Old house in need of plaster work
 

I have a house that was built in 1905, and much of the plaster (especially on the ceilings) is getting pretty rough looking. I do like the "old style" look of the plaster, and I would like to keep some of the charm of the old house - in other words, I don't want everything to look like the interior of a brand new house.

That said, it seems that repairing plaster is a pain. To throw a wrench in the works, it appears that most of the walls in my house are covered with wallpaper, which was then painted. Most of the seams of the wallpaper are showing very prominently through the paint.

I'm toying with the idea of just ripping everything out and putting up drywall. I live in the house by myself, and could go room by room without really impacting my living situation.

Another idea that seems interesting is to put up veneer plaster - you install blue board drywall, but then put a thin coat of plaster over it. It costs a little more than standard drywall work, but it would retain the original look.

Another factor is that the house doesn't have any insulation. If I tore the plaster/lathe out, it would be very easy to put in insulation. Otherwise, I would have to drill holes in the existing plaster, blow in insulation, and patch it. Or I could have the wood siding pulled off the side of the house and have the insulation blown in, but that's no easy job either.

Looking for opinions as to what to do.

I would pull down the existing plaster, insulate, then go with either drywall or the plaster veneer. Considering you are in Omaha, you winter heating bills have to be killer.

My house is plaster/lathe as well. In some of the places where I needed to repair the plaster, I removed the topcoat (down to the brown coat) and refloated the topcoat. You could do this, and cut through the top and insulate.
It does make sence to upgrade the wiring while you are doing your thing but you will need to remove so much, you may as well just recover with the wall material of your choice.
I know what you mean about the drywall, I love the feel of my old house. It's worth all the crap you have to put up with Maintaince wise.
Mine was built in '42

Re: Old house in need of plaster work
 

NO !!!!!!!

That's a HUGE mistake. Lathe and plaster is far nicer than drywall. Around here, the folks with money are ripping out drywall and putting in lathe and plaster. You don't need to mess with the lathe. That wood has been seasoned in your wall since 1905! It's damn near petrified! Replaster those walls if you need to, but keep the L&P. It's more solid, soundproof, and classic than drywall.

You can hire blown in insulation. That was done in my house but it only dates from 1926. Then you COULD use the 1/4" drywall over the damaged plaster. Problem is that your house undoubtedly uses post and insulator electrical....which is undoubtedly overwhelmed with modern demands and (maybe) uses screw in fuses still?!

You'd be better off abandoning that and re-wiring/re-plumbing. This is another case of "while you're in there". Agreed it would be best to have original plaster. But there is a pojnt when its no longer worth it. Does your house have great architectural charm or uniqueness? If not and the plaster is damaged? Has painted over wallpaper that shows? Old, tired electrical AND plumbing?...to me it'd be a no brainer. You can finish drywall to look very much like plaster and in doing it yourself you can save a LOT. The plumbing and even the electrical can be done yourself with the advice of a good electrician. Do one room first to completion and use it as your stronghold for when the project gets overwhelming. You'll get it done.

Tough call.

I was saved this debate by the PO of our old farmhouse. He gutted it, tore down all the plaster and the fantastic oak panelling & wide trim. A real shame, I've seen pics of what it used to look like. However, I'm warm in the winter and the place is cheaper to heat than the 1200 sq ft bungalow we used to rent.

I agree with Moses, plaster has a fantastic finish and is so nice and quiet. On the other hand, having insulated walls sure is nice.

Is the paster simply cracked, or is it actually pulling away from the lathe? That will make a huge difference.

FWIW, a friend of mine just went through this, and cut the bottom 10" out to run new wiring and plumbing where needed. Used blown-in insulation shot in from the top.

Speeder posted pics a few months ago of a reno of a plaster & lather home... maybe he could chime in.

There are lot of gimmicks to reattach loose plaster and strip lath to the joists. That's the first step. Then, dig out the cracks and fill with expanding patch (used to be called FixAll, Fix-it-All may be the same). Let dry for a few days and sand those seems and other nasty areas, roughing them up. Then, use an oil based undercoater to seal the whole area. After that, you can redo the ceiling with drywall mud; the all purpose or taping compound, not topping.

Around here, some rip the walls down and leave the ceilings. The reason for this is as mentioned, new wiring and insulation. The ceilings are insulated easily from the attic, as you know.

I could go on and on as I've been doing this kind of work off and on for 35 years. I just want to say that if you take down the exterior, the hammering, etc. will pretty much mess up what you have left for inside walls. The only drawback is that you can't get a continuous moisture wrap on the outside. The moisture barrier side of the insulation faces inward leaving the insulation to get wet and freeze. Hopefully your exterior is tight.

Milt, question for you:

In situations like this, people often use blown-in insulation. I have always wondered why they can do so without a vapor barrier. What are the long-term effects of having insulation w/o a vapor barrier?

At my wife's family cottage (built about 1910) , they used blown-in about 20 yrs ago. Now, years later we are having tons of trouble with moisture. Paint peeling & plaster is coming loose from the lathe.

I face a similar situation and decided to gut the interior and replace the wiring and plumbing at the same time. The bedroom closets are the old style 4 foot square and were right next to each other but in different bedrooms. I gutted the closets and rewalled them to make them 2 foot deep and 8 feet long. One of the best things I have done so far. I will also insulate all the exterior walls. I also removed a linen closet next to the bathroom and took out 2 small corner walls and installed a stackable washer and dryer in the upstairs bathroom. Just these 2 minor changes have made a tremendous and more beneficial use of space.