This is an old video, but here is a tip. Instead of cleaning up as you go, you can lay thick plastic sheets on the floor (they sell them at Walmart in the paint area) and then remove everything you need to remove from the walls and then bag up the entire floor and put it in one of the Waste Management green bags for disposal or dispose of it at your own trash site! That makes the process FAR better because you aren't stopping to clean up. At worst, you can put the plastic down, fill it with stuff and then wrap that up, put more plastic down and do it all again. It is truly a time saver.
This is a great tip! However, can you explain how you lift it once the plastic is full? As he said, it's very, very heavy. We're remodeling our room by room as well, and this is our process.
@@SimplyInterestedyou don’t plaster is heavy like mortar and concrete, you use the plastic to protect the floor and clean up as you go. If you have a finished floor you’re trying to protect, use something heavier like cardboard or ram board. If you keep the plastic loose and the floor picked up you can fold over one end of the plastic and sweep all the dust in one pull. Makes dust removal easier.
@@SimplyInterested I say lay down multiple layers of plastic and then you can take it away once you get to a point that you still think it's manageable. Otherwise you can use the heavy contractors bags and take it away that way. The plaster is really heavy so you won't get to fill the bags very much.
THANK you for being one of the few who properly advocate removing the plaster but not the lath in step one. So much easier to clean up. But... remove all the woodwork first. use medium strikes with a hammer all over to crack the plaster. Then, when you start scraping, start at the BOTTOM. You're going to end up with a pile along the wall, and if you start at yhe floor, you won't have it in the way to finish the job. Don't use bags... get a bunch of drywall buckets and rent a small dumpster. We even fashioned a chute so we could dump it out the window right into the dumpster. When you remove the lath, it only takes a little more time to pull it off with the nails rather than just ripping it down all broken up. Barrels no bags for lath... which makes great kindling. Interior walls can have the lath left on and drywalled right over with 2 inch nails or screws. You just have to consider how you want to reinstall receptacles and switches. I normally leave the ceiling. If it's all cracked up go to the hardware and buy some 5-foot wide fiberglass window sceeen and coat the ceiling with that and joint compound. Works great every time. Last, Make sure your new installs are at least as thick as your old plaster wall or your baseboards will be short.
Couple of recommendations: pull all of the casement moldings off prior to demo and put a box fan in a window and open another window from another room to create a cross vent to pull the plaster dust from the air.
thank you for the breakdown, I am a new home owner of a 1920's era farm house that sat for 2 years unoccupied. I appreciate you taking the time to point out how to make things easier and not just assume that your audience already know what to do because I surely do not. I have bedroom with a chimeny leak that has affected the hallway as well. One thing at a time, thank you for the clear instruction and demonstration, happy to subscribe to your channel.
I just bought a house from 1942 that also sat unoccupied for 2 years. It was built by the railroad company. I'm looking forward to demo. The previous owner was an old man that grew up in that house and it hasn't really had any renos.
My husband and I are starting remodel on our new home & you have no idea how much you have saved our lives already! We was so overwhelmed just with the thought of beating this plaster out, but this way will go so much smoother!!! Thank you for sharing❤
i will be doing this to my whole house (mostly plaster, some drywall) over the next couple of years. this was a huge help on what im going to be getting into. thanks for the video and the helpful information!
Bro thanks for this video. I just closed on a 1948 house that I’m renovating by myself in Nevada and it’s all plaster. I was sacred before I watched your video but now I feel confident
Thank you for making this video. I inherited my grandparents house recently and when I get the house transferred over to my name after probate goes through and get the house cleaned up. I will want to tear all the plaster off the walls and put drywall. This is showing me a good way to do it
I have an older house with wood slat / plaster, bathrooms have no fans, and I need to install them do to moisture issues. The ceiling in the bathroom is cracked, and no matter how I fix / fill the cracks they come back. I am thinking to remove all of the ceiling plaster as I need access to install the fan. Any tips for doing ceiling only?
It sounds basic but go slow. The corners will fall out on their own. Work from the middle and even consider scoring the corners with a box cutter knife
@@KletteTech that’s what I had in mind, vibratory saw all the way around the edges and then start breaking it up from the middle. As for the slats, should I remove those before drywall, or leave them?
If there is insulation up there I would just leave it there to avoid the mess. Also, if you leave it up when you place the drywall there will not be a gap between the drywall and the plaster on the walls. The gap you would have to fill around the top would be the size of the lathe. Does that make sense? FYI people have posted that Drywall on top of Lathe always cracks but today it has never cracked on any of the walls I have done it on. @@mw3designs
@@KletteTech would be a shock to find any insulation in this old house! Is the slat fairly the same thickness so the drywall lays flat? Also curious what the keys will look like on the ceiling, won't be able to knock them out of the way in the ceiling.
I'd also recommend that be wary of lead paint or asbestos on the old plaster. If you find either of those then you should be stepping up the PPE and containment to lead-safe levels i.e. zip walls, 6mil poly on the floor, bagging everything up and cleaning up super thoroughly. It may sound like a lot but if you have young kids it's essential imo.
