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I could use some advice regarding a potential church restoration. The church is an old timber framer, sitting right on the ocean side (far east atlantic), presently unheated. A roof leak and general damp is causing heavy damage to painted plaster cornices, which will require some repair. The walls above the wainscot were done in masonite panelling (this of course will have to go). What to replace it with?(did i mention there was no budget, although there may be unskilled or semi-skilled labour available?)My idea at present is to replace the panelling with board and a skim coat of plaster, leaving the ceiling alone for now. Am i dreaming here? It is a damp environment to begin with, and while the heating may be restored, it will probably be indifferent at best, so is there a board that will perform well in these conditions? is the skill level to apply a decent plaster job on something this size strictly pro level (cause there are none here. Any better suggestions or comments? The wall sections are about 8′ by 60′ on the sides, plus two gables. Thanks for any ideas.
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Hi Adrian,
I'm wondering if Brewski frequents this board anymore. He's a good plaster guy. His web site is http://www.ornamentalplaster.com/index.html (I just went there and he has discussion boards that center heavily on plater. A must visit for you I would say)
I'm wondering if the old plaster and lath are still under the masonite. It might be easier to restore what's left of it than try to start from scratch, depending on the condition it's in. I don't particularly care for board and skimcoat. It still looks too much like drywall to me. Too planar.
Steve Zerby
Meetinghouse Restoration
*Assuming that the roof and other leaks are repaired and the building is weather tight, I think that you should rethink the budget part and have someone look at the situation first. Your local building inspector is normally a reasonable source of advise and he or she would have to be advised in any event prior to any renovations or repairs on a public building were done anyways.Your building may qualify for some type of historical or heritage government assistance, check it out.Regards no money but have volunteers status, volunteers are money. I could never understand how the general population can determine that athough they can't afford to give money they can afford to give time on a Saturday.TIME IS MONEYThe first principal of time management is that it takes 9 months for a woman to bear a child, regardless of the number of women assigned to the task.Once you have determined the estimated cost of reasonable repairs and restoration and determined if assistance is available from the gov't, then you organize the "volunteers" to perform other chores and projects within their expertise and with the money gathered from all of these sources you hire an honest and competent work crew to do the work to the quality your church deserves.
*Good advice, gents.I haven't had a chance for more than a quick look, hence the lack of specific info.Steve, I have also been wondering if the original plaster is there, but it wasn't possible when i was there to get a look (I will definitely look at that plaster site, my expertise is wood).The situation is a little complicated, as it has to remain in church hands and available for that purpose, while at the same time being used as a studio/gallery, if you can imagine that. We are definitely exploring the heritage avenue (among others), but most likely we would qualify for a grant to provide labour from a pool of unemployed workers, still leaving the problem of materials and competent supervision.The building inspectors will have to be involved, of course, but they aren't always that helpful around here. Thanks for the input.
*Instead of Blueboard (or dry/deadwall), what do you like to use in new construction? Please don't say metal lath... :) I'd like to do something different for my wife basement office.
*Hi Andrew,All I've ever personally done is drywall in new construction. I love old plaster over wood lath, but have never done more than medium sized (a few square feet) patches on it. I haven't ever tackled large-scale plaster restoration. This summer I plan to take a workshop on 3-coat flatwall plastering with Frank Mangione who had an article recently published in Old House Journal. The workshop participants will be putting up new plaster in and old hops barn (wood lath). Then I'll have a better idea as to how practical it might be to do old-fashioned plaster and lath in new construction.Is metal lath a problem? I've never dealt with it.Steve
*I'd love to take a class like that. It's one of those coordination things where looking over someone's shoulder would be invaluable. I don't think a video would be the same.Metal lath (expanded diamond mesh) is fine, easier & sturdier than wood lath I would think, and without that horizontal cracking problem, it just is a nightmare to demo. Very strong, lath+plaster eats up recip. blades quick. A bit expensive too, at $3 for a 27"x96" sheet. I used it extensively in the kitchen as I rebuilt an arch and covered a small contoured bumpout window I built -- used lots and lots and lots of screws. But the plaster takes to the lath easily, even overhead (if you use a stiff mixture! I learned after picking the stuff out of my hair). I'll post a picture when (if) I finish.I don't know what the ideal approach would be if one were a purist dead set on "real" plaster, not Blueboard, that's why I asked. The Blueboard you've seen may have been overtroweled to perfection, when the irregularities are part of plaster's charm. I have little trouble generating "character"! I think the BB skim scratch/finish coats can be 1/2-3/4", plenty for some texture. Never tried it, may soon.Love to hear about your workshop later this summer.