by Cindi 

Tearing Down Plaster and Lathe

2 Comments

I thought I could live with the living room after giving it a coat of paint. We could concentrate on other areas and tackle this room later . . . or so I thought.

SW corner @ closing
SW corner @ closing

I tried a bit of paint, but I could not ignore that ceiling and no amount of paint was going to fix that.

South wall.  I've tried some paint colors.  I'm not optimistic.
South wall. I’ve tried some paint colors. I’m not optimistic.

We (my son, Bob, who was going to do the work and I) decided the paneling and ceiling tile must go. I was hopeful that what was underneath the paneling could be salvaged, but it wasn’t.

Wallpaper, furring strips, wainscoting and a LOT of nail holes.
Wallpaper, furring strips, wainscoting and a LOT of nail holes.

Time to go down another layer. The plaster was removed, shoveled into 5 gallon buckets and dumped on a growing hill in the far corner of the yard. This will become Dave’s backstop for his shooting range. The lathe fueled several weekend fires.

Mess
Mess
After some cleanup
After some cleanup
Bob, in the midst of it.
Bob, in the midst of it.

Once the plaster and lathe was removed and cleaned up, the focus turned to electrical work. The work on this room was put on hold for several months while we (or rather, Bob, our son) worked on putting in an all new electrical service. You can see the knob and tube electrical wiring that had to go. Luckily removing the plaster and lathe in this room made the electrical installation easier in this room and all the other rooms beyond the living room.

Jan 13, 2014.  My view of the ceiling as I waited for the ambulance after falling and breaking my kneecap into three pieces.
Jan 13, 2014. My view of the ceiling as I waited for the ambulance after falling and breaking my kneecap into three pieces.

It was at this point that I fell and broke my kneecap. It needed surgery and as of today, March 6, I am still on crutches and not able to help with clean up or any other work in the house. Definitely a setback, but every construction project has setbacks. This one hurt a lot! I don’t know why I took this photo, but I was bored and worried so taking the photo distracted me. Since I was laying on the floor, this was all I could see. It made sense at the time.

  • Hi Cindi – what a time you’ve had! You will sleep better with that rugged, safe wiring, rather than old and uncertain wires that were there before. Hope your knee is soon lots better. Must be frustrating. Hopefully you can hook!
    cheers, maureen

    • The new wiring is peace of mind and will be soooo convenient. Our current house only has three outlets in the living room. This house has a smaller living room but has more than double that!

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