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Should I replace my lath and plaster ceilings and walls with plasterboard?īefore you consider ripping out your lath and plaster walls and ceilings, you need to think about it a lot. Lath and plaster is still very much alive in these buildings, and some plasterers love using lath and plaster. Luckily for the UK plasterers, there is a massive amount of buildings with lath and plaster, and there are a lot of plasterers who specialise in heritage plastering and conservation work. The lath and plaster technique and skill has slowly died a death in the UK it is not entirely lost, and even as I write this, there are plasterers on The Plasterers Forum who are still using it. Plasterboard was faster and a lot cheaper to install, and even back in the 1930s and 1940s cost was a massive part to consider when building, so it was to be expected. Time is money, and the cost of plasterboard was the fraction of the cost of labour and materials for traditional lath and plaster. Lath and plaster is a skilled craft and very time consuming, and with the introduction of plasterboard, the use of lath and plaster became less popular by the 1930s.
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Why did they stop using lath and plaster?
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Lath and plaster in its nature have a lot better fire performance because it does not have the gaps which allow a fire to spread. In a lot of historic buildings, the ceilings which are lath and plaster play a massive role in the prevention of fire spreading. Traditional lath and plaster has fantastic soundproofing qualities because the lime plaster is a lot denser than modern gypsum plasterboard and plaster.Īn advantage of using lath and plaster is for plastering of unusual shapes like round walls or ceilings where using rigid drywall would make it difficult as it is not flexible enough for a tight curve, unlike the wooden laths.
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Lime plaster is well known for its ability to breath and using lime plaster on laths allows for moisture in the air to be absorbed and released and when lime plaster sets it is exceptionally durable and ensures it lasts a long time. Lath and plaster the most important reasons for being used was its ability to slow the spread of fire and absorb the noise through the property, but it also works well to stabilise the humidity of the building. If the first coat is not thoroughly dried, then you run the risk of the keys breaking and weakening the wall or ceiling. When you apply the first lime plaster coat, you need to ensure you push the lime plaster through the laths and then you must leave this coat for at least five days to cure before you apply the following two coats of lime plaster. This animal hair works well to help prevent the plaster keys from breaking away from the wooden laths. The first coat of lime plaster has coarse animal hair in it like horse or goat hair to reinforce the plasterwork. These curls are known as keys, and as these dry, these curls create a great mechanical key which secures the plaster to the wall or ceiling. These gaps allow for the plaster to be squeezed and pushed through the gaps and curls behind the laths. The spacing between the laths is crucial. Butt joints should be no longer than 900mm as this will reduce the chances of cracking. These laths are then butt jointed on the joists, but you should avoid continuous joints. The laths are tacked with a 9mm gap between each lath. The laths are commonly made from either chestnut or Oak and are about 2.5 cm wide by about 1.22 meters long and 6mm thick. The lath is the timber that is tacked by hand on to wooden joists. Lath and plaster were first used to finish interior ceilings and walls from the 18th century to the mid-1900s before modern gypsum plasterboarding and plastering took over.