Great Job! It is tedious work. I always use a box fan exhausting outside when possible. If really that is not possible, a box fan with a 4 inch filter taped to it also works wonders. Heavy Duty Woven Polypropylene bags are the best for plaster, if you have to transport them a fair amount, like to the dump, and they are reusable if they let you empty them. Once you get the hang of it, it is actually faster to remove lath and plaster at the same time, especially for ceilings where it just wants to fall. But you have to keep the lath full lenght. You either pry against the other wall behind if you are demolishing it too or pry against the stud in a diagonal manner. Kind of unailing the laths with the plaster on it. Plaster falls, laths are held by the last nails, you grab and handfull and throw them, in the same orientation against a wall that has no debris. What we did is we had garbage bins for laths, but thats not a great solution for DiYers. Construction plastic bags or building a V shaped sawhorse where you put the laths in the craddle and use packing tape to make bundles. I actually really enjoy doing this kind of demolition.
I diid this on my brothers house but removed the sticks and screwed metal plaster channels on the walls , and used pine battens on the floor to reattach the skirting
Thanks for this excellent video. This is very similar to my house; same window frame, same baseboards. I'm about to do the same thing to my bedroom wall (8'x16') and insulate/reconstruct it for better sound management. I'm a DIY guy with a bad back, my back brace will be pulled tight!
Great ,video. L have an old house with lathe and know insulation, was trying to figure how to insulate withe lathe still intact to avoid the mess, but l see u will have a mess no matter what. After vote your video. I'm going to have tear it all down in sections and insulate, because the hallway is making my bedroom extremely cold. Great video.
Good instructions - I've done so many rehabs involving plaster and lathe that I don't even think about it anymore. You're correct it's very easy taking them both down but it's the clean up that takes the longest. Nice how you use the lathes as furring strips to build out for the drywall.
THANKS. Perfect timing. Just decided to do this in our old house in Nova Scotia. Did not know where to start or how to go about doing it. Now I do. AWESOME
I know it’s an old video but you SERIOUSLY helped me figure out how to get rid of the plaster walls, uninsulated of course, in my 1920 Victorian house. Every time I pay someone to fix something, another thing breaks so I’ve gotten to the point that I’ve decided to start learning how to do this stuff myself. Thanks for the video. I’m in NY and we don’t have Menards (sp?) here. What kind of bags are you referring to?
The bags at check-out. Commonly called tee-shirt bags. He must mean the next size up bag. Of course, you could buy tee-shirt bags from many online vendors.
unless you redid your outside of your house you are not supposed to insulate your outside walls. google videos. you will rot your wood. there's several videos on youtube discussing it.
Will have to go find the rest of this series. I just bought a house built 1954 with lathe / plaster. I'm dredding having to work with this. I'm hoping to slowly gut and refinish with drywall.
Great job! Good advise to take just the plaster off first. I had an old house, my first house, and I wanted to rip some walls out and I just went willy-nilly and rip the plaster and laugh off and it was such an incredible mess now I have another old house with plaster again yay so I am looking to see what other people do to try a different approach I like your approach a lot thanks
@@KletteTech for those without a Menards what bags would you recommend for the gallon pail approach? I was considering contractor bags but they are 42 gallon and no way I'm carrying that full of plaster.
Great video! Is there a reason you saved removing the trim for last? It seems like it would a lot easier to remove the trim first so it isn't in your way (and doesn't get damaged).
Yeah I was trying to leave the trim up. It did not work well. I took all the trim off except the baseboard. If I do it again I will take off all the trim except the baseboard. Leaving the base board up saved me a ton of time later in the project.
I’ve done 5 rooms so far in a 1875 built ballon house. Horse hair plaster is NASTY stuff and very heavy. I’m 74 as nd pretty fit but those bags get really heavy. I have more rooms to do so I’m going to buy extra bags from Menards and use the 5 gal bucket so I don’t overfill them. Good job, my man!
Fantastic video. THANK YOU. We just had a limb of our Oak fall on the house ... Again. This time it put a hole in the bedroom ceiling, cracked it all and cracked the walls, horsehair plaster and lath. 😞 Unsure if we will be able to find a contractor, we couldn't last time ... That tip on tacking the lath onto the beams ... AMAZING TIP. I'm saving this to show hubby, for IF we need to actually do it ourselves - yes we have insurance but they can't control what jobs contractors will sign on for. Home is over 100 years old, walls and ceiling are I have no idea how old 😆
I got a trailer w sides so I could shovel the plaster right into the trailer W/o having to bag it. Saved me hours of clean up and $100s of dollars in bags!
I am not sure if wetting the walls down well work. but worth a shot. Mine was not lead. I your does i would recommend following local guideline. I would be very cautious if you have kids in the house.
Excellent vid by a hardworking DIY guy. My only comment about saving trim is that new Sheetrock walls sitting with 100 year old trim…meh? I didn’t have the money either to buy new trim and spent lot of time smoothing 100 years of lead based paint.
I can't decide if I want to take mine down or not cause of the historical part of it but none of my walls have insulation and I know it would be better to take them down for that so there is a proper barrier between the insulation and wall
Depends on where you live and what shape the walls are in. If the walls are in good shape, I would not. I would look into having insulation blown in. If the walls are in bad shape, I would replace them, insulate and update the electrical if need.
