Yes, there are times when you need to cut a hole in a plaster wall. And before you do it wrong and knock big chunks of plaster from your walls or ceilings, I thought I’d give you some tips on how to cut plaster walls the right way. I see tragically destroyed original plaster walls […]
This week’s Ask The Craftsman question comes from Phil. “To repair a damaged wall [drywall] seems so out of place, but hiring a plasterer to do lath and plaster is way too high a cost. Is there an in-between solution?” There definitely is an in-between solution Phil and it’s called veneer plaster. A veneer plaster wall […]
If you own an old house with plaster and lath walls, you may have discovered how utterly useless a stud finder can be. Most smaller items can be hung pretty securely anywhere on the wall by screwing into the wood lath, but for heavy things that weight more than 10-15 lbs, like large mirrors and […]
Plaster walls are some of the most misunderstood parts of an old home. And many homeowners are quick to tear them down and put up drywall. But replacing plaster walls with drywall is not only a major mess and expense, but it also destroys the character of your home. Each plaster wall is unique. You […]
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. […]
One of the easiest mistakes to make when renovating a historic home is to tear down the old plaster walls and replace them with modern drywall and joint compound. This not only destroys the historic architecture and features that make a historic home great, but it also adds to the overall costs of the project […]
Every year, approximately 200,000 to 300,000 homes are demolished across America. While some losses are inevitable, many could be prevented with one simple practice that most historic homeowners either skip entirely or do incorrectly: proper inspection and maintenance. Unlike modern homes built with standardized materials and techniques, historic homes require a completely different approach to […]
Which one should you get? The debate between buying a heat gun or an infrared paint stripper is a question a lot of folks have been asking these days as this new technology has begun getting more attention and, it’s one worth asking if you have a lot of paint to strip particular lead paint […]
The Scrappy, Seaside Superstar of the Late 19th Century Forget the grand columns of Greek Revival or the intricate lacework of Queen Anne. In the world of architectural styles, Shingle Style was the one that strolled onto the scene like it just got back from a relaxed beach vacation, shrugging off the heavy ornamentation of […]
Tin ceiling tiles are an incredibly unique architectural piece of Americana that has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years. Largely thanks to one scrappy company you’ll read about below the tin ceiling is still alive today. Their story is a unique one and whether you are looking to install a new tin ceiling, […]
If you’ve ever lived in an old house you may have noticed a small little piece of trim running horizontally somewhere in the top 12” of your wall. There is a good chance that small piece of molding is an incredibly unique, and functional, molding called picture rail. Picture rail molding, is a type of […]
In the name of progress, we have made some pretty dumb “improvements” to the things we use to build our houses over the centuries. Some have killed people like asbestos, and others are just so atrociously ugly that they deserve to die a slow death in a landfill. The modern era has seen some of […]
