41
votes
Should I be worried about this giant crack?
Yes, you should be concerned, IMO.
Some movement in a house of that age is normal, but a crack of that size (especially considering that it's been repaired once already!) suggests that you have some ...
- 3,488
36
votes
Accepted
Why should you add dry mix to water and not the other way round
Yes, there is a very good reason. If you add water to dry mix in the bottom of the container, you get a nearly impossible to incorporate glob of the dry mix at the bottom.
On the other hand, if you ...
- 23.5k
16
votes
Accepted
Re-do paint over plaster in bathroom: How to feather/match?
Here's how you get paint to stick to things.
Scuff-sand.
Paint cannot bond to a shiny surface; don't take my word on it, try to paint a mirror and see what happens.
Paint wants to see a surface ...
14
votes
Why should you add dry mix to water and not the other way round
From Chemistry: "Do like you oughtta: add acid to water" . Besides the "glop" problem mentioned in the answer, there is almost always released heat when dissolving something in ...
- 3,972
9
votes
Is this plaster over gypsum wallboard?
What you see there is a hybrid gypsum/plaster from the 1950s. It represents a transitional stage between traditional wood lath and plaster to modern drywall techniques. You'll probably find metal lath ...
- 144k
8
votes
Re-do paint over plaster in bathroom: How to feather/match?
I have fixed paint similar to this in my current house. There were large areas where I could peel it off back to the plaster by hand or with a scraper.
Your builder's first coat has failed to adhere ...
- 593
8
votes
Should I be worried about this giant crack?
Short Answer: Yes, you should be worried.
Long Answer:
As advice from civil structural engineer, if the crack is horizontal or diagonal you should be less worried, but if the crack is vertical you ...
- 81
7
votes
Is this plaster over gypsum wallboard?
The term for that drywall like product to my knowledge has been called "rock lath".
All the demo I have done in remodeling, the sheets are/were 3/8" thick and 16" tall by 4 ft. wide. Before rock lath ...
- 36.5k
6
votes
Accepted
Why did my plaster walls stop half inch above floor and expose room to wall cavity?
Old houses that had interior plaster as a finish had what they called a plaster stop to control depth of the plaster. This was usually a strip of 3/4 wood at bottom of wall and around doors and ...
- 76
6
votes
Accepted
Is it safe to use old wood lath from demolition as firewood?
There might also be asbestos in the plaster and contaminating the lath.
Did you have the wall tested prior to demolition? (I'm guessing no) You may have to be very careful with this material and ...
- 524
6
votes
Accepted
Repairing broken plaster
It looks like there is more damage likely hidden under the plaster and the wood members there would be structural. You should remove the plaster to get to and repair this damage or verify that there ...
- 5,739
6
votes
Accepted
How should I prepare papered plaster walls for tile?
It's going to depend on the tiles used. But in any case, wallpaper stripping is in order. That should bring you back to solid plasterboard, which is fine for most wall tiles. If you are putting really ...
- 5,326
6
votes
How do I fill the gap between paneling and coving?
Carpentry lesson in hindsight: Level isn't always the right move, and flush (or nearly flush) joints are problematic. Ideally the cove would've been brought out a bit for a more consistent bottom ...
- 144k
6
votes
Accepted
Is this damage to a plastered brick wall from furniture typical?
That looks like a normal scuff on a wall covered with plaster or drywall compound, textured and painted.
Plaster and compound be scratched with a fingernail. If the paint is very new it may be dry but ...
- 38.7k
5
votes
Accepted
How to patch a wood lath plaster rounded corner?
Since this got ZERO love, and I have finished the job, figured I would post what I did.
Simply bought some wire mesh from the local home goods store, and screwed it directly into the wood lathe ...
- 439
5
votes
What is the best way to fix broken OLD plaster in a very old house?
tear it all down, replace with regular sheetrock / drwywall.
- 1,252
5
votes
How do I fix these gaps where the socket plates don't cover?
The best approach is to fix the plaster and paint. Some other ideas:
Install oversize device plates. Since you have nice stainless-steel plates now, this will be more expensive, but it would be quick ...
- 144k
5
votes
What kind of wall material produces orange dust, and how should I work with it?
Looks like brick dust.
As for the other two holes, they probably went into the mortar joint between two bricks.
- 28.1k
5
votes
Accepted
Remove plaster from brick
I used a wire brush, scraper and a hammer & chisel.
Choose wisely depending on how the plaster comes off.
- 28.1k
5
votes
Accepted
Mount TV to drywall with very little clearance
I don't think you can mount an articulating arm on this wall. An articulating arm must be mounted firmly in studs. Aside from finding the studs, you'll have two other problems:
Your screws need to ...
- 43.7k
5
votes
Accepted
Is this wall plaster or drywall, or some other material?
Hard to tell from the pictures, but it could be rock lath plaster. It ends up looking like someone put coarse plaster over a gypsum board then finished with fine plaster, which is basically what it is....
- 1,828
5
votes
Is this surface too rough to plaster over?
No, it's not too rough. I've seen pros deal with far worse effectively. The key is to taper out far enough. You won't resolve this situation with an 8" knife, or even a 12". You want a 16&...
- 144k
4
votes
Is it safe to use old wood lath from demolition as firewood?
Wood smoke itself contains many toxins and carcinogens. I mention it because folks have the false impression that it's somehow more "natural" than other types of smoke, and therefore safer.
If you'...
- 144k
4
votes
Is this plaster over gypsum wallboard?
But I can't imagine somebody putting up gypsum and then plastering over it!
There is a wall finish type called "Plaster Veneer" which is just this. My house (in New England) is done this way. The ...
- 2,775
4
votes
During what construction era was plaster installed over metal lath?
The area I live and work in saw quite a bit of expansion and development in the period between 1920 and 1960. I see plaster over expanded metal quite a bit in older buildings, and it does present ...
- 25.2k
4
votes
How to sand plaster corner using oscillating tool?
I would forget about power tools and get a 1" chisel. Trace out the area with pencil and shave out the area with the chisel. You're talking about a very small area so it shouldn't take long. ...
- 84k
4
votes
Why would these wires be stored this way?
It's certainly not appropriate nor legal to bury a junction box inside a wall. That should never have been done.
I agree with JACK that this looks like pretty normal chain wiring: one of the larger ...
4
votes
Asbestos? In plaster?
sent them some pictures over text... they said this is 99% asbestos...
Immediately throw away the phone number and email address of this company because what they told you is poppycock. Without a lab ...
- 36.4k
4
votes
Accepted
Did my painter do a bad job making the ceiling flat after removing popcorn ceiling?
I'm not an expert on this but that ceiling looks pretty bad. Your big mistake was getting a painter to repair the ceiling and not a plasterer. Painters can patch but doing an entire ceiling takes a ...
- 84k
4
votes
Accepted
Leak from contractor work on toilet damaging plaster ceiling below (US)
Not superficial.
Tear out and replace.
Hope you don't have to take them to court to make that happen on their dime, but you might. There may be other avenues if they don't offer to do the right thing ...
- 223k
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