Remove Drywall over Plaster - Tips

Hi All, The town-house we are starting to renovate has lots of drywall all over, but also the old plaster ceiling and walls behind. There’s a dropped drywall ceiling and above it sits old molding and a plaster ceiling which appears to be in relatively good shape and which we’ll attempt to repair. On several of the walls, however, the drywall appears to have been placed directly over top of the plaster itself (ie, there are no furring strips or framing put in place over the plaster – the drywall was done directly on top of the old plaster). We’d like to restore the plaster walls and was wondering tips about how you’d go about removing the drywall on the walls while trying to preserve the plaster to make the repairs easier. Any all advice is greatly appreciated so we don’t mess more things up in the demo portion (any tips on how to take out the nails/screws which were put directly into the plaster where the walls were framed out prior to drywall would also be appreciated). Thanks!!!

sjh50

in Brownstoner Renovation 9 years and 6 months ago

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germaineson73 | 9 years and 5 months ago

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Your biggest concern is lead (paint). You may also have asbestos issues depending on how old the sheetrock is. If the sheetrock was installed over the plaster, it is possible that the plaster is in bad shape and the sheetrock is most likely glued to the plaster walls and ceiling. I would try to leave what is there and have it refinished. if you find that there is plaster crown moldings, be prepared to pay a small fortune for a plasterer to make the repair. Also, these guys are a dying breed, so good luck trying to find someone. I have hired a plasterer to repair plaster crown and ceiling trim in Jersey City. It cost almost 30K for 50 linear feet, took 6 weeks to complete and I feel that I received a great price. A decent contractor will be able to float out you bad spots, tighten up your corners, finish off sheetrock at crown and have you ready for paint. You will not be able to tell the difference. I recommend a finish guy that will also do the painting. 2 different subs will add a ton of stress to the job.

sjh50 | 9 years and 6 months ago

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Thanks all. The good news is that the drywall was not glued on, and with the helpful tips here, we were able to find the nail locations and get the majority of it off in large original pieces without doing any further damage to the walls. The not so good news, is that the plaster walls (and molding) do have patches where on the walls the plaster was knocked out (to nail into the furring studs at top and cut out at the bottom to run new electrical) and is in need of some repair and skim-coating (I also haven’t taken out all framing yet – just the drywall). From my completely unqualified opinion, the plaster itself isn’t crumbling and/or disengaged from the wall – rather in the renovation 40 years ago it was just faster/easier to run electrical and put dry wall on top. However, I do really need recommendations for plaster experts to come take a look at if it’s salvageable as every contractor won’t comment/says it’s just easier to take out. Cate, you mentioned you used a great resource – could you pass along name? Any other leads would be greatly appreciated. I will post pictures when I’m able to.

cate | 9 years and 6 months ago

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Good luck! If, ultimately, you need to skim coat the plaster, I recommend using plaster experts, such as ones often recommended on this forum. We did, they cost the same as painters, and did wonderful work. They use fiberglass mesh and Plaster-Weld to ensure cracks never return. They had specialized equipment and were neat and fast, and of course their walls were straight and perfect — a world of difference from hiring the average drywall person.

catboot | 9 years and 6 months ago

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sjh50, the couple behind the Old Town Home blog are very accessible and will answer questions you post on the comments section. Good luck and keep us posted!

sjh50 | 9 years and 6 months ago

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Thank you all for the feedback and advise. The link was particularly useful, in least in giving me the confidence that it can be done. Will let you all know how it goes!!! Thanks!

catboot | 9 years and 6 months ago

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I hope your drywall is not glued to the plaster. That would be huge bummer. Good luck with your project and I hope you find the plaster to be in fixable condition. Here is a link to someone who did what you’re doing: http://www.oldtownhome.com/2015/2/18/When-Plaster-Lurks-Below-the-Surface/

Lurker | 9 years and 6 months ago

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If the keys are busted for a section of plaster wall?thats the glob of plaster or substrate that’s pushed through the lathe and acts like an anchor?then sometimes busted chunks of mud and plaster can fall between the lathe and creates a bulge in the wall and gradually pushes the rest of the plaster away. I’m sure an expert would know how to repair it but it was hairy when we tried. Depending on what moulding etc are there it’s often better to leave the drywall and skim coat that, so you have a nice smooth surface but still the benefits of thick solid plaster walls. But you also get weird dimensions, especially with wall thickness at doorways.

Rick | 9 years and 6 months ago

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I see this often when someone flips an apartment or house. Much cheaper and easier and less mess to install drywall over plaster. But it is not as attractive as original plaster in my opinion. Green Thinker has it right. You will have to dig the screws out and hopefully the drywall is not glued in place. If you are lucky and can easily remove the drywall I would use plaster washers with screws to hold the plaster to the studs. Use mesh tape, plaster and compound to make your repairs. Skim coating will give you the best results but it is time consuming and expensive. Good luck with your project.

GreenThinker | 9 years and 6 months ago

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You can use a strong magnet, about half inch in diameter to find all the screws/figure out the screw pattern and spacing. Best case scenario, it’s just screwed on. Some people use joint compound or some sort of glue too when putting drywall on plaster. If that’s the case, you’ll just have to tear everything up to the studs and drywall, all to gain maybe 3/4 of an inch around the whole room.

sjh50 | 9 years and 6 months ago

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Could very well be the case! But would like any advise on how to attempt to limit the damage in case it is not crumbling/ruined – will be giving it a shot!

sethamin | 9 years and 6 months ago

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There’s probably a good reason that someone directly laminated drywall on top of the plaster. Don’t be surprised if you remove that drywall and find crumbling, unsalvageable plaster.