![]() ![]() The second person, working from the front, holds the shorter cleats at regular intervals across the proposed opening. With a solid point of reference (gained maybe from several pilot/probe holes driven through the plaster), agree upon a means of communication with your helper. (These cleats should run perpendicular to the lath.) 4) Screw Shorter Cleats through Plaster (and Lath) into Longer Cleats With two people, one working on the back side of the plaster – hold the longer cleats about 4″ from the perimeter of the planned opening. ![]() 3) Set up Cleats on the Back Side of the Surface (Wall or Ceiling) Furring strips will do just fine for this operation. Then cut four pieces just short of the width of the cut out. The Steps: 1) Mark Off your Desired Cut with a Pencil and a Straight Edge 2) Cut Scrap Framing Material to Make CleatsĬut two pieces just short of the length of the desired cut out. SAFETY FIRST! Work gloves, a particulate respirator and eye protection are a must. ![]() It requires two people (three is actually preferable), and note the resulting waste will be surprisingly heavy! So. Would This Article Also Help? Goodies and Gadgets and the Extras in Remodeling :: Plan for the Added Extras in Remodeling Cut outs are usually required for smallish house modifications, but repeat this operation if you removing more of a surface, like an entire wall. When making a cut out, you are usually cutting into a stud or joist bay, tight to the inside edge of framing. (Regrettably I did not take pictures at the time.) That is – as is the case with say a cutout for a set of attic pull down stairs and/or as I did with my kitchen’s passthrough. The below procedure is designed for the case when you have access to the back side of the plaster. Making Cut Outs in Plaster / Removing Plaster in Sections And I’m sorry – there is a much better, or at least – a smarter, way. *Now, we’ve all done it – fast and dirty. And after you’ve filled your third, you get the idea to just stab at the wall with that shovel.Īs a helper removes the plaster from the room (boy, those bags are heavy), you finish exposing the framing below. You use it to transfer your pile of deconstructed plaster to a contractor bag. The plaster crumbles straight down to the ground – creating a heap and a fog.Īs your pile of crumbled plaster starts to grow, and when it reaches about shin height, you pull out a snow or other shovel. In most cases, it doesn’t matter if you just scrape off the plaster and/or yank the lath right off while you’re at it. Of course, that’s not to mention the paint that has been chosen to cover it through the years.įeeling a little sly, you might grab a shingle remover and pry. Things get extremely dusty in this process.īeyond that, maybe you’ve considered questions about the lead content in the plaster itself (and its dangers, especially when released in airborne form). At minimum, you could sit a box fan in a window and point it outward. Plaster Removal Creates a Lot of Dustīest practices – you’d set up dust containment and perhaps a means of negative pressure ventilation. It’s a great way to take out some frustration and with it, removal seems to go twice as fast. Feeling tough, some might grab a sledge hammer. The most common and flat-out brutish way to go about removing plaster: Whack the wall with the claw of a hammer, work in a long pry bar and have at it. But from experience, I find instead that most plaster and wood lath surfaces are often easily twice as thick – around 3/4″. In terms of demolition, the best case scenario – your plaster is only ⅜” thick. The amount of debris and waste it produces is simply shocking. ~jb Removing Plaster in Old HousesĪny old house owner that has removed plaster knows just how, well, miserable it can be. And as always, I welcome constructive feedback on this technique in the Comments section at the bottom. It featured a procedure I used with a friend to neatly remove a section of plaster from a ceiling. This post is a rework from an essay originally published with the title Ten Hammers. I left a bulk of it in the Outtake below (jump to it clicking that link). ![]()
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