I purchased a house built in 1950 5 years ago. After sinking a boatload into foundation repair, new windows, and landscaping, Im ready to start renovating the master bedroom. One thing I noticed with your video is how thin your plaster is over the lath. Mine almost looks like a half inch plaster board underneath. I haven't started the project yet but chipped away some plaster that came loose when the windows were installed and its more plaster underneath. Taking out an electrical socket, the amount of plaster over the edge of the metal electrical box is about half an inch thick. Is this normal? Thanks for the video too, Im doing this myself and this by far has been the most informative and easy to follow vid I found.
My question is why remove it at all can’t you just pint kilz all over the plaster and then put thin drywall over it ? Why go thru the entire process in the first place is there something in plaster that is bad for the lungs or something? Just asking I am new to this, and I just bought a house that has the plaster and lathe all over it
Asbestos in plaster is bad for the lungs. Practically, it’s hard to patch and hang stuff. Usually there’s no insulation behind it, so you want to isolate behind it
So....I've got a whole house to do like this. Gonna do one wall at a time, lay down a good tarp. What if I put down a tarp, THEN tear down the wall, and drag out the whole mess out in one go? It's a 1000 sq ft house. 1 story, not very big I think this can be done.
I bought an old farmhouse and have to either fix cracked plaster walls or rip out and replace with drywall. It has no insulation so i want to do exterior walls. wouldnt it be easier to frame/insulate/drywall over top?? I know it would make rooms smaller but for me alone I need easier.??
Great comment/question. I personally dont think so. Square footage is really important and this was a lot of work but it goes pretty fast. The walls in this room where really rough and fixing the plaster was not an option that I considered. The better I can insulate the more I think it is worth it. This room got cold in northern IL. But depending on where you live insulation might not be that important. Any other questions I would be happy to offer my opinion.
Great job! I have 2 rooms and possibly a 3rd that I want to do this to in a house we just purchased. I only wish COVID-19 wasn't happening now and I could get a good respirator. My N95 masks will have to do. Thanks for a great video.
I am working on the video. I have had to pause the project. I want to put the electrical video together when I rough it in and finish it up. I send it to you when I am done.
I just posted the prewiring video: th-cam.com/video/HBPFmTDv0N8/w-d-xo.html I an editing the wiring part. Ill let you know when it is up. Let me know if you have any questions
Great video, do you have any other videos? My house is over one hundred years old, I have hair hair plaster, wall paper, can’t paint it and wire and tubing. I am scared to start this project.
DID YOU ALSO REMOVE THE PLASTER KEY AND WASTE AFTER PULLING OF THE LATHE? SURPRISING HOW MUCH WASTE IS LEFT BEHIND THE BASEBOARD TRIM. I ALSO PULLED OUT ALL NAILS/FASTENERS IN THE STUDS. ‘TIS A GREAT FEELING WHEN ALL IS DONE.
Is there any reason that you could not just leave the plaster ceiling up and not cover it with drywall ? I really would prefer not too mess with my ceiling.
I took the plaster off because I was worried about the weight of the both the plaster and drywall on the 2x4s. If I had 2x6s up there I would have probably left it up.
I'm scraping a ceiling and walls down in my bathroom. I wasn't happy with a skim coat I paid for and it seems there was a bit of another skim coat in the bathroom as well. I've been trying to wear a mask. Now I find that old drywall mud had ASBESTOS in it as well as PLASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not all old plaster has asbestos. I demo for a living and we get walls tested before demo. But either way, you need to wear a respirator while removing walls. Even without aspestos, the dust is enough of a health risk
@@coryg4553 Around the 50's to start of the 80's. It is (somehow) considered low-risk, meaning that a proper fitting respirator and a little bit of outside venting is all that is needed around here.
You should advise people to test for lead paint before they start pulling down plaster & lathe - there's almost certainly lead when you have this construction.
Not only lead but asbestos also great recommendation also spray water on surface to keep dust down hate for the. Asthma stuff (asbestos) to go airborne
@@carlosmcdaniel3574 First person I've seen who brought up the main thing I am concerned about. It really is a lot of asbestos in all that old plaster, even with a respirator on. I am redoing some rooms now and I am contemplating just putting sheetrock over the plaster, just won't be able to insulate.
Thank you for this useful video. I'm glad I watched it instead of just tearing down the walls and ceilings. Our beach house was built in 1905, so this will be an interesting and messy project. Going to buy the protective gear now.....stay tuned.
Thanks for the tips! Currently doing the same exact thing as I'm about to drywall it but I want to experiment with 1 room 1st, my house was built in 1910 so hopefully I dont find any skeletons in the walls 😱
Why would anyone take down such a wall to put up an inferior one? Unless you have mold or a rat problem you can't get to for the plaster. It's soundproof and fireproof. Thats why we built our buildings with it for thousands of years.
It also makes it less interesting buy for people looking for an older home. I'll never understand people that buy beautiful older homes built to withstand a tornado and stand for 200 years and completely weaken its structure and make it so ugly. I see "updated" older homes that are so hideous i want to throw up. They ruin the symmetry of the homes.
