The walls of any pre-war house are most likely wood lath like in this picture covered with 3 coats of plaster. The work took a long time and was very labor intensive. Not to mention, it required a skilled plasterer to make sure the plaster was properly applied and the wall was smooth and level.
Then when the GIs returned home from WWII, the baby (and housing) boom hit America, and there was a huge demand for quick, affordable housing. A new product was just beginning to get some traction in the wall covering business call gypsum board (or sheet rock.) It was a wall that could be screwed or nailed to the studs by a relatively unskilled laborer at close to twice the speed and half the cost of the traditional 3-coat system. And since this wall wasn’t applied wet like plaster, it could be painted right away and thus got the nickname “drywall.”
A traditional 3-coat plaster is typically 7/8″ thick and when you add in the 1/4″ wood lath that supports the plaster wall, you have a wall that is more than 1″ thick! Compared to today’s most common drywall thickness of only 1/2″, that is a difference worth noting. Sometimes I have the help of craftsmen from schlüsseldienst bremen during the renovation of the finish. You have to choose a craftsman who knows exactly what material is right for your historic house.
Today, the cost of a full 3-coat plaster wall is still expensive and timely to install, but when you live in an old house with one already installed, you should try to reap the benefits of someone else’s labor all those years ago.
All to often, we see historic houses gutted to the studs to install new drywall to replace the “outdated” plaster. Sometimes the plaster has been neglected past the point of no return, but most times it can be repaired. Usually it’s torn out in the name of insulating the wall cavities. But as with anything in the building trades, there is more than one way to skin a cat! In order to save folks the mess and expense of tearing out their walls, we recommend removing a few clapboards on the exterior in order to insulate the house to modern standards. Remember, historic homes typically have no plywood sheathing under the siding, so insulating with this method is just as effective plus it’s faster, cleaner, and much cheaper!
The Benefits
Here are just a few of the benefits of having a real plaster wall to consider before you think about removing yours:
Thicker walls mean better sound dampening.- Thicker walls mean double the R-value of ordinary drywall.
- Wood lath serves to strengthen the wall by adding additional racking resistance.
- Plaster increases the historical authenticity and therefore resale value of a historic home.
- It’s already there! It’s always “greener” and cheaper to retain existing elements.
Hopefully, this has given you some things to think about when it comes to your plaster walls. If you’d like to read more about repairing and maintaining your historic home’s walls, check out our video post How To: Repair Plaster Walls or our other post How To: Repair Old Plaster.
Read the rest of the 5 Worst Mistakes of Historic Homeowners:
Part 1 Windows
Part 2 Floors
Part 3 Siding
Part 5 The Details
Founder & Editor-in-Chief
I love old houses, working with my hands, and teaching others the excitment of doing it yourself! Everything is teachable if you only give it the chance.
To the Sophie Donelson and House Beautiful. another editor from more magazine Brette Polin recently got involved in dirty coraption business with crazy cbs anchor Otis Livingston to steal money from House Beautiful magazine employees banks accounts. never trust Brette Polin and Otis Livingston they both crooks.
I have lived for almost 50 years in a house that was built with plaster ceilings and walls. We installed air-conditioning in the early 70’s which had to be installed in the attic (our house is a ranch style) and when new ducts were installed some 15 years ago for some unknown reason the overflow pipe leading to the outside was disconnected and the overflow from the pan placed in the kitchen overflowed for several years.
A number of workmen checked the roof to explain the leak into the ceiling, we had the roof replaced, but for several years the same area showed soaking stains. Finally the A/C serviceman discovered that the overflow duct had been blocked or disconnected, hence the constant leaking into the plaster ceiling. – A worrisome and very noticeable crack has appeared as well as smaller cracks showing the exact outline of the overflow pan.
Despite repeated attempts over a few years to find someone who could and would repair the plaster ceiling we have not succeeded and are getting more and more concerned that this part of the ceiling will break off.
We live in Hamden, CT, and any suggestions,referrals we could contact would be very much appreciated
Thank you in advance
Hi Hanna!
We’re sorry to hear about your current issue, but hopefully you find our directory helpful in finding the right person to repair your home in the most historically accurate, appropriate, and beautiful way to preserve your building. https://thecraftsmanblog.com/directory/
Have a wonderful week!
-Alyssa at The Craftsman Blog
Hi Hanna,
Im a plastering contractor in Los Angeles and just today I’m seeing your note. I have been scouring the internet for plasterers in New Haven and .. well .. they are pretty scarce. Seems to be a number of drywall contractors .. but unless they have the experience you need for plaster, best skip over them. If this far into the year you are still in need of a craftsman, give me a little time and I’ll see if I can locate one for you. Otherwise please let me know if you’ve resolved your challenge.
