Replacing plaster walls for Drywall?

Question

We are in the process of buying our first home in east central IL. The home was built in the 1800's and has plaster through and through. I want to replace the rooms that need it due to cracks in the walls and replace them with drywall. What might I be getting myself into when it comes to tearing them down, pricing wise and construction wise. The drywall here usually in a fair estimate is $10 a sheet.

Answer 1

The major problem with houses that old, is that they were built using a method called, "Balloon framing". Long lumber was cheap and it was normal to run a "stud" from the foundation to the roof line. In addition, they didn't use rulers, so the stud spacing varies from 24" to 30" apart. That is not compatable with todays, 4' x8' drywall and the 16" stud spacing. So, to avoid alot of hard work, I suggest you remove the plaster, but not the lath. The reason for that, is so you can place firestops, (horizontal blocks of wood cut to fit between the studs) four feet up from the floor, and again at eight feet if the walls, which they probably are, are over eight feet. Naturally, you have to take a few pieces of lath off to put the blocks in.
The reason for leaving the lath in place is because the plaster is roughly 1/2" thick. Since you will very carefully be removing the door and window casings, baseboard and crown moldings, and reinstalling them, or even new, the new drywall, since it is 1/2", will not cause a problem matching the existing door and window jambs.
If you put the drywall over the existing plaster, the casings when reinstalled will stay away from the jambs, 1/2".
Of course you will have to rewire the home as electicity was not intalled when it was built. There might be iron gas pipes in the walls. So, with the plaster only removed, you will have access to the walls as needed for wiring and plumbing.
I would hold off on insulation until the interior is finished. The reason for that, again, is because the walls will not be open to install it. The alternative to putting pour rock or similar insulation in from the inside, is to remove a clap board on the outside to expose the bays and fill them that way. It does a much better job, since the whole bay is open. Since you know where the firestops are, the contractor will know which clapboards need to be removed to do a complete job..
I did a similar house as yours and removed the entire exterior clapboards, wired all of the outside walls, put in all nessessary plumbing, reinstalled the clapboard BACK SIDE OUT to trap any lead paint, then added 1/2 " foamboard, and then the vinyl siding. Note: That was before the EPA declared lead paint hazzardous.
Good luck, I wish I could be there to guide you. I love renovating old houses, as a DIY.

Answer 2

Replacing Plaster With Drywall

Answer 3

We have an old house, it was biult in 1920. It has plaster walls. We have replaced one wall and it was a huge mess. The plaster dust was everywhere. There was no insulation, so we had to buy insulation. It does bring alot of equity to your house, because it is a lot of work. If your not afriad of alot of hard work, I would say go for it. If you can also do it before you move in, that would help. I would say if youre going to do a couple of rooms, I would say about 2500$ for everything. Drywall, screws, mud, texture and paint. That may not be exact, but I'd estimate around there. If you want to do the whole house..I'd say 8000$, depending on the square feet. P.S. You might find that some of the electrical wires need replaced too once you see them.
Good Luck.

Answer 4

What you have is called lathe and plaster walls. It is only my opinion but replacing lathe and plaster with drywall would be a mistake on a house that is well over 100 years old. If it were my house I would patch the cracks, sand and repaint to keep the home in its original antique condition. Replacing with drywall would be very messy, time consuming and expensive to contract out and totally hell to do it yourself. Good Luck...

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Replacing plaster walls for Drywall?
We are in the process of buying our first home in east central IL. The home was built in the 1800's and has plaster through and through. I want to replace the rooms that need it due to cracks in the walls and replace them with drywall. What might I be getting myself into when it comes to...

Answer 6

Speaking from personal experience,RUN ,Don't walk to the next place.We bought our home 15 tears ago.plaster and lathe through out,no insulation whatsoever.now into our 4 th major renovation,we finally have gyproc and insulation through out and about $50.000 later.would I do this again ?NEVER!The plaster goes into every nook and cranny in the house,you'll breathe it in for days,the drywall is the least expensive part.it's the labor and workmanship that will cost you/

Answer 7

Don't remove the lath and plaster, instead put the drywall up using drywall screws. Taking down lath and plaster is like parenthood, a thankless, mindless, hopeless job.