Which would you prefer and why. Here in GA I don’t think I have ever seen anyone use skim coat plaster. Up in the northeast, where I am currently building a home (NH) skim coat plaster seems to be pretty popular but drywall mud and taped joints are common as well. I am getting quotes for both methods. What advantages does one have over the other.
Tom
Douglasville, GA
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Replies
Skimcoat gives you a smoother, harder, more stable finish, can be painted or papered. It may be more expensive, but it is also a faster to do then a three coat mud job. Here in Mass. it is the norm, were drywall is mainly for commercial and homeowner do it yourself jobs. After hanging paper for the last 20 years , it is the prefered wall surface for me. Jim Z
Plaster just plain looks better. You don't get a better or stronger interior wall than the old 3 coat plaster. Very few do that anymore. Just not cost effective.
"You don't get a better or stronger interior wall than the old 3 coat plaster."
I think the asker is refering to blueboard and skim. 3 coat is the old scratch coat, brown coat, neat coat finish. And when it was done with wood lath, well... I spend a lot of time repairing/replacing it. What you say, that 3 coat is strong, is true when applied to metal lath, but a lot of it (maybe most) was applied to wood lath and is now falling apart.
But either way, 3 coat and blueboard/skimcoat are 2 different things.-----------------------------------------------------------
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" What you say, that 3 coat is strong, is true when applied to metal lath, but a lot of it (maybe most) was applied to wood lath and is now falling apart."
That's exactly what I'm talking about...certainly not on wood lath. I've done many full 3 coat plaster jobs on diamond wire mesh, or better yet, ribbed wire plaster mesh. When they used wood lath, the plaster was a bit different then (18th & 19th century). It was mostly lime and sand and was weaker than what is used as brown coat today. They would often mix in horsehair or hay as a fiber binder on the scratch.
Again, a better interior wall you will not find.
tom.. until the early '80's most everything in RI was drywall..
now it's almost all skim-coat.. given the choice and the minor cost difference, most will opt for skim-coat
Stop with the gloating! ;-)
You know full well that all the rest of us out here cannot afford a veneer plaster job, while in your little neck of the woods, competition has driven the price of one down to just a little bit above a mud job.
So tell us, Mike. Does a veneer plaster job have a flatter surface when running trim over joints? How about less corner wow, you know "wow," it's the boost, the flare out, that the tapers cannot help but give to outside and inside corners.
absolutely better over joints...
as for wow... dpends on 2 things... no make that 4 things
framer, board hanger, corner bead application ... and plasterer...
with most of it falling on the plasterer... inside / outside corners ... small jogs ... are the hardest... just like in drywall...
most of the plasterers we use are really doing a 2-coat..
scratch & finish.. they scratch all the joints and beads.... then go back and skim.. some will combine the two.. but the guys we use are two-coat
on tough corners or curved walls , it really might be a 4-coat
especially hard are wrapping windows and doors... we do that a lot, for instance with mooney wall.... we'll use no jamb extensions on the windows, just a sill ... and they'll wrap the jambs and headers.. nice and clean.. and the upcharge is nothing compared to casing the windowMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Thanks for all the info.
Does anyone know if plaster or any other similiar product will meet the 15 minute fire test that is necessary over SIPs. It seems like someone would have come up with a product that can be applied directly to the OSB rather tha covering eveything with drywall. Just a thought. Certainly seem like it would be a good way to finish the ceilings and exterior wall. Partitions would obviously still need drywall or blueboard. Tom
Douglasville, GA
Hey Mike...no ones's mentioned D-Mix here yet? The newbies could always sign up for Tipi Fest and see Dino's Demo...am I pushing sumpin' here?
Get used to it : )If Blodgett says, Tipi tipi tipi it must be so!
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