Rick Davis
Hi Rick, I need to plaster the walls and ceilings of an old 2000sf house in Los Angeles. The house is currently torn down to the studs and we are deciding between putting up sheetrock/drywall and plaster. Do you have any recommendations?
Wow Debbie,
I’m just now being notified of your response. I will never the less respond to your question. An application that gives you the benefits of genuine lath and plaster is a veneer plaster application, ( over blue board or fiberglass coated wallboard). An ideal veneer plaster is a two coat application using USG brand Imperial Base coat and finishing it with Diamond Finish or a local manufactured dry mixed and packaged gypsum based finishing material; commonly known as One-Coat in California. As far as I understand, this veneer application is also considered “Genuine Lath and Plaster”
I forgot to mention .. if applying over fiberglass faced board, you must coat the board with an adhesive ..such as Larson’s Plaster Weld, prior to applying the plaster.
Still having problems? … cut back the piece that’s messed up. Screw in a piece of sheet rock in its place and patch it plaster. Lay on over seams first, let dry, then coat the entire patch, hit down 4 times or until smooth, waiting 5 to 10 mins between hits.
I’ve an 1834 Gambrel in Warren RI. There is a chair rail (at window sill height) that runs around every wall on the first floor. There is crown molding everywhere. The plastering extends from the chair rail to the crown molding. The original plaster seems to have been ripped out and the lathing overlain with sheetrock. Where the sheetrock meets wood (every edge) we have a problem.
So now the sheetrock overlays the lathing and lies between the crown molding and the chair rail and every window side and window top. That’s 13 windows. And in a 200 year old house the narrow plaster fill between sheetrock and crown molding and chair rail and window frame and door frame gets a workout and crumbles at the edge. Every edge. I have considered just ripping out the edge and introducing a silicone bead. But I’m betting you folks have a better idea.
Hello,
My 1894 home is entirely lath and plaster. I had to chop out a defunct chimney in the third floor which was between two beams or two by fours. It’s only about 12 14 16 inches in between. I figured why use drywall because of trying to stay true to the home and also the difference in thickness. So I’m going to try my hand at installing lath and plaster. Should be interesting.
Does anyone know what kind of plaster to use can I use the pre-mixed containers of plaster of Paris? Having a hard time finding this information online for some reason. THANKS!
PS Thanks Scott for this informational page and for the continued emails.
Hello! I’m a carpenter who learned my trade from years of watching an old carpenter work on my parents victorian and then out of necessity when I was a single mother and had to do what I could to ensure decent housing for my children — such as offering to do much of the carpentry work (as I learned from others and research) so the landlord didn’t have to. I also wanted to ensure the historic value of the place I lived in was preserved.
That said, fast forward years later I am now a carpenter professionally and also had a contracting business for ten years.
I am so glad to see that this blog advocates the preservation of plaster and lath walls and other historic elements of older houses. The destruction I see of old houses, many of real historic value is depressing. Not only is such destruction unnecessary – and I can confirm with my own experience the validity of your points – but it is a waste of money, increases our waste problem and encourages more energy waste and needless consumption. Everything good practice of living is against!
A lath wall is all of things mentioned above, plaster unless completely degraded can stay with demolition being minimal to the needs of other contractors (access for updated wiring or plumbing) and repair much easier! The elements of increased structural integrity, increased sound dampening, higher R-values and just a tougher general finish all testify to the better quality and value of a plaster/lath wall.
In fact, in the times I’ve had to demo and replace plaster walls I never, EVER remove the lath — only the old plaster. There is no reason whatsoever to remove lath and in fact, studs or timbers were never meant to receive finish materials and as a result the greenhorn/DIYer will face a nearly insurmountable task to try to obtain a satisfactory finish with drywall over rough timbers or studs. Craftsman don’t work that way.
If you must remove plaster, do so carefully and dilligently, leave the lathing in place, remove all plaster behind moldings and place your sheetrock behind moldings and crown as proper. If you can skim coat a cracked wall (as I’ve done before) to an ‘old world” style finish, so much the better. Although architecturally such a finish wouldn’t necessarily be period correct for most American historic structures, just keep that in mind.
Preserving old houses is an essential part of good craftsmanship — you are in fact preserving the origins our the craft of carpentry; the true art form. Even I, now working within the world of commercial carpentry, make it my study to learn the old ways and collect the old tools — take care of them and know how to use them. This is the element of craftmanship.
Production building made for an increasingly corporate and bank controlled market interested only in the bottom line carries none of the ethic or value of community, conservation or most basically, the aesthetic values and rewards that are so deep within our human psyche.
