Matching drywall thickness to adjacent plaster

I've got an area of my kitchen where I'll be removing plaster walls in order to insulate, add wires, ductwork, etc. On one side, the area to be removed will be contiguous with some that will remain intact. In another, it'll be removed to a corner. I don't know yet how thick the existing plaster & lath are, but I suspect it won't match any standard drywall products. If the plaster's thicker than the thickest drywall available, what's a good way to make this work? Shims on the beam edges before installing the drywall? Prayer?

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom
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A bit of shimming and a bit of skimming.

Reply to
Michael Bulatovich

don't be afraid of plaster.

1.screw some wire lath into the hole
  1. apply a base & brown coats of perlited gypsum plaster
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    finish with diamond coat finish plaster. Its really faster and easier that going the drywall and multi layers of mud route.

One thing to remember don't use to much water when mixing the plaster. It should be nowhere as loose as drywall mud, Wet only enough to make it plastic. Pack the base coat well and do a damp finish to polish the diamond coat when it begins to set.

You'll find that plaster is much more durable than drywall.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

Jeff, I'm taking down an amount of plaster wall equivalent of about 6 sheets of drywall. No way I'm going to plaster it again. All the lath is coming off so I can install fiberglass insulation batts. I've done plenty of plastering in the past, but in this case, it would be nuts.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

If you have to skim over 192 sq ft of wall board to level it to the existing plaster wall, you might as well be plastering.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

Why in the world would he do that? Plaster is usually about 3/4" thick. Usual drywall for that app would be 1/2". What's the big deal of furring 1/4" on the studs or if you need 3/8", you already have that with the lath you removed. I would get a really clean joint from the old to the new and tape it with several thicknesses of the nylon mash made for that. Before they came out with that type tape, I have used a nylon hose (sock).

Reply to
Glenn

How about blueboard (plasterboard) and a veneer coat of plaster? You can fur out as needed to get the face of the blueboard within 1/8" of the existing plaster, and then the veneer coat will even it up.

Cheers, Wayne

Reply to
Wayne Whitney

This is the way I'm leaning, after reading all the comments.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

Since gyp board comes in 1/4", 3/8", 1/2" and 5/8" thicknesses, just sandwitch what you need.

Reply to
Wes

What should go in between the layers? Mayo? Mustard? What kind of mustard? Either be specific, or your suggestion isn't very helpful.

:-)

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

I use annoying little children. It's traditional in many places.

Reply to
Michael Bulatovich

replying to Wes, lalouli wrote: That's the most sensible suggestion here. Thanks!

Reply to
lalouli

replying to lalouli, SusanFD wrote: Just about to face this challenge in my 1958 kitchen, and your answers are very helpful. I think I"m going to try and sandwich a transition from ~3/4" plaster board to 1/2" + 1/4" layered gypsum. It feels like I'm 'cheating', but it's just another example of how you have to make things work in an older house.

Reply to
SusanFD

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