Replacing plaster walls

[zxcvbob]

I'm gutting the bathroom in my 50+ year old house and will replace the bathtub, window, floor, and the walls. The house has plaster walls rather than sheetrock.

I'm thinking of using backerboard (rough side out) for the whole thing instead of backerboard in the tub surround and greenboard everywhere else. Then put a smooth skim coat on the wall surfaces that are not being tiled. It will match the rest of the house that way (not match in actual construction, but the appearance will match) Good idea, or stupid? I've also heard that a stucco finish looks good if I can't get the skim coat smooth enuf.

The ceiling is in good shape. How to I prevent cracking where the new walls meet the existing ceiling since I can't tape them? Or do I need to scrape the texture off the ceiling for 2 inches around the edges, tape the joints with fiberglass, retexture, repaint the ceiling? Or do I just putty or caulk the joint and then paint it?

Thanks,

Bob

[Doug Kanter]

Is there a stucco finish you can experiment with for a moment, and try wiping it with a damp sponge? If so, notice how it catches the sponge as you wipe, and maybe even tears tiny pieces off the sponge, which stick to the pointy stucco. Great fun, especially in a bathroom where you might NEED to wipe the walls more often than, say, a living room.

[zxcvbob]

That's an excellent point. Thanks.

Bob

[Doug Kanter]

Stucco is for complete lunatics, but that's just my extreme opinion. :-) Or MAYBE exteriors, where you can use a hose and a soft brush to clean it.