Sheetrock over plaster

[moobeast2]

We've redone several rooms in our 1840s house, tearing out the lathe-and plaster and re-studding then sheet-rocking them. (I did the tear-out but not the rest). We plan on moving out in a few years but have a few rooms I'd like to do over that look crappy, and am thinking of putting up sheet-rock over the old walls. Walls and ceiling are fairly level, a few obvious lumps I will cut out. Trying to be simple and cheap.

Main issue; screw size and placement. The studs and joists in the house are haphazard. Some are 2x3, 2x5, 3x5 whatever they could get I guess. I would like to just screw through into the old lathe and plaster. The door and window trim, I was going to leave in place. It already has about 1 1/4" reveal so 3/8 sheet-rock should still leave a good reveal on it.

Any advice or opinions would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[03ranger]

Why, use screw or nails, use adhesive glue such as pl400 or such. You can glue sheet rock to brick/block and other surfaces without any issues. The plus side is no screw or nails holes to fill, just do the joints, seal and paint.

 

[Kevin54]

Use screws about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 long. Mark your studs before hand and write down the dimensions from a corner as to where they are at. You really don't want to go just in the lath. A good stud finder can find the studs through the plaster and lath. If you have a strong magnet, you can also use that to find the studs as it will stick to the lath nails.

 

[99_xc600]

Take 30 min out of the day and go around the room with a stud finder and mark them off.

You should be screwing into the studs versus the lathe. Reaon being is the lathe it typically 1 1/4' wide and very dry. The use of drywall screws into the lathe only, will end up splitting the lathe and eventulay breaking the plaster key making the situation worse then what you started with..

I have an older house as (1912 - 100 Years old ) and dealt with same issue your describing. At the end of the day I was happy I went into the studs and not have to worry about the plaster ceiling come down in my daughters room.

 

[jlckmj]

Definitely screw into the studs, if you just glue to the old plaster it won't last long. Lets face it, that is why you are wanting to repair it in the first place, it is starting to come loose and crack and pull free of the studs over the years.

YES, you can go over it with 3/8, or even 1/4 in if you can find it. It will look much better than it does now. I have done that several times.

Jim

 

[Mmfh]

One thing to be careful of, while screwing into the wall studs, make sure you hold the sheet rock up tight against the wall and don't let it come out at all.

You might find that when you run the screws into the studs the plaster will crack and fall apart. If not careful it can fall down between the sheetrock and the wall and not let you get the sheetrock flush up against the wall. Best to have a helper holding it while you run the screws in. Not a big deal just something to be aware of.

Good Luck!

Mm

 

[tcianci]

All good advice except the adhesive...it's a waste. The quickest way to find the studs is with a drywall jab saw. Poke it into the wall and find the space between the 2 strips of lath (not lathe) a lathe is where you turn wooden bowls or machine shafts. Cut horizontally till you hit a stud, hop over it and keep cutting. In a few mimutes you will have located and marked all the studs in the room. A very important point that was touched on by Mmfh was holding the board hard up against the wall to prevent loose plaster from falling in behind your new board. Even if the plaster doesn't seem that bad sometimes pieces will come loose around the screw and fall behind the job. Also be aware that if you're using 1/4 or 3/8 board you can't really depend on it to pull up hard against the existing wall and draw the whole thing together because the screw heads will pull through before you draw the sheet up tight with the screw. You mentioned that your casings were very deep so you may want to see what it looks like with 1/2 inch board on there.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

For walls, go right over it. On ceilings, put up furring strips crosswise to the original joists at 16'' OC. Screw them up to the original joists with construction screws, two per joist. use 5/4 furring.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Before you start hanging drywall, how much insulation do you have in the walls ? Hows the wiring ?

 

[Cougar67]

When I had an old house we redid several plaster walls with 1/4" drywall. We had to special order it from a builder's supply. We could not get it from a big box store. It was cheaper per sheet than the 3/8" you are thinking about. It finished beautifly and we did not have to rehang the moldings.

 

[03ranger]

Yes, I recommended using adhesive (see post 2). Article in the February 1995/Construction Dimensions, page 18 an article titled “Why Bond with Drywall Adhesive”. The best advice to use in picking your drywall adhesive is to use your on knowledge of the products, seek outside assistance from a good supplier or manufacturer
and follow the manufacturers’ instructions to ensure a successful bonding job.

From: http://www.awci.org/cd/pdfs/9502_a.pdf

From another site:
The LIQUID NAILS Adhesive Calculator will help you determine the amounts of building materials — including how much Liquid Nails construction adhesive — you will need for projects like installing crown molding or other molding, drywall, paneling, or subfloor in a single room.
http://www.liquidnails.com/products/calculator.do

 

[tcianci]

Yes, I recommended using adhesive (see post 2). Article in the February 1995/Construction Dimensions, page 18 an article titled “Why Bond with Drywall Adhesive”. The best advice to use in picking your drywall adhesive is to use your on knowledge of the products, seek outside assistance from a good supplier or manufacturer
and follow the manufacturers’ instructions to ensure a successful bonding job.

From: http://www.awci.org/cd/pdfs/9502_a.pdf

From another site:
The LIQUID NAILS Adhesive Calculator will help you determine the amounts of building materials — including how much Liquid Nails construction adhesive — you will need for projects like installing crown molding or other molding, drywall, paneling, or subfloor in a single room.
http://www.liquidnails.com/products/calculator.do

The reason I recommended against the drywall adhesive is that it will just be bonding the new panel to the old plaster whish isn't really attatched to much anymore anyway. It certainly won't hurt but it won't help anything either.

 

[moobeast2]

Thanks for the advice, some really good tips in there.
re the insulation and wiring; only half of one wall is an outside wall. The electric isn't great, but it isn't bad either. Mainly, I can't stand the look of the room, but since we plan on moving or building within five years I just wanted a relatively cheap and easy way to improve looks and hopefully add a little to the value of the house.

 

[wilcolater]

The idea of using furring strips on the ceilings, as in Mr. Dudleys post, is a good one. You can get any waviness out by using shims under the furring strips and then you will have a firm predictable surface to work from. Going over plaster with sheetrock is always a trade off... once you do it you can't go back. If the damaged areas are not too big, you can repair loose plaster using screws with washers attached and go over it with a bonding agent and a new top coat of plaster.
Of course the original problem (water damage, structural shifting or settling) needs to be addressed, but if it is just a case of old, cracked, or loose plaster and can be repaired,you have preserved a historic house for future generations that may hold up for another hundred years.

 

[brwbier]

As someone who has redone a 1880s house that someone put drywall over plaster and lathe, I'd say don't do it. I have said some choise words about the person who did that to my house. Trying to hide something by covering it up is not a nice thing to do. Is that realy the person you want to be? A fresh coat of nutral color paint will go a long way to freshen up a room and will not be a bad thing to do. My moto has always been do it right or don't do it.

 

[CARS]

The idea of using furring strips on the ceilings, as in Mr. Dudleys post, is a good one. You can get any waviness out by using shims under the furring strips and then you will have a firm predictable surface to work from.

What dimension lumber would you recommend for furring strips?

(very timely discussion. The wife is going to make me re-do our old kitchen)

 

[rlitman]

I'd rip the lumber into 3/4" thick strips, or just buy resilient channel.

But personally, I'm not a fan of making room smaller, or sheetrock in general.
My own suggestion would be to learn how to repair the plaster. It's really not as hard as people make it out to be.