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Tdoggy187 · 02-22-2008, 08:44 PM

I know you use drywall for walls. But is it good to use for ceilings? Or is sheet rock the way to go? Here are pictures of the walls that we will be replacing. They have mold damage and are very old and need insulation anyway. I'm going to tear them all down and hire someone to do the new walls,insulation, and ceilings.

Its all plaster and lathe. I figure rip down all the plaster and lathe. Then it will just be the wood frame left. Then have him put in insulation and then do the drywall.

Tdoggy187 · 02-22-2008, 08:48 PM

Ceiling looks like possibly plaster or some kind of old sheetrock?? Not really sure.

Should I drywall it or sheetrock it? I also have to put insualtion above it i would imagine...

You can see the people who owned it before us just put up a drop down ceiling to cover it up. I hate drop down ceilings.

**AtlanticWBConst.** · 02-22-2008, 09:10 PM

My dear "Newbi",

Sheetrock is, in fact "Drywall". What I mean, is, that because of the wonderful way we Americans mince-up words, we have created alot of confusion whenever, it seems, we try to communicate certain technical information.
Drywall is a form of interior wall finish. It encompasses two primary steps:

1.) Attaching (or hanging) sheetrock onto rough framing. This includes walls and ceilings.

2.) Coating the sheetrock seams and fasteners with compound, then sanding smooth, or applying some kind of texture, to create a uniform surface.

So these two steps: #1 + #2 = DRYWALL (as opposed to plaster)

jerryh3 · 02-22-2008, 09:47 PM

I think the confusion comes more from the word "sheetrock" being used to describe drywall. "Sheetrock" is a brand name of drywall from USG. Same as someone saying they are going to Xerox something instead of saying they are making a photostatic copy.

Tdoggy187 · 02-22-2008, 09:49 PM

Yeah after googling it I realized that

lol

Am I doing the right thing by ripping down all the plaster and lathe and then...

Putting in insulation "since it has none" and then having him put up drywall "also known as sheetrock" ???

The wood framing looks to be in pretty good shape. I can't believe there is no insulation in any of these walls though?? I live in a very "Cold" area!!!

Should I insulate every wall? Or just the outside ones?

jerryh3 · 02-22-2008, 10:00 PM

If it's that damaged, just rip it down. I would get a good quality particle mask and plastic off the rest of the house before you do it. Some plaster contains asbestos and/or lead so protect yourself against those. Definately insulate the exterior walls and ceilings. I also insulate the interior walls of bedrooms and baths with an unfaced r-11 batt insulation to cut down on sound transmission.

Tdoggy187 · 02-23-2008, 09:50 AM

Sounds like I should insulate everything!! Sounds like the way to go

I have no heat upstairs. So running ducts and getting some heat up there we will have to do also. I believe my furnace is powerful enough to run a few more ducts off of. Or at least I hope....

redline · 02-23-2008, 01:34 PM

What is the square footage of the home?

How many Btu's is the furnace?

Is the wiring newer copper or knob and tube?

Insulating the home is the best thing to do as far as comfort and lower your heat bills.

Tdoggy187 · 02-23-2008, 07:42 PM

The house is about 2,200 square feet. We just installed a brand new furnace about 3 months ago. They claimed this thing could heat the whole house. They had to install another cooling vent in one of our floors. We have 2 already. This makes 3 now.

I'm assuming they would just run more ducts from the furnace itself? Into upstairs bedrooms? Sound about right?

I have no idea how many BTU's it has.

It looks nothing like knob and tube. Got to think they installed newer copper\
wiring.

moneymgmt · 02-27-2008, 03:35 PM

Since this all started with mold, I'm assuming that the water problem has been fixed?

As for a new furnace in an old home, I just did the same thing and couldn't figure out why the beast wasn't heating the house as well as expected. Finally I figured out that even though we ran new duct work, the old vents were a single piece with a 3" neck on them. The HVAC guys connected the 6" to the 3" and created a massive bottleneck at every vent because you can only push so much air through a 3" opening. To resolve the issue I'm running 2 new 6" ducts from the trunk line and installing 2 new vents to that floor. Just a thought for you, good luck.

Tdoggy187 · 02-27-2008, 11:55 PM

The water damage is not fixed just yet. I need a new roof but it will be a work in progress soon enough. Then comes the upstairs. And installing heating Ducts. I'm not sure though if I can even run more ducts off this newer furnace. Going to have to take some pictures and put them on here and get some advice.

Its a brand new furnace. Got to think I can.

Tdoggy187 · 02-28-2008, 12:27 AM

I took down the paneling in my Master Bedroom upstairs and here is what I found. Looks like the plaster is loaded with mold. do you guys agree?

Also while i had my back turned looks like some water dripped down from near the light and where there is a hold in the room's ceiling. :-(

What do you guys think? Do I have to rip down all that Plaster and the lathe behind it and see if the "old wood framing" is ok and start from there? With some insulation and then new drywall? Sound about right?

Tdoggy187 · 02-28-2008, 12:29 AM

A few more....

**AtlanticWBConst.** · 02-28-2008, 09:03 AM

Are you sure that is mold. That looks like it could be old water stains.
Water stains, don't necessarily mean mold.

I was just at a job yesterday that we have a crew on. Water damaged apt. units.
Now that was MOLD. Black! I should have taken some pictures of that nasty stuff...One for our record books...

Tdoggy187 · 02-28-2008, 12:03 PM

Wow, Any idea how I would test it for Mold? Maybe it is water stains from the roof leaks. Got to think the Ceiling is all Mold though.

I wish I didn't have to rip it all down. But those plastered walls with Lathe have no insulation behind them :-(

All my Bedrooms are Plaster and Lathe without any insulation up there :-(