Preserve the old ways, honor those that came before us because when we do that, we gain a better understanding of ourselves, our present hubris and an ability to think clearly on our path forward as a people.
Hi Kathryn,
I’m wondering if you could help me with one of my projects. I’m trying to do some renovations to a 115 year old house and the walls are plaster and lath, with wallpaper and many, many layers of paint on them. I’ve been removing everything from the walls and I’m hoping to paint them. My problem is that while getting them cleaned up, I’m finding a lot of spots where someone has patched holes using the wrong product or where the plaster has just given way. What product would you suggest to fill these holes and spaces that won’t crack and cause me more problems. I want to do this right the first time! I have some pictures, but I don’t see how I can attach them here. I need an expert’s opinion!
Love your comments and respect for craftmanship . I was taught by my dad to do drywall and have since progressed into the other trades with an eye towards restoration being my goal . I have many times went over plaster with 1/4″ to 3/8″ drywall with glue and screws using long screws to fasten the drywall to the studds behind the lath thus putting pressure on the old deteriorating plaster and pushing it into place. The glue will adhere the plaster to the drywall in effect creating one surface of the drywall and plaster. The reason plaster begans to break down and crack in many places is because they mixed horse hair in it as a type of weave but after about 100 years the hair begans to deteriorate and the plaster in turn becomes very brittle and the keys that go between the lath break off causing the plaster to “float”away from the lath . This seems to be more prominent in houses that have been exposed to extreme temperature differences do to being empty or exposure to moisture . Coating over this does nothing but put a very temporary band-aid on a wall that is falling apart under it’s surface.
Hello all. I purchased a 1960s ranch in the northeast and the walls are 1/2 drywall with holes every 6 inches with 1/2″ cement over it and what looks like a light layer of plaster over that. Some called the dry wall cheese board but I cant find anything like it anywhere. If anyone could shine some light on this it would be appreciated. Also any tips on how to burn the whole thing down and start new also welcome. Pics if you would like a visual. Fml.
Hi I am trying to attach a closet installation made out of industrial pipes (example link below) that stands on the ground but needs to be attached to the wall up top for stability, it will hold about 200 lbs of clothes, but is stable. What is the best way to do this on plaster walls? Thank you!
visual examples of my installation: https://www.pinterest.com/explore/pipe-closet/?lp=true
Hi Caroline, hey Scott…
None of that really matters as far as the plaster is concerned. You should get a handle on the location of the studs, spaced generally 16″ apart. When you can get good wood screws into those, that’s how you get solid attachments to the wall
You can actually partially see through the lath in his photo above, how they’re nailed to the studs. Same with the ceiling joists but I believe they are spaced out farther?
Hey Scott
I a have a home in CT which the town reports ad being built in 1789, however, it received additions and renovation roughly around 1830 and again around 1880 based on changes in nails and framing methods we have found. We recently had to removate an exterior wall and discovered blind nailed plank wainscoting underneath several lyers of drywall. Also throughout the rest of the house the quality of the plaster job changes below the level of the window stools to the floor leading us to believe the home had wainscoting throughout and was removed and replaced with lath and plaster. There does appear to be a change in lath from riven to split in several places. Was it common practice to remove or cover wainscoting during typical 19th century renovation? If so since we have existing sample we would want to replicate the plank wainscoting throughout but only if we can be reasonably sure that we are not altering the interior in an inappropriate way by doing so.
Thanks in advance
John Hart
Woodstock CT
I have a 1925 bungalow the under pinning of the house is cracking and some areas has even fell down. Its made out something that looks like chicken wire and cement pasted on it. Do homeowners still use that process or is it outdated and should I just go with cinder blocks or something like that.
Thanks
HI just purchased an old farm house.Have been reading a lot about insulation. A lot of negatives about blown in insulation causing water damage to old exterior walls. Your thoughts on an alternative?
Thanks for your help…
Interesting…I can only come up with two causes of water damage from insulating walls, and that would have more to do with the installation:
1. If it were blown in from the exterior side and then poorly sealed, allowing moisture into the wall
or
2. Depending on your climate, the vapor barrier may have been installed on the wrong side of the wall.
https://buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-106-understanding-vapor-barriers
Good luck!
Not true– remember these are old homes, and I’ve heard of many concerns like the ones that Britton mentioned. As a matter of fact, I’m here on this page specifically to try to find the middle ground between preservation of old home and preservation of climate and budget.
My home’s a 1913 Foursquare in the Merrimack Valley, NW of Boston. Saying that it gets cold is an understatement; it gets hot, too, and between the heat and central air, I’m breaking the bank 6 months of the year.
