Thickness Of Lath And Plaster - Fine Homebuilding

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Log In Discussion Forum thickness of lath and plaster Rhic | Posted in General Discussion on April 2, 2006 08:13am

Can anyone tell me the standard thickness of lath and plaster. I’m looking into the purchase of a home in need of repairs and it has lath and plaster. Just wondering if I have to remove it and replace it with sheetrock whether or not the sheetrock will finish out at the same thickness around my window frames and door jambs.

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  1. User avater Huck | Apr 02, 2006 08:19am | #1

    Most of the old lath and plaster walls I've worked on finish out at about 7/8".  I've used 1/2" sheetrock and 3/8" on top of that, or vice-versa.  How extensive are the repairs?  If its just a few patches, you can also mud the studs in the patch area, then apply your sheetrock.  Squish it down until the surface is flush, and let it dry.  Then come back and screw it into the studs, and tape and finish like a standard patch.

    "he...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain

    1. Rhic | Apr 02, 2006 08:29am | #2

      I just looked at the home from the outside today and will probably meet the agent this week to get inside. When I realized it had plaster, I began to think about the expense involved if it has to be removed. I expect the electrical, plumbing and hvac will need some extensive work,  so it may be easiest to remove the plaster and lath. The walls can be insulated then also.

  2. User avater JeffBuck | Apr 02, 2006 08:34am | #3

    Nope.

    it's all different ... and even in the same room ..

    the same wall ... it'll be different.

     

    I found one wall in my bath to be about 2 and a half inches thick ... thickest I'd ever seen.

    helps to have a coupla different thickness of drywall scraps around ...

    plus a stack of 2x's and a table saw handy.

    just rip shims to get you as close as possible.

    Jeff

        Buck Construction

     Artistry In Carpentry

         Pittsburgh Pa

    1. Rhic | Apr 02, 2006 08:40am | #4

      thanks

      I thought there might be a lot of shimming involved!

  3. CAGIV | Apr 02, 2006 08:41am | #5

    No it won't

    and if it has old hardwood flooring there is a chance the difference between the drywall and plaster will have some of the flooring falling short.

    Make sure to check that before you hang the drywall...

    Just ran into that problem on friday because nobody thought about it until it was to late.

    Team Logo

  4. PD | Apr 02, 2006 10:20am | #6

    In my house it runs between 3/4" to over an 1" and can be as varied as 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch in the same wall between one stud and another. Filling in with drywall is a experiance. You may very well learn the art of plastering as done when those walls where built. Do you have wood lath or button board?

    1. Rhic | Apr 02, 2006 10:24am | #7

      wood lath      house was built in 1926

  5. FNbenthayer | Apr 02, 2006 01:14pm | #8

    In NYC I've seen it anywhere from 3/4" to 1 1/2".

    If it is over wood lath and the repair is over 15% of the wall area, rip it out.

     

     

     

     

    The awful thing is that beauty is mysterious as well as terrible. God and the devil are fighting there, and the battlefield is the heart of man.- Fyodor Dostoyevski

  6. Jer | Apr 02, 2006 03:15pm | #9

    It's anybody's guess as to how thick plaster & lath should be.  I have found the average to be around 3/4" to 7/8".

    That's the beauty of plaster.  You can straighten things out with the wet mud and not bitch at the framers.

  7. shep | Apr 02, 2006 04:35pm | #10

    I've got an old farm house where they were really cheap with the plaster- it's no more than 5/8" thick, at best.

    I can usually use 1/2" rock whenever I make any changes.

    And the plaster is real crumbly, so I'm always making changes.

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