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My wife and I just purchased a 100yr old brick home in PA. Sometime in the past, the owners were stupid enough to stud out the interior walls, and put paneling over the plaster walls. In the entry way, the house is trimmed in oak, 8″ flat topped with 2″ fancy on the bottom and crown moulded all along the ceiling. They left the entry way alone, but the dining room was paneled in 1970’s dark junk. I wanted to lighten up the room, so I started tearing up the paneling, and underneath is MOST of the original oak, some missing, some hacked by an idiot, and carpet over a perfect hardwood floor. Go figure. The plaster is in good shape, but separated and missing in just a few spots (no, it does not have horse hair in it). I was wondering the best way to repair this. They had painted the plaster in a blue (lead based paint) and wall papered over it before studding out the wall. We are trying so hard to get this house into its original beautiful state. Any info would help, thanks.
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Check the Yellow Pages for "Plastering Contractors" or see if you can locate a Union hall for plasterers. Call some commercial GC's in your area and ask for references. Plastering is still alive and well in the commercial arena, where some care more about longevity than initial costs.
*I'm in Pgh, and a few guys are in Philly. Where ya at? May find someone with a plasterer near by. Jeff
*This has come up OFTEN here -- search the archives. It sounds like you're off to a strong start. Screw down the plaster, patch it, etc. Congrats on wanting to get back to the old style -- gonna miis that W/W carpeting though, aren't you? :)
*Tried everything to get my plaster to stop cracking every year in 1900 brick veneer house. Even the cracks would crack... Tried drywall setting compound and everything else, but had luck with great sticky wads of BONDO! I should go buy stock...
*Got you by 6 years - my house was built in 1894. I've had good luck over the years sealing hairline cracks using a lightweight polyesther fabric (sheer curtain material) and a mixture of joint compound and resourcinol glue. I have a curved staircase with plaster on the underside that I surfaced and the cracks did not appear again for 18 years. Then it needed just a good paint job and it's been OK for another 5 years.Enjoy your "old house"
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Ditto BG 71:
Having done plaster repairs without years of practice, i can tell you it's something worth paying for. A good plasterer is fast and since the finish shows in the grain of the wall, needs to be matched or feathered in ways only experience can do.
By the way, Bondo is a wonder filler for anything that'll be painted later. Instead of sanding Mueseum cases (I won't tell you which one) we skim-coated the ply, screws, etc to a smooth finish instead. Ditto punk-rot custom-moulding recreations, although that calls for the artists' touch.
I have heard of scrimming entire walls and plastering which holds cracks or punk plaster, but a la Public schools, also contains lead or asbestos.
*I am in Brookville, about 80 miles North of Pittsburgh. Rather than trying to repair the cracks and potholes, does anyone know how long and how much it would cost to re-plaster approx 550sq'? I am thinking of taking it all off, except the lath, and having it redone. It does have what looks like wood fibers in it for strength, and lead based paint on it. Wife wants to go the drywall idea, I want the plaster. As far as the w/w carpet, right now we are only doing the dining room, the rest of the house might stay for a while leaving somewhere to sit and keep the feet warm.
*I did look in the archives last night, but it seems as if most people were trying to cover it all with drywall. The ceiling may get it, but not the walls. Thanks for everyones help.
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You're gonna' have a real hard time removing the old plaster while preserving the wood lath. If you want to go thru the trouble of doing the demo yourself, re-lathing with paper-backed self-furring lath and a white-coat finish would run you $5.00-$7.00/sf down here in the South where we aren't primarily union labor. IF you can find someone with the skills to do the job.
If you want to go this route, I might suggest stripping the walls to the studs, covering with blue plaster-backing gypboard, and a veneer plaster finish. Gives you the same look and almost the same durability as the full 3-coat gyp plaster treatment, and significantly less expensive.
Either way, be prepared to spend a lot of time choosing your contractor.
If you've got a sand-float finish, you might consider coating the whole wall with an EIFS base coat over mesh and finish with an EIFS finish. Lots of diffferent textures and looks available, and cracks would become a thing of the past. EIFS is all too often overlooked as an interior finish, but many different and very attractive products are available. Use your imagination. I used to use STO, Inc. products and you'd be amazed at what you can do.
Such a shame that plastering is becoming a lost art. Drywall finishing never gives the same look or satisfaction as the sound and feel of the trowel when youw whitecoat starts laying down. I consider myself truly blessed to have seen some of the old-timers in action. My old lather joined the union the year I was born(1953) and he could build anything out of channel-iron.
Good read if you can find it:
i Plastering Skills
by Van Den Branden and Hartsell, ISBN 0-8269-0657-5, American Technical Publishers, Inc.
Have fun,
Bill
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Bill (bg),
Thank you for all of the information. You have been a great help. I will continue my removal of the furring strips and contemplate which route to go. Again, thanks everyone.
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My wife and I just purchased a 100yr old brick home in PA. Sometime in the past, the owners were stupid enough to stud out the interior walls, and put paneling over the plaster walls. In the entry way, the house is trimmed in oak, 8" flat topped with 2" fancy on the bottom and crown moulded all along the ceiling. They left the entry way alone, but the dining room was paneled in 1970's dark junk. I wanted to lighten up the room, so I started tearing up the paneling, and underneath is MOST of the original oak, some missing, some hacked by an idiot, and carpet over a perfect hardwood floor. Go figure. The plaster is in good shape, but separated and missing in just a few spots (no, it does not have horse hair in it). I was wondering the best way to repair this. They had painted the plaster in a blue (lead based paint) and wall papered over it before studding out the wall. We are trying so hard to get this house into its original beautiful state. Any info would help, thanks.
*
FireZeus--
There's an excellent plaster forum at this address:
http://www.oldhouseforums.net/boards/plaster.brew
It's run by a guy named Brian Ewing, who really knows his stuff. You might want to check this out. Good luck!