Plaster doesn't always last forever. I have a home built in 1930 and the plaster upstairs is falling off in chunks because the house has settled. I'm considering removing the plaster upstairs and leaving it alone downstairs. Plus, we can't hang anything on the walls without it crumbling. It's a tough decision because I don't want to ruin my home as mentioned.
sure, and after enough layers you won't be able to walk into the area. seriously though, drywall does not have the holding power to cover anything cept insulation and thin moisture barrier material. I'd suggest you just stick with saniches, but looks like you failed at that too.
This is an old video, but here is a tip. Instead of cleaning up as you go, you can lay thick plastic sheets on the floor (they sell them at Walmart in the paint area) and then remove everything you need to remove from the walls and then bag up the entire floor and put it in one of the Waste Management green bags for disposal or dispose of it at your own trash site! That makes the process FAR better because you aren't stopping to clean up. At worst, you can put the plastic down, fill it with stuff and then wrap that up, put more plastic down and do it all again. It is truly a time saver.
Great Tip
This is a great tip! However, can you explain how you lift it once the plastic is full? As he said, it's very, very heavy. We're remodeling our room by room as well, and this is our process.
@@SimplyInterestedyou don’t plaster is heavy like mortar and concrete, you use the plastic to protect the floor and clean up as you go. If you have a finished floor you’re trying to protect, use something heavier like cardboard or ram board. If you keep the plastic loose and the floor picked up you can fold over one end of the plastic and sweep all the dust in one pull. Makes dust removal easier.
@@SimplyInterested
I say lay down multiple layers of plastic and then you can take it away once you get to a point that you still think it's manageable. Otherwise you can use the heavy contractors bags and take it away that way. The plaster is really heavy so you won't get to fill the bags very much.
THANK you for being one of the few who properly advocate removing the plaster but not the lath in step one. So much easier to clean up. But... remove all the woodwork first. use medium strikes with a hammer all over to crack the plaster. Then, when you start scraping, start at the BOTTOM. You're going to end up with a pile along the wall, and if you start at yhe floor, you won't have it in the way to finish the job.
Don't use bags... get a bunch of drywall buckets and rent a small dumpster. We even fashioned a chute so we could dump it out the window right into the dumpster.
When you remove the lath, it only takes a little more time to pull it off with the nails rather than just ripping it down all broken up. Barrels no bags for lath... which makes great kindling. Interior walls can have the lath left on and drywalled right over with 2 inch nails or screws. You just have to consider how you want to reinstall receptacles and switches. I normally leave the ceiling. If it's all cracked up go to the hardware and buy some 5-foot wide fiberglass window sceeen and coat the ceiling with that and joint compound. Works great every time.
Last, Make sure your new installs are at least as thick as your old plaster wall or your baseboards will be short.
Couple of recommendations: pull all of the casement moldings off prior to demo and put a box fan in a window and open another window from another room to create a cross vent to pull the plaster dust from the air.
thank you for the breakdown, I am a new home owner of a 1920's era farm house that sat for 2 years unoccupied. I appreciate you taking the time to point out how to make things easier and not just assume that your audience already know what to do because I surely do not. I have bedroom with a chimeny leak that has affected the hallway as well. One thing at a time, thank you for the clear instruction and demonstration, happy to subscribe to your channel.
Thanks for the comment and good luck with your project. Bend at the knees. haha
I just bought a house from 1942 that also sat unoccupied for 2 years. It was built by the railroad company. I'm looking forward to demo. The previous owner was an old man that grew up in that house and it hasn't really had any renos.
My husband and I are starting remodel on our new home & you have no idea how much you have saved our lives already! We was so overwhelmed just with the thought of beating this plaster out, but this way will go so much smoother!!!
Thank you for sharing❤
That is awesome!Good luck with your project!
Folks - please test your plaster for asbestos before you disturb it! It was often used as an admixture in older homes!
i will be doing this to my whole house (mostly plaster, some drywall) over the next couple of years. this was a huge help on what im going to be getting into. thanks for the video and the helpful information!
Glad I could help!
Here is a tip, don't do what this moron did and replace plaster with drywall. That is like trading in a Rolls Royce for a fucking Geo.
Bro thanks for this video. I just closed on a 1948 house that I’m renovating by myself in Nevada and it’s all plaster. I was sacred before I watched your video but now I feel confident
Good Luck. It is well worth it in the end
Thx so much. My partner tore down wall all at once weeks ago and it's was a tedious clean up digging out lath from plaster.
Ripping out lath and plaster is how I began my remodeling career, some 35 years ago. Thanks for the memories! 😁
Thanks for watching! Memory lane!
This was easily the best video I've seen on this! I wish wish wish I had seen this before our last remodel. Great job.
Wow, thank you! Good luck with any future projects.
Thank you for making this video. I inherited my grandparents house recently and when I get the house transferred over to my name after probate goes through and get the house cleaned up. I will want to tear all the plaster off the walls and put drywall. This is showing me a good way to do it
Great. Good luck
I have an older house with wood slat / plaster, bathrooms have no fans, and I need to install them do to moisture issues. The ceiling in the bathroom is cracked, and no matter how I fix / fill the cracks they come back. I am thinking to remove all of the ceiling plaster as I need access to install the fan. Any tips for doing ceiling only?
