Gutting Plaster walss & ceilings
Is the settling and shifting of a house a big concern when removing all the plaster from the walls and ceilings of a 3 story brick house? Should you do one floor at a time and brace the existing timber framed walls as you go, until you are ready to re-rock them? Any advice will…
Is the settling and shifting of a house a big concern when removing all the plaster from the walls and ceilings of a 3 story brick house? Should you do one floor at a time and brace the existing timber framed walls as you go, until you are ready to re-rock them? Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Thanks for the pointers. I’m actually a Union Carpenter in Manhat, looking to renovate this 3 story house that i will move into myself. I dont want to hire a demo company. I would rather hire day workers and delegate the demo work myself. As far as the elec and plumbing go, i will be updating that so i’ll kill the power and tear away. Structural Engineer might not be a bad idea.
hey 2:00pm. Not that we need to get into a pissing match here but not for nothing, even in NYC, “brick” houses are often frame with cladding. Therefore, for the sake of clarity, my comments stand. However, I can most certainly agree with your statement that the OP needs to exercise a great deal of caution.
Hey 10:08,
Torque is a potential issue in frame houses–just for the sake of clarity, OP specified a brick house.
I would be more worried about hurting yourself than breaking your house. It’s really easy to give yourself a nice jolt on a live wire or hit yourself in the head with a pry bar. No offense–you don’t sound particularly handy.
While plaster is not “structural”, it can be inherent to the stability of frame houses. In olden days of yore, wood lath was often used as supplemental cross members which kept the entire house from racking/torqueing. Taking away the plaster AND the lath might result in your house twisting in the wind. That said, for a reality check, please note that the operative word here is “might”. Major issues are not likely should you rip out all plaster/lath but 7:37 is correct in saying that you might want to seek at least a consult with a structural before proceeding. Might be money well spent.
Is there a reason you’re removing all the plaster? Is it in such bad shape that it’s not salvageable? Original plaster walls are so much nicer than sheetrock.
To answer your question, no. Your plaster is not structural.
But honestly, if I didn’t know the answer to this question, or didn’t know how to find a definitive answer (as opposed to asking folks on a forum), then I don’t think I would do the work myself. There are hazards to watch for that you might not have the knowledge to deal with safely. For instance, your plumbing and electricity is buried inside your walls, and you don’t want to start a leak or electrocute yourself.