding and put the sheetrock up against the plaster and have my spackle guy float it in. I tried to remove some of the mouldings but they crack very easily (I only removed them from an interior closet for test...

ToolSeeker · 10-02-2012, 02:07 PM

I would defiantly remove all the lathe since you will be securing your drywall to the studs to leave these pieces could split and fall out when you are nailing or trying to screw thru them. I think the little time saved could come back and bite you later.
Part 2 These moulding can be removed, there is a thread titled- Getting paint off old baseboards- in the paint section, there is info there to help you. The problem with your idea is going to be trying to match the thickness of the plaster with drywall. And unless you have a heck of a mud guy there will always be a rather large bump there.

joecaption · 10-02-2012, 03:30 PM

Plus there would be nothing to attach the sheetrock to around the windows and doors if the trims not removed.

**Gary in WA** · 10-02-2012, 03:40 PM

What you are planning can be done. Shim the studs after removing all the plaster/lath from the area to have new drywall. Reason being; the studs were cut and sawed at the mill, then installed "green" or just air-dried for a few months (minimal)-- they are different thickness if you measure them. The plaster fixed this being installed with a straight-edge using "screed boards"; against another board; always at the bottom/top and around windows/doors called "plaster grounds". Kiln-dried (think uniform dimensions) lumber happened later with most platform framing along with drywall, rather than plaster. Your taper should know to shim the union perfectly, leaving room for the mud/tape joint. Be sure he uses paper tape and setting type compound for maximum strength against cracks later.

Gary

chrisn · 10-02-2012, 05:26 PM

The big question for me is WHY are you removing the plaster?
Can it ( insulation) not be blown in or something?

Squished · 10-03-2012, 08:14 AM

1. Take all the lathe down, fir the wall out with some strapping then apply your blue board.

2. More work than it's worth with all the patch work that would need to happen. It would never look right without incredible amounts of time. Tear it all down and start over.

tjfslaughter · 05-16-2013, 08:28 AM

Thank you for the advice. This project has taken longer than normal (don't they all). We decided to rip everything out. Removing the nails from the lathe actually took the longest

Here are a couple pics. We decided to Fir out the walls so we could put R-19 in (5.5"). I ripped 2x4's down on the table saw to do this. We will be priming and refinishing the floors this week.

Seattle2k · 05-16-2013, 06:56 PM

lookin good!