It sounds basic but go slow. The corners will fall out on their own. Work from the middle and even consider scoring the corners with a box cutter knife
@@KletteTech that’s what I had in mind, vibratory saw all the way around the edges and then start breaking it up from the middle. As for the slats, should I remove those before drywall, or leave them?
If there is insulation up there I would just leave it there to avoid the mess. Also, if you leave it up when you place the drywall there will not be a gap between the drywall and the plaster on the walls. The gap you would have to fill around the top would be the size of the lathe. Does that make sense? FYI people have posted that Drywall on top of Lathe always cracks but today it has never cracked on any of the walls I have done it on. @@mw3designs
@@KletteTech would be a shock to find any insulation in this old house! Is the slat fairly the same thickness so the drywall lays flat? Also curious what the keys will look like on the ceiling, won't be able to knock them out of the way in the ceiling.
The plaster is typically close to being the same size a 1/2 inch drywall
@@mw3designs
I'd also recommend that be wary of lead paint or asbestos on the old plaster. If you find either of those then you should be stepping up the PPE and containment to lead-safe levels i.e. zip walls, 6mil poly on the floor, bagging everything up and cleaning up super thoroughly. It may sound like a lot but if you have young kids it's essential imo.
Great Job! It is tedious work. I always use a box fan exhausting outside when possible. If really that is not possible, a box fan with a 4 inch filter taped to it also works wonders. Heavy Duty Woven Polypropylene bags are the best for plaster, if you have to transport them a fair amount, like to the dump, and they are reusable if they let you empty them.
Once you get the hang of it, it is actually faster to remove lath and plaster at the same time, especially for ceilings where it just wants to fall. But you have to keep the lath full lenght. You either pry against the other wall behind if you are demolishing it too or pry against the stud in a diagonal manner. Kind of unailing the laths with the plaster on it. Plaster falls, laths are held by the last nails, you grab and handfull and throw them, in the same orientation against a wall that has no debris. What we did is we had garbage bins for laths, but thats not a great solution for DiYers. Construction plastic bags or building a V shaped sawhorse where you put the laths in the craddle and use packing tape to make bundles. I actually really enjoy doing this kind of demolition.
I diid this on my brothers house but removed the sticks and screwed metal plaster channels on the walls , and used pine battens on the floor to reattach the skirting
Thanks for this excellent video. This is very similar to my house; same window frame, same baseboards. I'm about to do the same thing to my bedroom wall (8'x16') and insulate/reconstruct it for better sound management. I'm a DIY guy with a bad back, my back brace will be pulled tight!
good luck. It is a lot of work but worth it in the end
Advice on noticing asbestos in the wall? If it is safe to do the repair
I loved that you used proper PPE. thank you
No problem
I use a body shop slide hammer with a hook on the end pops that lath off real well
Great idea
Great ,video. L have an old house with lathe and know insulation, was trying to figure how to insulate withe lathe still intact to avoid the mess, but l see u will have a mess no matter what. After vote your video. I'm going to have tear it all down in sections and insulate, because the hallway is making my bedroom extremely cold. Great video.
Thanks
Thank you so much. I'm a woman trying this project and I feel real good about it.
Wonderful!
I put 1/4" drywall right over the existing plaster ceilings in my 98 year old place. Works like a champ!!!
Right, or if the plaster is in good shape, don't mess with it at all. I'm at a loss as to why even did that room.
@@kenbagwell8551 same! It is easier to fix cracks and put gaps then to rip, clean and attach drywall or drywall over.
This was very helpful. I'm about to demo my plaster wall.
Glad it was helpful!
Good instructions - I've done so many rehabs involving plaster and lathe that I don't even think about it anymore. You're correct it's very easy taking them both down but it's the clean up that takes the longest. Nice how you use the lathes as furring strips to build out for the drywall.
Thanks for the comments. Nice an experienced guy agree with me. Hopefully this video helps some people out.
THANKS. Perfect timing. Just decided to do this in our old house in Nova Scotia. Did not know where to start or how to go about doing it. Now I do. AWESOME
Glad I could help! Good Luck!
Thanks man. First decent video Ive seen of plaster removal.
Glad it helped
I was afraid to do this. I've been postponing for two years but after watching your video, I feel pretty confident. 😊
Thanks for the message happy the video helped.
I know it’s an old video but you SERIOUSLY helped me figure out how to get rid of the plaster walls, uninsulated of course, in my 1920 Victorian house. Every time I pay someone to fix something, another thing breaks so I’ve gotten to the point that I’ve decided to start learning how to do this stuff myself. Thanks for the video. I’m in NY and we don’t have Menards (sp?) here. What kind of bags are you referring to?
The bags at check-out. Commonly called tee-shirt bags. He must mean the next size up bag. Of course, you could buy tee-shirt bags from many online vendors.
unless you redid your outside of your house you are not supposed to insulate your outside walls. google videos. you will rot your wood. there's several videos on youtube discussing it.
Will have to go find the rest of this series. I just bought a house built 1954 with lathe / plaster. I'm dredding having to work with this. I'm hoping to slowly gut and refinish with drywall.
