Drywall vs. Plaster

[RWebb]

OK, which is better (and in what ways)?

Facts: I have a daylight basement - walk-in with about a 7-8 ft. ceiling ht. I use it as a bedroom and main bath, someday it can become a sep. dwelling unit if I ever need or want.

Right now it has an old, nasty acoustical tile ceiling and some really cheap painted paneling. My plan is to put up either drywall with a lightly textured mud on the board, or whatever board the plasterers use and then plaster, also lightly textured.

The part to be done is around the corner from the bathroom BTW.

The plastering co. that will bid on it said plaster is much harder, more durable... and dries faster.

I don't care if it take 1 day or 5 days to dry so I can paint.

What else do I need to know???

Thx!

[Jim Richards]

I always thought plastering was pricier, but I don't have relative cost data to substantiate that.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Correct. Plaster is a longer install but is harder and more permanent. Drywall is simpler to install and is more easily removed/modified. Is this a damp/moist area? If so, I'd recommend plaster. If not, it's your call. Another consideration is electrical, phone and/or plumbing. If you have recessed j-boxes, make sure they're exactly where you want them before you lath and plaster the wall (should you go the plaster route). It's a pain in the butt to cut in new ones later, and access to the interior of the wall to repair a pipe leak or anything like that is very difficult. Normally with plaster walls, surface-mounted conduit is used, simply because it's simpler than cutting through the plaster and lath.

Both are recyclable. Personally I like plaster as it is far more durable and gives better sound attenuating characteristics). However a gypsum board wall can be detailed to be plenty durable (using wonderboard up to a height of 48" for example) and with excellent STC ratings. It all comes down to proper detailing.

So the short answer is it's your choice. For simple, I'd go with the gypsum board. For durable and permanent I'd go with plaster. Personally I like the aesthetic of plaster more, but that's just me. There's absolutely nothing wrong with gyp. Both give good fire resistance ratings also (again, depending on details...)

[Zeke]

I don't see plaster as more moisture resistant by enough of a margin to justify the cost difference. You can use moisture resistant drywall if you want.

If you're going to go over the whole surface with a texture, you can do it all in one step with "Blue board." Google "blue board drywall."

[creaturecat]

Put in the soundproofing now if you are considering using it as a separate dwelling.I used soundboard and rockwool, suspending the drywall with the steel channels designed for this app.

[RWebb]

thx!

re: "Is this a damp/moist area?"

This whole side of the state (W. Oregon) is a damp/moist area. Summers are dry however - it rains all winter; no rain in summer.

The part of the house I will be doing is on the same level with the main bath (has a jet tub that is used am & pm for my chronic backaches), but is around the corner from it.

I have put a (non-calibrated, consumer level) humidity meter in the area and RH is often above 50% -- I did that b/c I have dust mite allergies/asthma and wanted to see if I could get RH < 40% (no such luck).

This part of the daylight basement does not have stem walls - the area behind it where the bath and an extra room are does have stem walls and is more into the hill that the lower level of my house is excavated from.

So that's the info I have on moist/damp area - I guess I'd say no...