mystery building material

[rfarrar]

I am trying to get some info about a building material that I have in my home.Myhouse is 60+ years old and has plaster/lath walls. The house has an attached garage and it is the material covering the walls that I have a question about. I broke off a piece and the crossection looke like this: Next the the wall studs is a paperlike material; next,there is a

3.8inch layer of white plaster,then another paper layer,then a 1/4 inch layer that is brown and rough. This brown layer has one inch long brown fibers embedded in it. this surface is the interior wall and has been painted several times. I am wondering if this material contains asbestos as I would like to removed it ,insulate between the studs and use the space for a living area. Thank you for any information.

[Mike Dobony]

Sounds like some sort of drywall to me.

[Joe]

Years ago horsehair was used as a plaster reinforcement. IIRC, after horses were phased out in favor of the automobile, the practice was no longer possible. So if your house is indeed only 60 years old, the fiber might be sisal, hemp, or similar. See if you can ignite a small piece. If so, it is organic, not asbestos. And if it has an acrid smell you know it is horsehair. Whatever, if non-asbestos, go ahead and remodel to any extent you wish. HTH

Joe

[Lou]

You don't happen to be in the northern midwest area do you?

[Norminn]

I've read about the old horsehair trick, too, but never any other kind of fiber. Curiosity got me, so did a google search on "plaster fiber reinforcement" and found lots of hits. One use of fiber was for retrofitting older structures to withstand earthquakes and mentioned a fiber addition to plaster on wallboard.