Just know that putting a simple nail in the wall may be a fruitless pursuit if you have plaster walls. There are some tricks that will help you hang things on a plaster wall in this previous post. The previous benefit of plaster being stronger also means it’s harder to nail or drill into which makes decorating more difficult. The effects of gravity on a plaster ceiling can cause more issues because the keys don’t work as effectively as they do on walls, and foot traffic from upstairs can also serve to weaken the plaster ceiling. In high traffic areas or in areas with unstable foundations cracks are common in walls and especially ceilings which can be devastated by age and gravity. Con #2 Plaster CracksĪs it gets older, plaster is continually curing harder and harder which makes it more brittle than drywall. You’ll need to upgrade to a mesh system like Google WIFI which is what I’ve used with good results in my 1920’s home in order to get adequate service in a plaster walled home. A basic wireless router will likely not cut the mustard in even a small bungalow with plaster walls. Those thick plaster walls are the places where WIFI and cellular signals go to die. The benefits I mentioned above are not without their drawbacks so it’s only fair to show both sides of the coin. Nothing’s perfect and neither are plaster walls. Great for privacy, bad for eaves-dropping. It goes without saying that a wall that is twice as thick should have at least twice as good sound blocking abilities. Plaster is harder and thicker than drywall and because of that and its chemical makeup it is better at sound attenuation. Thicker plaster walls provide better thermal breaks than drywall and that saves money on utilities. At 7/8″ thick a traditional plaster wall is nearly twice as thick as most drywall applications. Why is a thicker wall better? Lots of reasons, but one of the biggest is energy efficiency. This strength comes in handy to avoid the dings, nicks, and dents that come along with drywall. Just try sanding cured plaster or punching a hole in a plaster wall compared to drywall. The tensile strength of a solid plaster wall compared to drywall is signifigant. These pros certainly make keeping your plaster walls a good idea if they are in decent shape or repairing them rather than tearing them out and replacing with drywall. You may be surprised but there are quite a few pros of plaster walls, more than most people expect. The skim coat was originally lime and water only and beginning in the early 20th century gypsum was not uncommon to use for the skim coat because it would cure so much faster than lime plasters. The third, and final coat, which was sometimes skipped in lower end projects was called the skim or finish coat and unlike the first two coats it was applied to a thickness of only 1/8″ or so. Once the scratch coat was dry the brown coat was applied in much the same way by troweling about 1/4 to 3/8″ thick and left to cure. The first was the scratch coat which was a rough mixture of lime, sand, and water applied to the lath about 1/4 to 3/8″ thick and scratched with hand tools to provide a good bond for the second coat called the brown coat. Traditionally plaster walls were applied in three successive coats. Rock lath, popular in the historical cusp years of of the 1940s and 1950s were 2×8 sheets of early drywall that were nailed to the studs and then the plaster was applied over top of it. There were other forms of lath popular in later years like metal lath which is still used today as a base for stucco applications and rock lath was a predecessor to drywall. This gap would allow the plaster to push through and form a “key” that once dry would hold the plaster securely to the wall. The plaster was applied over traditional wood lath which was nailed horizontally to the studs leaving small 1/4″ gaps between each strip of wood. It could take up to a month (or even longer in cold climates) for a plaster wall to cure fully enough to allow for painting which slowed the construction process down. Plaster walls were applied wet by a skilled plasterer using a hawk and trowel. Understanding these walls will help you navigate things as diverse as the differences in hanging things on a plaster wall versus drywall, repair and patching techniques, and even WIFI issues and potential resolutions! Anatomy of Plaster Walls Whether it frustrates or inspires you it’s worth understanding what a plaster wall is and what some of the pros and cons are of this historical wall covering. Plaster was used for centuries as a wall covering and it wasn’t until the mid-1940s that it began to be replaced in favor of newer and faster option, drywall. Depending on your situation they can be both beautiful and annoying. Lath and plaster walls are a part of life in an old house.
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