Good luck! It is worth it. Here is the playlist. th-cam.com/play/PLrlsstwICKon1Lex6nZUOZLcA_jrG-2fw.html
Great job! Good advise to take just the plaster off first. I had an old house, my first house, and I wanted to rip some walls out and I just went willy-nilly and rip the plaster and laugh off and it was such an incredible mess now I have another old house with plaster again yay so I am looking to see what other people do to try a different approach I like your approach a lot thanks
Thanks watching. Hope it help. The tile scrapper is a life saver. Also, menards bags made removing it all a ton easier. Good luck
@@KletteTech for those without a Menards what bags would you recommend for the gallon pail approach? I was considering contractor bags but they are 42 gallon and no way I'm carrying that full of plaster.
Great video! Is there a reason you saved removing the trim for last? It seems like it would a lot easier to remove the trim first so it isn't in your way (and doesn't get damaged).
Yeah I was trying to leave the trim up. It did not work well. I took all the trim off except the baseboard. If I do it again I will take off all the trim except the baseboard. Leaving the base board up saved me a ton of time later in the project.
Always take the trim down first. It has to come down to put up new material anyways, plus it makes removal of many years of lead paint easier
I’ve done 5 rooms so far in a 1875 built ballon house. Horse hair plaster is NASTY stuff and very heavy. I’m 74 as nd pretty fit but those bags get really heavy. I have more rooms to do so I’m going to buy extra bags from Menards and use the 5 gal bucket so I don’t overfill them.
Good job, my man!
Heavy Duty Woven Polypropylene bags is the way to go. But this might reach you too late.
@klettetech What was the reason to tear down all the plaster and replace with drywall? Adding insulation?
How did you remove the ceiling with the insulation on it any video please 🙏
Why not remove the baseboards and casing too? Curious?
How long did it take you to get down to the studs?
Fantastic video. THANK YOU.
We just had a limb of our Oak fall on the house ... Again.
This time it put a hole in the bedroom ceiling, cracked it all and cracked the walls, horsehair plaster and lath. 😞
Unsure if we will be able to find a contractor, we couldn't last time ...
That tip on tacking the lath onto the beams ... AMAZING TIP.
I'm saving this to show hubby, for IF we need to actually do it ourselves - yes we have insurance but they can't control what jobs contractors will sign on for.
Home is over 100 years old, walls and ceiling are I have no idea how old 😆
Good luck.
It's DIY doable, but very heavy, time consuming work. Then you have to do the drywall!
How long would it take you do tear down and remove the lathe and plaster for one room
About days worth of work
how's your back holding up? You have to be super strong to do this. I'm 39 and couldn't do this.
Did you test for asbestos before demolishing the walls?
Yes
@@KletteTech ok and the result was negative?
Hey buddy came across this video but was wondering if the home was inspected for Abestos before starting any work?peace love and reapect
Yes and everything can back negative
How are you removing the nails used to secure the lath strips?
I am hammering them in or pulling them
What about blow in insulation?
I got a trailer w sides so I could shovel the plaster right into the trailer W/o having to bag it.
Saved me hours of clean up and $100s of dollars in bags!
That is awesome. Jealous about that for sure
Thanks for these videos! So helpful!
Can you wet the walls a bit to cut back on dust? Was that lead paint? Any special cleanup, if so?
I am not sure if wetting the walls down well work. but worth a shot. Mine was not lead. I your does i would recommend following local guideline. I would be very cautious if you have kids in the house.
Great vid, been planning on doing this to my 1920s home for a while while also insulating, removing knob and tube, and replacing windows.
Good luck. I have a whole playlist of my process. Also , the tile scraper I have linked in the description is really worth the money.
@@KletteTech what was the reason why you wished you waited until after insulation to put the lathe on? To seal the edges of the insulation more?
@@di5gustipated To cut down on the gap between the outside all and the back of the insulation. I was not sure if that would cause any moisture issues.
Excellent vid by a hardworking DIY guy. My only comment about saving trim is that new Sheetrock walls sitting with 100 year old trim…meh? I didn’t have the money either to buy new trim and spent lot of time smoothing 100 years of lead based paint.
Great advice. Thanks for watching
I can't decide if I want to take mine down or not cause of the historical part of it but none of my walls have insulation and I know it would be better to take them down for that so there is a proper barrier between the insulation and wall
Depends on where you live and what shape the walls are in. If the walls are in good shape, I would not. I would look into having insulation blown in. If the walls are in bad shape, I would replace them, insulate and update the electrical if need.
@@KletteTech i live where we get all 4 seasons. So I dont believe, correct me if im wrong, blow in is best in regards to moisture
@@foreverkenzie2397 I am not sure. But if the walls are in good shape I would look into blowing in insulations.
Are you concerned about asbestos in the walls
Good video! My house was built in 1926 and the walls are very similar (Buffalo, NY).
Very cool! They seem to build the same back then. Mine is 1922 I believe
My house was built in 1926 too. LOL I'm demo'ing the bathroom and was going to leave the laff up and put the drywall over it....i hope that's ok.
Awesome video! Love that you pointed out that it looked easy but its back breaking work. Currently doing my son's bedroom.
