Compared to plaster, drywall is softer and therefore less prone to cracking; however, it's less dense, which results in a lower R-value.
While plaster and drywall are both materials used to finish walls in residential and commercial buildings, they aren't exactly the same thing. Plaster is a stronger material with better soundproofing capabilities. Drywall is thinner but tends to provide better insulation options.
Lath and plaster methods have mostly been replaced with modern drywall or plasterboard, which is faster and less expensive to install. Drywall possesses poor sound dampening qualities and can be easily damaged by moisture.
Secondly, plaster is more brittle than drywall, and it will crack very easily. Furthermore, you cannot nail into it, the nail will hit the lath pushing it back and releasing the bond it has with the plaster (a recipe for more cracks!). Even for hanging pictures we drill a tiny hole for the nail and it works great.
Advantages. Some considerations favor plaster veneer over mud-and-tape drywall. Moisture resistance: Once cured, plaster is an effective water barrier. By contrast, unprotected drywall and joint compound absorb water, causing sagging, bloating, or complete structural failure.
Take a pushpin and press it on the wall using your thumb. If the pin pokes into the wall easily, that's drywall. If it doesn't, then that's plaster. A pushpin can penetrate drywalls easily because they're softer compared to plaster.
If you want a real lime plaster system on your painted drywall, then LimeWorks.us has a solution for you. To begin applying plaster over drywall, start with a clean sound surface, free of any soaps or detergents, and course with no peeling or flaking paint.
If the renovation year of your home falls between 1920 and 2000, it's also very likely that there could be dangerous levels of asbestos in your plaster walls. In addition, any plaster walls labeled as “fire-rated” are also more likely to contain asbestos.
Sheetrock is a drywall brand widely used in the United States. However, the terms "drywall" and "Sheetrock" are often used interchangeably and refer to the same product.
Before painting your wall, you need to let the plaster dry completely. Painting over plaster when it's not dry can cause problems later, so if in doubt, always wait until you're confident it's dried completely.
Lath and plaster walls grace many traditional homes. Thick, substantial, and great at soundproofing, walls constructed out of lath and plaster are rarely built anew anymore. They tend only to be repaired, not built from scratch. Drywall is the wall covering of choice now.
In the mid-20th century, drywall construction became prevalent in North America as a time- and labor-saving alternative to lath and plaster.
If your walls are plaster, you can still find studs to use for hanging. Whenever you put a hole in a plaster wall, however, there is a risk of cracking it. Hammers and nails are especially likely to damage plaster.
Stucco vs Plaster, what's the difference? Generally speaking, most people refer to stucco as a coating for the outside of a building and plaster as a coating for interior walls, although plaster can be used either inside and out. Stucco is a rougher texture and plaster is a smoother texture.
As mentioned earlier, avoid using nails on plaster wall because they will likely cause the drywall to crack. Instead, use a screw, because they won't break the plaster wall. Screws will also hold a lot better because they will fasten into the lath behind the drywall.
Knock on the Walls
Tap walls lightly with your fist and listen closely. If the wall sounds hollow, it's likely drywall. If it has a solid feel and doesn't make much of a sound, or your knock sounds more like a thump, your walls are probably plaster.
The original product we call drywall today was Gypsum Board. The word gypsum is derived from the original Latin term gypsos, meaning plaster. A form of dry plasterboard was called gypsum.
It's best to start by repairing any cracks or holes in the wall. Sand and wipe the entire wall down. Apply a coat of drywall primer and allow it to dry. Roll and brush on 2-4 coats of paint.
Whether you're renovating, trying to expose some original brickwork, damp-proofing your walls, or getting rid of damaged plaster to start afresh, removing the old plaster is crucial.
Asbestos has been used in a variety of other building materials, for example, in decorative coatings such as textured paints and plasters. These are still widely in place but supply and application has been prohibited since 1988.
Risks from Plasterboard Dust and Particulate Matter
These dust particles may contain fine silica particles, which are hazardous when inhaled. Chronic exposure to silica dust can cause serious respiratory conditions, including silicosis and lung cancer.
Homes built before the 1950s likely have some lath and plaster walls unless they were renovated sometime after the 1950s. During the 1950s, pressed gypsum or drywall became the standard for finishing interiors since it was less costly to install.
Drywall is made out of softer material called gypsum which doesn’t crack. Sheets of it are nailed into the wooden studs when finishing the interior of a house. Plaster, on the other hand, dries much harder than drywall, and is more labor-intensive and expensive.
As long as you can find the studs under the plaster, you can hang drywall by screwing the sheets to these studs. Be sure to use screws that are long enough to go through the drywall and plaster to reach the studs.