House Update #24: Plaster Walls

I haven’t shared an update lately…and when that happens it usually means because things aren’t going super swell.

I’ve mentioned many times during my updates that we had lath and plaster walls…obviously, because our house was built in 1886. During the restoration process, the walls and ceilings were ripped out. My hubby and I were very adamant about not having drywall replace our lath and plaster, so…we went with an alternative. Instead of drywall, we now have a plaster based gypsum blueboard.

Drywall vs Blueboard

The main advantage of regular drywall over blueboard is that the special veneer plaster hardens so well it resists dings, scratches, and holes. The appearance of the finished blueboard is far superior to that of drywall. The overall wall is smoother, the finish is more evenly toned, and the joints are less noticeable. source

The blueboard was delivered and we had a bit of a freakout moment… we raced to the house one night with flashlights (still no electricity there…? Everyone signed their names on their walls and we wrote a few bible verses throughout.

Putting Up The Blueboard

The blueboard started going up on May 8th (almost a year after the fire…ugh!), first on the ceilings and then the walls. We were told that this process would take 2-3 days and then plastering 5-6 days … hahahaha. Today is June 13th and the plastering tools were just removed from the house today. Not sure what happened there!

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Exposed Chimney

When the 2nd chimney was exposed during the demo phase, we decided to keep the chimney exposed. However, the walls were starting to go up and they edge of the chimney (that was pretty rough) was not covered…like we had thought it would be. (see above photo … the left side of the chimney isn’t the greatest).

So, because the claim has gone above our coverage limits, we are making sure that there is nothing “extra” being done by anyone. To solve the super simple problem, my hubby and I went to the house, chalk lined the chimney edge, pre-drilled holes using a special drill bit for brick and then secured 1×2 pieces of wood so the blueboard could be attached to it and cover up the crappy edge of the chimney.

The process was long as there are so many walls and ceilings in our home.

It’s interesting to see how the blueboard (the gray stuff) was butted up to the real lath and plaster (the yellow walls) … it was quite comical.

Next came covering all of the joints/seams.

Then plaster. All of the blueboard had to be covered with a veneer plaster coat by hand.

Fire Updates:

Update #1: House Fire, Struck by Lightning

Update #2:  Update

Update #3: Frustration

Update #4: The Beginning of Demo & A Few Hidden Surprises

Update #5: Demo of the Downstairs

Update #6: 

Update #7: Silver Spoon

Update #8: Trick-Or-Treat; Victorian Style

Update #9: New Joists

Update #10: Roof

Update #11: Roof Demo

Update #12: Roof Demo & Rebuild

Update #13: Beginning of Rebuild

Update #14: Secret Bookcase!

Update #15: We Have Roof Shingles!

Update #16: Heart Hunters & Easter

Update #17: Butler’s Door

Update #18: Hometalk Segment & Video Walk-Through

Update #19: Beginning of Electrical, Plumbing and HVAC

Update #20: Garden & Bunnies

Update #21: Choosing An Exterior House Color

Update #22: Treasures Hidden In The Ceiling

Update #23: Insulation

Update #24: Plaster Walls