Good luck! And thanks for watching
I purchased a house built in 1950 5 years ago. After sinking a boatload into foundation repair, new windows, and landscaping, Im ready to start renovating the master bedroom. One thing I noticed with your video is how thin your plaster is over the lath.
Mine almost looks like a half inch plaster board underneath. I haven't started the project yet but chipped away some plaster that came loose when the windows were installed and its more plaster underneath. Taking out an electrical socket, the amount of plaster over the edge of the metal electrical box is about half an inch thick. Is this normal?
Thanks for the video too, Im doing this myself and this by far has been the most informative and easy to follow vid I found.
Thanks for the comment. My plaster was about 1/2 inch think. I left the lath up and 1/2 inch drywall fits good when lining up the drywall to the trip.
Also, good luck on the project. The tile scrapper and those Menards bags really help out.
My question is why remove it at all can’t you just pint kilz all over the plaster and then put thin drywall over it ? Why go thru the entire process in the first place is there something in plaster that is bad for the lungs or something? Just asking I am new to this, and I just bought a house that has the plaster and lathe all over it
Asbestos in plaster is bad for the lungs. Practically, it’s hard to patch and hang stuff. Usually there’s no insulation behind it, so you want to isolate behind it
can you put drywall on top of the lathe?
yes
@@fredsargent523 how do u know if the plaster has asbetos?
@@randomrazr you can buy an asbestos test kit at lowe's or amazon.
@@fredsargent523 if its got horse hair in it its prob dated before asbestoc?
@@randomrazr Yes. Horsehair mainly used prior to 1940, asbestos after WW2.
Nice video. One question is do u think any of that plaster had asbestos?
Not that I know of
It's just earth/rock dust. Same thing as concrete being broke to bits
So....I've got a whole house to do like this. Gonna do one wall at a time, lay down a good tarp. What if I put down a tarp, THEN tear down the wall, and drag out the whole mess out in one go? It's a 1000 sq ft house. 1 story, not very big I think this can be done.
I think that is great idea. But the plaster gets heavy quick. Let me know how it goes.
What size of scraper did you use?
amzn.to/2WYLNHr
Here you guy
I bought an old farmhouse and have to either fix cracked plaster walls or rip out and replace with drywall. It has no insulation so i want to do exterior walls. wouldnt it be easier to frame/insulate/drywall over top?? I know it would make rooms smaller but for me alone I need easier.??
Great comment/question. I personally dont think so. Square footage is really important and this was a lot of work but it goes pretty fast. The walls in this room where really rough and fixing the plaster was not an option that I considered. The better I can insulate the more I think it is worth it. This room got cold in northern IL. But depending on where you live insulation might not be that important. Any other questions I would be happy to offer my opinion.
Susan barley, how did that work out? I have a farmhouse like that and I'm debating between the two options
What about asbestos?
Were those studs 16 on centre? I’m knocking trying to find them but they seem like the studs are flat on wall instead of like yours!!
Thx
Yes they were. That would be weird but not unheard of.
@@KletteTech thx, that gives me a little more confidence to start drilling 👍🏼
Quick tip:buy yourself a cheap square fan (blower) and put it inside a window facing out,it will help with the dust tremendously.
Great suggestion. I was planning on doing that but I live really close to my neighbor. He might not of liked that.
Great job! I have 2 rooms and possibly a 3rd that I want to do this to in a house we just purchased. I only wish COVID-19 wasn't happening now and I could get a good respirator. My N95 masks will have to do. Thanks for a great video.
Thanks for watching and good luck. Bend with your knees. hahah
KletteTech, You mention in the video that you fixed or re-wired the electric system in that room. Do you have a video on how you did that?
I am working on the video. I have had to pause the project. I want to put the electrical video together when I rough it in and finish it up. I send it to you when I am done.
I just posted the prewiring video:
th-cam.com/video/HBPFmTDv0N8/w-d-xo.html
I an editing the wiring part. Ill let you know when it is up. Let me know if you have any questions
I use a water sprayer to keep the dust down!!
That is a great suggestion
How needed is insulation if you live in Michigan? Im doing one room at a time too.
I think is a must. Not only will it save you money over time but it will make the house much more comfortable.
Great video, do you have any other videos? My house is over one hundred years old, I have hair hair plaster, wall paper, can’t paint it and wire and tubing. I am scared to start this project.
What brand of tile scraper is that? cheers from Australia.
I linked to scrapper in the description. I got mine a Home Depot. Not sure about Australia. Good luck and let me know how it goes
Can I add insulation once I remove the plaster and woods like you did??
Of course.
Thanks from Scotland. This is a really helpful video.
Cheers
Bravo!!!!! Onto part 2. I have to do this to all my outside walls...3 stories. 😔
You can do it!
I want to remove to put a book case recessed in the wall
good luck
Advice: do a burn barrel for the lathe. Then throw out the ash, or use it in your garden!
I wouldn't might have lead from the dust from plaster demo
Also would recommend the p100 mask
Here's a trick when dealing with that blown in insulation. Vacuum it out first, then tear your ceiling down.
I would have kept the plaster wall instead of dry wall. Plaster are a better quality. I did the same as you and looking back it was a mistake.
I have no regrets
Why didn't you use foam injection insulation If you just needed to insulate the walls?
