demo of plaster wall

[John Hines]

What is the best way to take out a plaster (expanded metal lath) wall without damaging the other side of the wall?

[Alan McKay]

I dunno about the metal lath, but with the wooden lath it certainly is a concern about damaging the other side. Basically, just take care. Don't knock any of the plaster coming through the back of the other side, since that's what holds it in place. And don't do anything that vibrates the wall since that will knock the other side loose. e.g. using a sawzall.

[John Hines]

That is good to know, as the sawzall was one of the options being considered.

[AJScott]

My entire 1930s Cape Cod was constructed of plaster walls with that infernal diamond mesh underlying it, which makesany sort of renovation involving the original walls such a joy. Knock off the plaster with a good heavy hand hammer (or a 7-lb sledge, but good luck trying finding one of those these days) and then either a Sawzall or use a 4" angle grinder with a GOOD diamond blade to hack dispatch the now-exposed diamond mesh. The cheap $7 diamond blades don't last anywhere near as long as the $20 ones (they're best for small one-off jobs you'll probably never do again), so if you've got a lot of diamond mesh to plow thru, it's a better investment to go with the pricier blade.

AJS