What kind of plaster in 50 year old house?

[zxcvbob]

...for the skim coat? Would it be lime putty plaster, or gypsum plaster (such as plaster of Paris)?

If lime putty, can I use the bag of slaked lime that's been in my garage for a year or two (but not more than 2), or will it be too carbonated by now? I *really* doubt that I can find quicklime.

My inclination is to use a setting-type joint compound, like Durabond 45.

Thanks, Bob

[Colbyt]

Clean it very well, rinse and dry. The Durabond will work fine.

If you think you may need to sand, a sandable mud will work well also but will not be as hard of a finish.

Using something 2 years old is begging for problems.

Colbyt

[zxcvbob]

This is new construction in an old house. I'm remodeling the bathroom. Half ceramic tile and half plaster, so I drywalled the whole thing with Wonderboard and taped the joints with thinset mortar. Now I want a finish for the plastered parts that (if possible) will match the rest of the house.

I'll bet they used plaster of Paris when the house was built, because they used gypsum lath rather than wood lath.

I also have a bag of lightweight sandable setting compound. I'll experiment with some of that on some scrap Wonderboard.

[why are they playing "God Save the Queen" at Arlington while President Ford's casket goes by?]

Best regards, Bob

[Norminn]

clipped

You must not be older than .. 40? .. or you would have sung "America" in school every morning. "My country t'is of thee, sweet land of liberty...." One of many plagearized tunes. Francis Scott Key got the tune for the "Star Spangled Banner" from a popular English drinking song. Makes sense :o)

[Colbyt]

I have been there and done that exact thing. I used the Durabond for the initial skim coat because of its durability. That was all the tiled portion of the wall got. For the painted portions the final skim coats were applied using a sandable setting type compound cause I just ain't that good. :)

It has been 10 years and a lot of hot showers. Still going strong.

Happy New Year.

[Bob (but not THAT Bob)]

Here's some stuff that's tempting me, and I have a 50yr old house:

Sure would like somebody to try it and report back.

[Not]

Plaster of Paris is very soft and unsuitable for any walls.

I've used patching plaster and plaster wall patch (from DAP)as final coats, both with good results, but buying plaster any more is getting harder and harder. Since drywall is so much easier, the skills to do real plaster are disappearing, so fewer and fewer places stock it. I still prefer to mix my own, rather than buying the premixed drywall gunk, because you can mix just how much you need, and have some control over the stiffness; the premixed sets once the bucket is opened, so if you use just one gallon of a five gallon bucket, you will have wasted four gallons.

Unless you have controlled the humidity, I would hesitate to count on the bag that has been sitting around for years.