The walls were in really bad shape and it would have been to much money to repair the plater. So I took out two birds with one stone.
What year was the house built?
Around 1922.
DID YOU ALSO REMOVE THE PLASTER KEY AND WASTE AFTER PULLING OF THE LATHE? SURPRISING HOW MUCH WASTE IS LEFT BEHIND THE BASEBOARD TRIM. I ALSO PULLED OUT ALL NAILS/FASTENERS IN THE STUDS. ‘TIS A GREAT FEELING WHEN ALL IS DONE.
Yes I removed it and yes it is great when it is all done.
Use use the term dry wall?? I am looking to strip lath and plaster not dry wall. I'm out
Is drywalling over the plaster walls an option? Or is that a bad idea?
I see people do that. I have never done it so I am not sure. I know my kitchen is like that. They used 1/4 over the plaster.
Is there any reason that you could not just leave the plaster ceiling up and not cover it with drywall ? I really would prefer not too mess with my ceiling.
I took the plaster off because I was worried about the weight of the both the plaster and drywall on the 2x4s. If I had 2x6s up there I would have probably left it up.
Why would you take down the plaster? The plaster looks solid and good.
I was not in good shape at all. I brought in a plaster guy and the cost to save it was way to much for me
Redo plumbing, electrical, insulation is a very good reason.
That wall looked in good shape why tear it off?
It was in bad shape and the wall paper was not coming off
I'm scraping a ceiling and walls down in my bathroom. I wasn't happy with a skim coat I paid for and it seems there was a bit of another skim coat in the bathroom as well. I've been trying to wear a mask. Now I find that old drywall mud had ASBESTOS in it as well as PLASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not all old plaster has asbestos. I demo for a living and we get walls tested before demo. But either way, you need to wear a respirator while removing walls. Even without aspestos, the dust is enough of a health risk
@@toxicgracie3772 what year was asbestos used in plaster?
@@coryg4553 Around the 50's to start of the 80's. It is (somehow) considered low-risk, meaning that a proper fitting respirator and a little bit of outside venting is all that is needed around here.
@@okkrom thank you
Thanks for sharing. Instructions and tips are well appreciated.
Glad it was helpful!
You should advise people to test for lead paint before they start pulling down plaster & lathe - there's almost certainly lead when you have this construction.
Not only lead but asbestos also great recommendation also spray water on surface to keep dust down hate for the. Asthma stuff (asbestos) to go airborne
@@carlosmcdaniel3574 First person I've seen who brought up the main thing I am concerned about. It really is a lot of asbestos in all that old plaster, even with a respirator on. I am redoing some rooms now and I am contemplating just putting sheetrock over the plaster, just won't be able to insulate.
You are amazing brother!!!
Thanks
Great video! Very detailed!
Thanks
Thanks this really helped. especially the tile scraper
Glad it helped! Totally worth the money.
Great video sir. I needed this information.
Glad it was helpful!
You did a beautiful job 👏🏼 💜
What does it cost per room to do?
About $300 give or take. But I did already have some stuff.
Thank you for this useful video. I'm glad I watched it instead of just tearing down the walls and ceilings. Our beach house was built in 1905, so this will be an interesting and messy project. Going to buy the protective gear now.....stay tuned.
Glad it was helpful! And good luck
Any update to how this went lol
Lay down a tarp before you work on the plaster and you can drag it out and shovel it in the garbage bin quicker and easier.
Excellent video, huge help, thank you!
Thanks
silly question, but any chance of asbestos?
Not on my project. for yours I am not sure. I think it depends on the age of the house. I would feel a bit uncomfortable give any advice on that.
I agree with below also try starting from ceiling reverse of this guy and do short video leave long one for dummies
How old is your house if you don't mind me asking.
About 100 years old
@@KletteTech damn great job
Thanks for the vid, I got the same project going
Good luck
Thanks for the tips! Currently doing the same exact thing as I'm about to drywall it but I want to experiment with 1 room 1st, my house was built in 1910 so hopefully I dont find any skeletons in the walls 😱
Good luck! Hope you find some treasure
Why would anyone take down such a wall to put up an inferior one? Unless you have mold or a rat problem you can't get to for the plaster. It's soundproof and fireproof. Thats why we built our buildings with it for thousands of years.
It also makes it less interesting buy for people looking for an older home. I'll never understand people that buy beautiful older homes built to withstand a tornado and stand for 200 years and completely weaken its structure and make it so ugly. I see "updated" older homes that are so hideous i want to throw up. They ruin the symmetry of the homes.
@@trinasmith4326 because it was crap and in rough shape and had a mold issue in the corner
Plaster doesn't always last forever. I have a home built in 1930 and the plaster upstairs is falling off in chunks because the house has settled. I'm considering removing the plaster upstairs and leaving it alone downstairs. Plus, we can't hang anything on the walls without it crumbling. It's a tough decision because I don't want to ruin my home as mentioned.
can the lath stay up and add drywall over it?
sure, and after enough layers you won't be able to walk into the area. seriously though, drywall does not have the holding power to cover anything cept insulation and thin moisture barrier material. I'd suggest you just stick with saniches, but looks like you failed at that too.