When they do, old plaster, which is hard and brittle, can often crack. Over time every house will settle naturally.Here are a few other things to consider when working with lath and plaster. If you want a clean, modern look, drywall is a perfectly flat surface that offers clean straight lines. Drywall is faster to apply and often a less expensive option. While there are many benefits to lath and plaster construction, like it's ambiance, craftsmanship, character, and insulating and acoustical traits, there are reasons why it fell out of favor. From an environmental standpoint, your plaster walls are already there! It's always greener (and cheaper) to retain and repair existing elements rather than demoing walls and replacing them with sheetrock.Lath and plaster is much easier to create custom curves and arches in walls and ceilings. Drywall is a rigid material, and many older style homes have graceful arches or curves around bay or bow windows. Learn The Cost Of A Kitchen Remodel in Madison, Wisconsin This is especially true of certain home styles like Craftsman, Tudor, and Victorian houses. For many owners of older homes, these imperfections are correct to the period of the house and an alluring look. Plaster walls are smooth and flat, but they can contain sight surface trowel marks that adds a desirable Old World feel to your home.Plaster walls are somewhat more fire resistant than drywall.Repairing your lath and plaster walls is less messy, easier to install, and will keep your home correct for the period, which for owners of historical or older homes can be an essential selling point. Once you get the room down to the studs, cleaned up and ready to drywall, hanging new sheetrock over older uneven framing is seldom successful. Removing old plaster and lath to replace it with drywall is very messy, generating lots of dust and debris that needs to be hauled away.

The density of the walls can help to cut your energy bills by keeping your home warmer in winter and cooler in the summer.

Lath and plaster walls have excellent insulation properties.

Older homes are often quieter than new homes with interior walls constructed of drywall. Considering that the typical drywall is 1/2” thick, lath offers better sound control. When combined with the lath, it's closer to an inch and a quarter thick. A typical lath and plaster wall consists of a minimum of three coats of plaster creating a dense wall, rock hard, and nearly one inch thick.

Lath and plaster, when properly mixed and applied is a stronger and more durable wall finish than drywall.

Here are some of the distinct benefits you can enjoy: If you’re remodeling an older home with plaster walls, it may make sense to repair them rather than replacing them with drywall. Lath and plaster walls offer plenty of unexpected benefits for homeowners.

The truth is sometimes the old ways are the best ways. The Advantages of Using Lath and Plaster in Your Home Renovation Let's take a look at the pros and cons of lath and plaster for your next home renovation project. So, should you keep, cover, or remove your plaster walls during your next home renovation? Of course, there are also some drawbacks. Lath and plaster is an old school technique that, when compared to drywall, offers some surprising benefits. It was an easier and faster way to finish the interior of homes. It wasn't until the 1950s that pressed gypsum or drywall came on the scene. If you live in an older home (built pre-1950s), you probably have at least some lath and plaster walls unless your house was renovated sometime after 1950.

The method consisted of builders nailing thin, closely spaces strips of wood called “lath” to the wall studs, and the methodically smoothing multiple coatings of plaster over the substructure to create finished walls. The Pros & Cons Of Plaster Walls In A Home Renovationįrom around 1700 until the 1940s interior construction of homes lath and plaster was the material of choice used for finishing interior walls and ceilings.

Replacement for plaster and lath walls