Here’s the final result of that plaster repair last week. Since the walls haven’t been completely skim-coated, a lot of the old texture shows through.
This was a hinged old bathroom window that you could literally stick a pencil through the gaps; frame was racked 1″ down to the right. Client asked me to replace it with a DH, but you can imagine how a short fat DH would look on an 1837 house! I removed and enlarged the frame, adding spacers to move it into the room, added new interior jambs, trimmed a bit off the old sash to square it, and used the compression-type door weatherstrip from Depot on the new jambs. Seals tightly now –
Here at the bottom you can see the transition between my new level jamb and the old crooked jamb.
Here’s an example of netting and insulating under an old house (just one room done here) Old joists are ~2-1/2 x 9; 22-29″ OC. Cut Insulweb into 26″ wide strips; worked one bay at a time. dropped all the wires down; worked around the HVAC and plumbing; had to keep two elec boxes exposed. Densely blown in pink glass. had to net under some of the floorboards, too – big gaps in winter. I had about three hours in it; insulators took just moments.
Forrest – three birds with one stone
Edited 11/15/2007 1:06 pm by McDesign
Replies
Forrest, great photos, thanks for posting. I love the trim color in the first photo, and that 9-over-6 window. It's really quite a large window, what are the dimensions of the panes?
Is the baseboard flat stock, or is it beaded along the top edge?
Allen
Not sure about the window size - it is pretty big. Base does have a bead, but it and the casings were all installed on top of the lath; plaster finished to them. Over the years of repairs, those beads are getting buried!
Forrest
Hey nice job with the insulation! That's quite SANO..
After skim coating do you do any texture? You're matching old plaster? I learned how to do a sand finish that looks just like old plaster by blowing three double handfulls of #20 or #30 silica sand in 5 gallons of thinned out joint compound thru the hopper gun at about 60 psi thru the biggest orifice.
Comes out really flat, and sandy like plaster. I mesh tape cracks, then skim rooms and blast 'em with this and it looks great. A few dollops of bonding agent helps it stick to old painty surfaces. Rough up first with sanding.
This technique might be old hat to a wall-pro but I just learned of it and it works great.
" ... sandy like plaster."
Maybe it's a regional thing, but here in the Northeast, the finish coat on most 19th century plaster walls has no sand or horsehair, and is perfectly smooth.
Allen
I guess I recall that--growing up in WI.
My own house here in OR, a good example, 30's bungalow-behind the trimwork you'll find the original unpainted look of the existing plaster. A 5/8 screed nailed around each opening, coarse sand, and lots of horsehair, which if you look closely, is several different colors--reds, white/black brown.
Funny.
"(The baseboard) and the casings were all installed on top of the lath; plaster finished to them." Forrest regarding 1837 Southern house
"...behind the trimwork you'll find the original unpainted look of the existing plaster." Waters on 1930s Oregon bungalow
Interesting about the various techniques over the years. On my own 1830s New York State house, all the trim was applied prior to either the plaster or the lath.
Allen
Yes, really fun to excavate a place and ponder how the guys put it all together...
This one--it appears they went thru the house after framed/wired/plumbed and tacked on screeds, then lathed everything, plastered it all. Then came all the finishes. It's not fancy but very classic. 10" clear, probably local, old growth Doug-Fir with the flat grain exposed and a detailed cap applied. Picture rail. Sideboard. Built ins.
Exterior the barge rafters, held up by big brackets are, what? 35' of clear old growth 2x12...
House was a rental for 25 years. Wish I could go back in time and walk thru it.
Beautiful job.
Curious about your insulation choice. Why not the rolled insulation, one full width and one cut to fit with some good tape holding them and than the Simpson wires to hold in place. Seems like it would have been less work.
Kevin
Edited 11/16/2007 11:02 pm ET by dockelly
Batts just won't stop air movement in those wide random chases with 1x8 non-T&G floor on top. Plus, would have been lots of cutting an stuffing and tape and mess!
Forrest