Reversing Time
I have been restoring houses for four decades.
During these years, I have always infilled missing plaster with sheetrock. In the Cross House, I covered over the highly damaged plaster ceiling in the house with sheetrock.
Then, I discovered something extraordinary. Something I had never heard or read about in all my decades of working on old houses: Plaster absorbs heat and then radiates it back out; a heat sink. In short, the acres of plaster in my house are acting in tandem with the radiators to heat the rooms. But, while the latter eats up $$$ in doing so, the former provides this vital function for free.
Golly. I had no idea.
Today, I have no intention of bringing any more sheetrock into the house. And there are bags and bags and bags of plaster mix in the entry hall.
Above the mantel in the Octagon Room is this mess, caused by a long-term leak in the roof adjacent to the south chimney. I fixed the leak in 2014. I have already secured loose plaster on the ceiling with plaster washers (upper left). Note the sloppy electric wires. Oh, the horror. The one wire neatly stapled is something I installed a few years back. The other wires predate me.
I thought that this was an ideal location to teach myself how to plaster. The area is not large
First though, I need lath. Luckily, I have a stash that has been stored in the carriage house.
The lath work begins. The wires are now properly stapled even though, once the ceiling is done, no one will ever see them. But…I will know.
The rolling yellow scaffolding is VITAL to the task. Not only does this afford me close access to the ceiling, but it also offers a place for all the needed tools/materials. As such, once I get on the scaffolding, I normally stay on it until finished. I cannot imagine doing this work via a ladder.
To my surprise, there is something highly satisfying about doing lath work.
I keep thinking about when the house was built. In late 1893, somebody installed lath in just this location. Over time, the leak damaged the ceiling and the plaster and lath were removed. And for decades a mess was the result.
With every strip of lath I nail on, it is as if time is being reversed. Piece by piece, I am exactly repeating something done by somebody in 1893. Importantly, I am not just reversing time, I am reversing damage. This thrills me.
Soon, this small area will be fully lathed. As it was in 1893. Then I will begin the plastering. Which seems very scary as I have never done this before. But, as I always remind myself: Ross, how hard can it be? It’s not like you have to built a rocket to the moon!
And so, standing on yellow scaffolding, with the sun streaming in through the octagon tower, and a mystery audible book playing in my ears, I am finding the work highly satisfying.
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Your first go at plastering on lath will be on the *ceiling*? You are hardcore!
I can hardly even stand painting the ceiling, kills my back, shoulders and neck. I imagine plastering to be much worse, scaffolding or no…
This house is so lucky to have you!
Thad, my head is just below the ceiling. So, I barely reach up, and barely crook my neck. This makes ALL the difference!
I’d still prefer to practice on a wall first, where gravity isn’t totally against you! Plastering is hardly rocket science but it’s time-consuming and messy.
I was just hearing a couple days ago: they used to add long horse hairs to the plaster (this helps it contract more evenly as it cures, because I think there is some mild shrinkage involved). I read it is a reaction which absorbs moisture as opposed to a chemical reaction?
I would love to know if you have found any horse hair or similar in the house’s plaster!
I was just going to comment on this! It was on a recent DIY Channel episode of “This Old House” (which is actually several years old, compared to PBS eps), that they showed “hair in the plaster” (I was going to say horse hair, though truthfully I couldn’t remember which mammal it was!). *
Sadly, it was in the process of replacing the old plaster&lath w/ sheetrock. In every old house porn TV show I’ve watched, that’s what they do…
* Am pretty sure it was the Italianate house in Arlington MA (in case you’re interested).
I saw this same thing only in a show about restoring old houses in the UK. Has to be horse too. Don’t remember all the reasons but you can’t use human hair because it is too fine and too oily.
Alex who has a blog called http://www.oldtownhome.com and an Instagram account named @oldtownhome has excellent instructions & videos on restoring plaster. He is an expert.
Yes! I’ll second this! And if you use instagram, he’s been detailing repairing big sections of missing plaster (And lath) from the bathroom of their four square.
I love the fact that you will put real plaster instead of sheetrock. I come from Spain, a country that, until recently, had a strong aversion towards sheetrock. I think that it is safe to say that the immense majority of ceilings and walls built or restored in Spain before the year 2005 are made with real plaster. Even cheap 1960s or 1970s houses were made using plaster. Nowadays, sheetrock is often used in new construction in my country.
As somebody who has lived for most of his life surrounded by plaster walls and ceilings, I can tell you that plaster is better in every sense: even the acoustics of a plastered room are better. So, in short, you have made a wise decision in banishing, from now on, sheetrock from your house.
Just curious. Does the temporary wall in the Octagon bedroom connect perpendicular in the middle of the door trim? Or is that just the weird angle of the first photo making it appear that way?
Can’t wait to visit again and savour all your amazing progress, perhaps as a BnB guest someday. Happy new year, dear Ross.
Ross, after having endless debates with my S.O. as to the merits of plaster vs. sheetrock, I am very excited to hear about the heat-retentive benefit! Since he will ask, could you refer me to any sources that speak to this? (Also, I hope you will jump in with this the next time the issue comes up on the OHD link exchange – despite the fact that you will mostly be preaching to the choir, there are still some silent – and not-so-silent – naysayers who would benefit from knowing this.)
BTW, I’ve been silently following your progress and cheering you on for some time now, and want to thank you not only for saving the Cross House, but for taking the time to document and share your challenges and accomplishments. Happy New Year!
I think the term is usually “thermal mass” for this sort of thing- the principle is that they have a poor “R value” for insulation but have a high “U value” in that once they absorb heat they retain it or something similar. Good luck!
Good luck! I’m currently on the same journey to learning plaster repair.
I’ve had good luck doing the scratch and base coats with Structo-lite.
I started by skim coating with 20 minute drywall mud, but sanding is a nightmare, and I found it’s actually easier to get a nice finish with real plaster. I’m using Diamond veneer to skim the entire room after patching with the structure-lite.
My number one tip is liberal use of bonding agent. Plaster-weld seems to be the recommended product, but I’ve been using the quickcrete stuff from HD. Paint it on the lath and let it dry, otherwise it will suck the moisture out of your plaster and it won’t cure, it’ll just turn to dust. Then paint the whole room with bonding agent before skimming.
Good luck! Can’t wait to see your progress
Reinstalling the lathes make the ceiling look good already! Happy dance!
I have a friend in Wichita that has just removed lath from one of his rooms. I found a home for some of this earlier demo and think he is ready to give more away- unless it is already gone. Text me at 316 6509090 if you want his info.
I have a love/hate relationship with the plaster walls in my 1950’s house. Thank you for giving me something else to love about them!
I’m glad to help, Melissa!