What are you working on?

[flytire 0]

when it rains it pours!

 

with the decks all done its now time to replace a leaking water heater. money is just pouring out of the checkbook

 

while cutting my grass yesterday, i noticed water on my cement slab foundation where there should not have been any. that was a big clue

 

i shut the main water supply and screwed on a hose to drain the tank

 

minimal toilet flushing at best. one flush and the tank doesnt refill

 

water heaters are in a mobile home are in a tiny closet inside a bedroom closet. no access door on the outside of the house

 

contractor coming monday

[Steeldrifter 0]

 

water heaters are in a mobile home are in a tiny closet inside a bedroom closet. no access door on the outside of the house

 

Yep I feel for ya there. Our water heater in our double wide mobile up North is like that. To access it you have to go through the bedroom closet and get down on your knees in a little 2ft wide space. Total pain in the ass.

[Poopdeck 0]

Opened up the walls and ceiling to add some blocking for my soon to be fireplace wall. I actually opened it up, blocked it, buttoned it back up and got the taping done before dinner yesterday. Today I'll finish the spackling, cut the gras and then Design my new wall which will go up next weekend.

[Steeldrifter 0]

I need you to come here Greg. I have a bathroom that I started tearing apart about 6 years ago but got stuck with the walls because they are I guess plaster but I swear it's more like concrete with chicken wire. Really stopped me dead in my tracks becuse of that plus the bullnose at the baseboards. I think I'm gonna have to totally gut the walls and just drywall the whole thing or something.

[Poopdeck 0]

32 years ago I was a plasterer. Plaster, concrete, and stucco are all the same thing. Plaster is only different from concrete in that lime is also mixed in to give it speadability. The difference between exterior stucco and interior plaster is the amount of cement mixed in. The chicken wire, or the lathe, is what actually holds the plaster/stucco to the wall since it does not have any adhesive properties. The chicken wire is held on the wall by a ton of nails which is the problem when removing plaster.

 

Either way it's cement and it's a messy backbreaking pain in the neck to remove. You should get to finishing it before you get any older.

[Steeldrifter 0]

Since the ceiling is the same plaster/wire I'm guessing there's no way to take the plaster on the walls down to the studs but leave the ceiling? ceiling will have to be stripped bare as well then right?

[Poopdeck 0]

That would be difficult and not worth the effort. Theoretically the ceiling went in first and should be completely separate from the walls except where they meet. We use to do a lot of old money homes where they wanted the plaster repaired. I've never seen the lathe bent around the corner where wall meets ceiling.

 

Is it actually chicken wire or is it metal lathe with the little slanted honeycombs that the plaster lays in. If it is chicken wire is there wood lather behind the wire? Wood lathe looks like lattice and all of the dyes hold the plaster up and in place

[Steeldrifter 0]

I'll have to snap a pic of it when I get time later and show ya.

[Peartree 0]

Hey Steve, I've done a ton of demo on older homes, all types of plaster. Typically you can hammer/chisel along the top edge of the wall separating it from the ceiling and tear down the walls only. We do this quite often not to deal with all the crap and fill that is usually in the old ceiling area. If we need to run new electrical in the ceiling, we just channel out as needed, then laminate the entire ceiling with sheetrock. Covers up any old plaster cracks as well.

[Steeldrifter 0]

 

Here's a pic of the wire that is in the plaster.

 

I may give that a try when I get back on this Peartree and see if there's anyway to not have to rip down the ceiling. I really don't want to have to do the walls but I'm gonna have to, and the ceiling I think would be an even bigger job so if I can avoid that at all I want to leave the ceiling be hopefully.

[mikechell 0]

Wife watches a lot of renovation shows. I end up watching them with her, since I'm less concerned with "what's on." There's likely an inch of material on those walls. The slats of wood, and the layer of plaster and mesh. When you get done, you'll actually have a slightly larger bathroom.

 

Be sure to use the "mold-proof" materials that are required, or desirable, in a bathroom.

[Peartree 0]

Typically, if the mesh is there, there won't be any lattice strips. They usually just tacked the mesh to the studs then plastered over top. Best way to handle it is tear out approx 2' section at a time. That stuff rips pretty easy with properly applied force of a hammer or large prybar. Cut any stubborn pieces with tin snips. Make sure to wear a mask, and gloves. Its nasty work, and that metal lath will cut you really quick. When you go back with new material, use purple board instead or regular sheetrock, and check your fixture distances/clearances. Like Mike said, you'll gain a little space old material vs. new.

[vicente 0]

I wear a respirator when I demo cement make sure you tape off the doorway to, you do not want to be breathing that stuff.

If I was trying to have a good clean stop line at the top I would cut the corner with an angle grinder and diamond blade.

 

Like Mike said when you replace use purple board for at least the bottom all the way around and the whole shower area. If you do a tile shower I recommend using a paint on vapor barrier over the hardie backer on the wall instead the old barrier behind it method.

[Poopdeck 0]

All good info. That's relatively modern construction so there will not be any wood lattice as peartree said. I will also double up on his comment that it is sharp and will cut you like a razor. I would hang a dozen bundles of that stuff in a day. It cut skin, clothing, boots and everything else. If your intent on ripping it out the best way to cut the line at the ceiling is with a multi tool/flush cutting saw. Less messy and it will get into every corner. Once you find the lath seams it will come down quickly with a lot of cursing, sweating, prying, coughing and bleeding. Each piece of lath is roughly 27" by 96" and it's held onto the wall by about 5 or 6 roofing nails per stud. If the wall is buckling it's because there was not enough nails. There will be lots of nails holding each piece to the wall.

 

Why do you have to rip it out? Having done this type of work I would probably repair what ever the problem is. Is it buckling from the wall? It might be worth finding an old school Italian plasterer to fix it. Winter is almost here so all those exterior plasterers will looking for inside work. I say old school italian because they are simply the best at it and it's who I use to work for. They are true craftsmen and can repair plaster like there was never a problem. Lots of hacks out there. Beware of the guy that says he can give you a level 5 finish with nothing but Spackle. In fact steer clear of anybody using the term level 5.

[Steeldrifter 0]

 

Because the bathroom was paneled at one point. So after I started tearing the paneling down there was so much adhesive used on the paneling that it ripped big chunks out plaster off in some spots, and in others left a very hard glue on the wall that won't come off without chipping it off which in turn takes more plaster off with it. So by the time I got through chipping away all the glue that was left behind and then re-plastering I most likely would be better off just ripping down to the studs and starting fresh. It's been a pain in my ass for a long time tryin to figure out what to do with this mess