Can I re-use old horse-hair plaster as filler to re-plaster walls?

I have a house built in 1880. There is no insulation in the walls and most of the plaster is crumbling and falling off. My idea is to remove the lath and plaster, insert insulation and new wiring, then reattach lath and re-plaster. Can this be done?

Reply to
Mearlyn
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The subject of your post asked if you could re-use the horse hair plaster. The idea of that is absurd.

Reply to
philo 

Yes, it can be done, but you will have a hard time finding a plasterer. Around here, people advertise they are plasterers, but when you go to hire them, they try to talk you into plasterboard. There's a lot of skill involved in freehand plastering, and its a pleasure to watch one work.

Reply to
Not

If I were looking to hire someone to do real plaster work with lime putty based plaster, I'd talk to the people that oversee the historically significant buildings in my city. They would know who not only does real plaster repairs, but whether or not they're any good at it.

Another option would be to phone the places listed under Drywall/Plastering Supplies in your yellow pages phone directory. Find out if they sell both dehydrated lime and Plaster of Paris. If they do, they would also know who they sell it to, and whoever is buying a lot of those products is doing a lot of real plaster work in your area.

Reply to
nestork

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