Wall repair for a home built in 1908
joesmamma
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
I need some advice on how to finish the walls in this 1908 house. Most of the walls were just wall papered over lath boards at one point, some of them were textured over wall paper and a few were maybe plaster over lath? We have taken down most of the wallpaper and are wondering what the best way to finish it is. The house has all of the original wood moldings that we would like to keep intact but it has a very shallow reveal of 1/4″. So putting any thickness drywall is not an option.
Can we mud/plaster over the bare boards? They are horizontal 6″ wood boards.
Thanks!
Angel
Replies
About the only thing I can think of that would work (and it actually WOULD be "accurate" for the house) is "Masonite" style hardboard in about a 3/16" thickness. You kinda have to live with the seams, though.
Any plaster technique you use would be thicker than drywall. (Though you could try 1/4" drywall, I suppose. Or you could remove the lath and maybe use 1/2" drywall.)
1/4" drywall will be to thick
1/4" drywall will be to thick in several areas, I guess plaster would need to be that thick too...
I'll check into the Masonite. Removing all the Lathe would be too time consuming and costly at this point. Looks like we might just go the wallpaper route.
Don't Use Masonite
I don't think masonite is a good idea. It expands/contracts too much with varying humidity. I have used 1/4" cement backer for repairs, but an entire room would probably be too be expensive.
You could just wallpaper or use wall liner as someone else suggested. Wall liner is fiberglass mesh (similar to fiberglass joint tape) and comes in 36" wide rolls. Done right, it produces very good results.
Masonite (or rather "tempered
Masonite (or rather "tempered hardboard" -- Masonite no longer makes the stuff) is "correct" from an authenticity standpoint. Yes, the joints will show -- attempting to mud over them, eg, will not produce satisfactory results. But the hardboard will serve as a decent backer for heavy-bodied wallpaper (though standard painting or sizing should be done first). Painted, again the joints will be visible, but "appropriate" for the period.
If you drywall...
Won't that make the current trim too long? If so, just trim to length. Or am I missing sumthin, again?
The problem is the baseboard and door trim is too thin. Of course, it could be removed and then reinstalled over the drywall, but you'd have to shim the door frames, and likely the trim wouldn't survive removal/reinstallation.
I'd think a product like this is the easiest solution. http://www.roosintl.com/glass_textile_wallcovering/
Also lining paper or wallpaper over the old boards like before would be an option.
I myself would be likely to remove the "lath" boards and replace and update the wiring, update the insulation and vapor barrier, check for any other problems, etc.
Replacing everything with new drywall would be ideal but we are limited on time. We have recently ripped out many walls to reaplair the plumbing in several rooms : (
I'll check out that product...
wall
First you can not plaster over wood so thin so that you can save the trim. The wood would move too much. I think even synthetic stucco would not work right over the wood.
Any material thinner than 1/2 inch would not be a good covering because the substructure would telegraph through. Although in this case the wide lathe wood may give you some strength as underlayment.
One idea, although this would change the look of the trim, would be to look for or have made additional trim that would match the 1/4 inch reveal and flare out to 1/2 inch so you can finish with regular sheetrock.
Another idea would be the added trim might start somewhere on the original trim to look like the part of the original.
Identifying the original trim wood will help with blending the color, and amber shellac undercoating gives some age, if original trim was stained. Hope it helps.
Angel,
We have done this before by either removing the interior sheathing and adding studs and sheetrocking or shadowboxing the trim then rocking.
We trimmed out a Victorian with some of the sheathing we removed. It ranged from 5/4 x12-18" wide up to 24' long. Nice longleaf heart pine. Your wood sheathing is old growth also. Might be very pretty stuff.
KK
I think someone did try and plaster over one wall really thin and yes you can see cracks etc where the boards moved. It looks pretty thin though.
Adding additional trim is a thought, however, most of the trim in this house is at least 4 inches wide around all doors and windows. Because of the curves and angles in different areas, it just wouldn't work to add additional trim onto it. It's rounded in the center and flares to both sides symetrically down to a 1/4" reveal if that makes sense.
I did think you would loose something from the trim. Sounds like a beautiful trim. I would hate to change that too. What I don't understand is why use such trims and then have a paper thin wall.
Anyway, I remembered seeing a canvas wall, although I think it was padded wall covered with canvas.
Also, you could rout out 1/2 or 3/8" from the studs and put on regular sheetrock. If you do this, buy a nail finder. It would be cheaper than ruining your bits. Hope it helps.