plaster walls...HELP!!

[Maher Bateh]

What advise can be given to an older house with plastered walls? Should I just paint over it? sand down? Can I put sheet rock over it? PLEASE HELP!

[Randy F.]

As long as plaster is in decent shape, patch and paint it. If plaster is loose, meaning the plaster that mushrooms out behind the lathe has broken off, then it can be a big job. As Steve mentioned, you have base and trim to deal with. If you want to save the old trim, you generally need to strip walls and fir out studs so that once rock goes on it is at same finished level as plaster was. Its door and window trim that keeps you from being able to just go over top with rock or mounting it directly to studs.

The trick to patching cracks in plaster is to key them. You cut out the crack so that the crack is wider in the back than it is at the surface. Then, prefill the crack with hot mud. Silverset 20 is what I use as it sets rock hard. Fixall works too. Then mesh tape and float. If you take the time to prep cracks properly, patchwork holds up great. I like the character of plaster walls so saved them whenever possible.