The problem, Verde Gris, is that these homes aren’t nearly as tight as today’s homes. As noted above, many of them didn’t even have sheathing, and forget about tyvek wrap. Unless they were completely re-sided at some point, even tar paper wasn’t used. Now add 100 years of minor rot, pests, etc. These homes look like Swiss Cheese, compared to anything built… even in the past 70 years. So, together with the drafts, with the air, travels the inherent moisture. That moisture gets caught in the cellulose and precipitates the settling… and then comes mold. Even Bob Vila suggests that blown-in insulation is among the worst things you can do to an old home.
“One of the top reasons for exterior paint failure, termites and structural damage to old houses is loose cellulose or fiberglass insulation blown into the sidewalls.” His words, not mine. Google it.
FURTHERMORE, we all know that the first rule of insulation is to stop the air leaks, and cellulose can’t possibly do that!
The easy answer is spray foam, but it’s SUPER expensive; in lieu of that Fiberglass Batts (gasp! NO!) seem to be the only way to go. However, removing plaster & lath will allow me to open up the walls, fill the air leaks with foam, lay proper insulation up to the best R-Value that we can possibly get (based on the non-dimensional lumber used in this home). and close them up again… unfortunately, I’ll likely do so with 5/8 Gypsum and 2 coats of mud. .
I don’t love the option, but… it’s better than termites and will allow me to simultaneously inspect every wooden surface of the (inside of the) exterior seeking rot, dryrot, pest damage/passageways, and other concerns.
As I’ve said, I don’t love the option, and I’m happy to entertain any logical thoughts here, from the Author or any other craftsman… or someone with experience. Thanks very much.
I own a 1924 home that recently had a house fire. The fire started in the basement and sent plastic toxic smoke throughout the house. I have been told the house needs to be guttted to the studs. It make me sick to think of all the plaster that will be torn down. I believe the plaster saved my life and the house from burning to the ground. The question is to replace the plaster with plaster or replace with drywall. I loved the plaster. What to do?
Try veneer plaster. It’s cost effective like drywall but gives the appearance of plaster.
I have purchased an 1872 Italianate home. All interior walls are brick covered in plaster. Wallpaper is in every single room. We are wondering if the walls will be paintable after we strip the wallpaper. Will we need to skim the plaster to make it smooth? Also- what about any lead paint that may be underneath? Just questions, as we’re beginning to panic a bit. Any suggestions on how to handle it would be wonderful!
The condition of the wall below the wallpaper will determine the plan of action. Removing older wallpaper is typically a responsible and proactive mover for the continual safety within an old home. Any home built before 1972 has a stronger possiblity of containing lead paint. It could be far down in the layers of paint, and can be detected with a lead “gun” or analyzer. This is important to be aware of when it comes to small children living in the home.
When I finally got the 5 or 6 layers of wallpaper off my plaster walls most of the plaster was in pretty good condition. After the wallpaper was only one layer of water-based tempura paint which easily washed off with water.
I have a 25lbs mirror will it be sturdy enough to hang on plaster walls with one screw? The house
was built in the 1920’s
At 25lbs I would use a plastic washer rated for that weight for safety.
I have a 1935 house and one of the room has wallpaper completely stuck on the plaster and impossible to remove. We decided to use primer and paint it over. It turned out to be beautiful. One will never believe there is wallpaper underneath.
Can you tell me if there were any areas that had peeling paper and how you repaired it before proceeding with primer?
I had to paint wallpaper that had been glued directly to the Sheetrock in my father’s house. I put fiberglass tape over the seams and just enough mud to sand them flat. Any bubbles were cut out and frame in fiberglass tape, with the whole area sanded smooth. When I was showing the house, I pointed out what I had done and none the potential buyers had a problem with it; it looked just like drywall or plaster.
So, I am so glad I found this site! We just bought a 1925 bungalow and I love it, but I really want to restore it to era appropriate style…buy there is some era appropriate funkiness that I am having some isdues with. I haven’t seen anything lile the wall and ceiling texture. The ceilings have a wide curve cove and the artex texture is really high relief and looks (I kid you not) like merengue. It looks as if a pass-through built-in was removed from the dining area that shares a wall with the kitchen and was patched poorly. I am seriously considering having the room stripped of plaster down to the lathe and having it plastered without texture. What is your opinion? First…is it even posdible without damaging the wall structure? Would it destroy value or historical integrity?
So sorry about my typing flubs! I hate cell phone keypads!
I was a plasterer for over 20 years and I see absolutely no reason why you would take off perfectly good plaster, as long as it’s not peeling off the wall. I would suggest sanding the walls down, starting with scrapers and then some sanders, then, if needed, put a skim coat over the top of the old plaster.
