replacing lath and plaster wall

[alp078]

hi all

Firstly, forgive my use of terminology which is likely to be wrong - feel free to correct me as i go and hopefully i'll make enough sense to convey my questions properly!

We are wanting to redecorate our spare bedroom but before doing so wish to make some repairs to some of the walls. The house is just short of 100 years old and some of the walls are lath and plaster - others have been replaced by the previous owner with plasterboard. I want strip away the lath and plaster on one wall that has clearly seen better days and replace with plasterboard simply screwed into the existing timbers. Is this as straightforward as it sounds? Is there value in taking the opportunity to get some insulation in? Its an internal wall, but i think it would be useful from a soundproofing point of view?

Whilst we are at it one of the other walls (brick, external with chimney breast in the middle) could use some attention too. There are clearly spots that sound as though the plaster has blown and i am sure that once i remove the woodchip paper the previous owner saw fit to cover most of the house with that what i find beneath may not be too welcoming. Ideally i'd prefer not to have to take the whole wall back to brick. Without knowing the actual state of the wall it may be difficult to answer - but to what extent can i 'repair' what exists, rather than replace completely and how might i go about that?

Thanks in advance for any advice

alp

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

Firstly your stud wall;
The task of removing the wall is often a messy one, but not too complicated.
Look out for any pipe work and electric cabling when removing the plaster and lath.
If it's both sides of wall you are removing, do one side at a time then at least you can see what is in the stud and the other side should be easier to remove from the open side.
You'll have fun pulling all the nails from the timber work, but this must be done prior to re-boarding. The odd one may be a little stubborn, if so just tap it in to the timber.
Insulating is a great idea, but again be careful insulating around electric cable, as it effects the current capacity the cable can safely carry, so do not surround the cable with insulation.
If you board one side first then you will find it easier to install the insulation from the open side.
Best results will be gained boarding, applying scrim tapes to joints, then a two coat skim with plaster finish.
When boarding fix by screwing the board using dry-wall screws spaced every 150-200mm along the timbers.
If a door is in the wall remember that you need to have the wall flush to the door frame, so you architraves will fit neat. So your boards should be recessed from the frame about 3-6mm to allow for the plaster.

Your second wall, it's a hope and see, but is more likely than not that the surface beneath has had it's day.
You can plaster patch areas, depending on the extent of the problem.
In the long run my be worth considering removing it all and having a newly plastered wall that is not going to cause you no more problems in the near future.

 

[roughcaster]

Sound,, can't add anymore to that PBD.

Roughcaster.

 

[alp078]

beautiful, thanks chaps.

Any recommendations on what to use for insulating?

 

[Richard C]

PBD's got it mostly covered; just a few thoughts to add;

As some of the old lath studs have already been replaced with PB, I assume it's not a listed building As well as insulating inside the stud I would face the stud with either 15mm Soundblock or at least Wallboard 10 rather than conventional wallboard; it’s a bit more expensive but denser & gives better sound insulation. A dense mineral sound insulation material is best but this can be rather expensive; I usually use cavity insulation bats which, combined with the Soundblock, gives reasonably good results. Be aware there are minimum sound insulation requirements for studs between a room containing a w/c & another habitable room but the above will be sufficient.

If the base has blown on the chimney breast & you have a type of fire that generates high local temperatures, the base coat & finish used on the chimney breast needs some consideration; Gypsum based plaster products are only good up to around 50 degrees.