Although there were textures in bungalows of that era, a merengue texture was most likely added at a later date; typically using drywall compound. Stripping the plaster and re-plaster smooth would be totally appropriate. I would recommend you over lay the old wood lath with chicken wire or expanded metal lath prior to re-plastering. This will not only add to the load bearing capability of the wood lath, it will also help to reduce the possibility of cracks, ( very common over wood lath ).
How would you insulate a 1922 home with a brick exterior? The cost of blown in from the outside is beyond my budget. I’ve been considering tearing out an exterior wall at a time and insulating then going back up with dry wall. Suggestions?
Hi-I have a 1930s bungalow that we are currently adding onto out the back. It has German siding 7 1/2″ and my contractor can only find german siding at 7 1/4″. What do you suggest we use for the siding on the back of the house that wI’ll look like a nice compliment or match to the front. Will this 1/4 inch throw things off so much that it will look awful or should we just go with it?
If he can blend it in I wouldn’t have a problem using the 7 1/4″ but if it causes things to be misaligned where it meets with the old siding then maybe custom milled siding might be in order.
I bought a 100+ year old farmhouse. Exterior walls are lath and plaster with studs turned sideways. Including exterior siding, the wall is 1 3/4 thick. I am thinking about adding foam board insulation to the inside of the walls with Sheetrock over so I gain r factor. Does this sound workable?
Sorry, I am in Texas.
Great Blog!
I have a bungalow just west of Toronto, Ontario Canada built in the late 1960’s. We have just renovated the basement with gypsumboard insulation and vapor barrier and the warmth of the walls compared to the upstairs plaster walls is night and day. It is a brick exterior. Looking for suggestions to insulate those plaster walls .
We are considering purchasing an 1840s home with beautiful plaster walls . . . but knob & tube wiring under them & no heat on the second floor. I’m guessing there’s no way to save the walls if we add heat & upgrade the wiring so it’s insurable? Is there any hope at all for preserving it?
Absolutely hope! You don’t have to tear out the old wiring, just decommission it then install new wiring. There will be holes to patch but discuss with your electrician that you want as minimal damage as possible and hold them to it.
For heating there are a lot of options other than conventional systems. Mini split systems offer minimal damage and efficient heating. Also UNICO is a system with very small duct work that can be installed without much damage to the existing walls.
Hi – I am curious what a “split system” is for heating.
My house is a 1938 quasi bungalow set into a slope at one of the ancient shorelines of the ancient Lake Bonneville in Utah. The builders placed a 13 foot high (at the lower end of the backyard) retaining wall around the backyard, there is also a fully below-ground basement (an addition was put on ~ 1950s).
It was designed in part by a guy who was a heating-ventilation contractor, and I bought it from his estate in the ’90s. Has plaster on lathe walls that seem to be in very good condition – on one lower wall, a narrow crack developed a several years ago that I think needs to be fixed by the “screw the plaster back to the keys” method. But plaster is fairly unusual, I’ve had difficulty finding anyone here who knows how to fix it. I’m semi-competent, so I may attempt to do it myself in the early fall.
I’m also interested in improving the heating capability of the house – to lower energy bills. It has an odd hot-water system that has wall-mounted pipes in the 1938 section and under-floor pipes in the addition, with forced air vents near the ceilings. There seems to be no good way of insulating the walls… at any rate, I have found your blog very helpful.
Do you have any recommendations on sound-proofing a plaster and lathe party wall? The construction goes like this – plaster and lathe, large cavity in between, plaster and lathe. Each home has tall ceilings, a somewhat open floor plan and wood floors.
Asking the neighbors for assistance in this matter is not possible. I would appreciate any suggestions you might have. Thank you!
We have a 1900 house that has solid vertical redwood plank walls under plaster and lathe. I have never heard of this and it presents some issues in terms of some alterations I would liek to make to the house. For example, I would like to cut a doorway where there is not one, but as there are no studs, and only solid plank walls, I am worried about how to do this. Have you ever seen a house built like this, and what are your suggestions?
(Some idiot added drywall over the plaster at some point, too).
Thank you
We have a 1900 home with original 5 inch wide fur subfloors that were polished and varnished. We love them, but they bounce, and there are 1/8 inch gaps between each plank, and the wind blows through from the basement. Should we cover them with new floors, or is there some other solution to help make the house warmer and the floor smore sturdy? Is it possible to cut out the entire floor, put down plywood, and then re-install the original wood planks over the plywood? My husband says that is a ridiculous idea, but I think it might be a solution to saving the beauty of the original charm. What suggestions do you have?
Thank you