Old untested drywall- safe to cover over with new quarter inch drywall?
Greetings…My house is over 100 yrs old, with walls consisting of old plaster, ord drywall, and newer drywall. My project concerns one itnerior wall in my livign room consisting of OLD drywall. It has giant ‘potato chips’ sticking out across a good portion of the paint surface, such that I cannot possibly paint the room until that wall is fixed. Some of those huge chips ( say 1″ x 1″) have fallen off, revealing a gray cement-like substrate. My concern is asbestos.
The independent local renovators looked at it and suggested covereing over that wall with new 1/4″ drywall, rather than disturbing the old drywall by removing it. They intend to “glue and screw” the new drywall board, using caulk along edges and around outlets. They said they will cover furniture and such to protect from DUST that will occur from attaching the screws and that is what concerns me!
My question: Should I be concerned about this planned procedure? I don’t KNOW if there’s asbestos involved, but is so, what precautions should be taken to protect the works, myself, and my cat? – Thank you.
PS: I have a photo of the overall chipping issue if that would help.
Replies
Betty
I've covered old plaster / drywall several times with sheetrock with good results. If these locals do the work using RRP methods which someone on the mag staff could explain if you're not familiar with it, I'd have no reservations.
or
get a couple (one) of those young bucks that write about it in the mag to do you a favor.
write it up for an issue and get paid for the pleasure.
and sure, post the picture to see how that works here on the forum.
Betty,
We do this quite a bit but flat tape around doors and windows. Outlets and switches shouldn't need any caulk, maybe a little mud. Get the taper to use a sander that attaches to a vac and dust will be less. Rock dust is not harmful.
PS Your post is a prime example why we need one of those SPEEL CHICKERS!
KK
Speel Chickers
coonass wrote:
PS Your post is a prime example why we need one of those SPEEL CHICKERS!
KK
Coonass... HA! I'm not responsible for the incorrect spellings. My own correctly spelled post kept getting rejected as spam, forcing me to contact customer support for assistance (I'm a new member named Rivergull). The customer support person (Betty) manually retyped the text, posted it herself, and then notified me that the glitch had been fixed and my post could now be viewed. I worked for Ph.D scientists for 30+ years ...so believe me, I can spell and I can edit. I'm kinda bummed by the misspellings, actually, and feel almost compelled to delete and repost.
Rivergull,
All the more reason we need a speel chicker when a big dog with a hammer post the above. Calvin gets a pass because he types with a tack hammer and a speed square.
KK
says who?
coonass wrote:
Rock dust is not harmful.
KK
Define harmful. I believe OSHA has a different definition than you and is why the proposed (and recently fast tracked) Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica rule could be shortly coming down the pike. According to Julie Swenson of Remodeling Magazine (FEB. 2016) this rule "could have a big impact on remodelers by regulating common tasks that produce silica dust , such as...drywall."
Wonder why they would regulate something that "is not harmful"?
nuts,
It's called risk assement. A little dust in a home is not harmful to the owner. It is not even determined yet if it is harmful to tapers or if it will be covered under the new proposed rules.
KK
KK
eye cane knot spiel ether, all dough due half won comet:
due U half en nee look wit 1/4" vs. 1/2" ?
Here, the 1/2" is same price as 1/4", and the one time I tried 1/4" it had waves.
(2 heard two tie pea awl wit all tern ate spiel ink, so won sentience moss tile carrot)
jh,
Depends on substrate. Sometimes use 3/8" and shadowbox trim. Sometimes roll on mud and screed off with 24" trowel leaving ridges for second apllication instead of new rock.
I can't spell either but I thought it was funny that someone with the hammer was so lazy.
KK
Too bad, but understandable...
Betty be busy I suppose.
i know I sure as hell would have just flipped that button that seems to make posts possible and let the op re type.
with software that doesn't know where to stick a capital letter, surprised anyone can get anything coherent across. Junk fucks it up so phonetically, I never understand that gibberish.
but is good to see those storms must have passed you by.
Calvin,
Passed south of me. This has been a weird winter. Pouring rain, freeze, week of T-shirt weather. Repeat.
KK
Good to hear about this storm....
pcs. of it swung up our way yesterday turning to wet snow last nite. Only a couple inches but the local schools closed today. They have a bunch of snow days to use I guess as the streets are only wet. After 2 winters of record cold and snow, this one has been a walk in the park. Maybe because I threatened to get a new snow blower.
1/4" wallboard
The reno guys I hired intend to use 1/4" wallboard. I'm hoping this won't result in a wavy surface. Someone above used the word 'wavy.' The alternative choice of 1/2" wallboard applied over top of current wallboard would likely result in an extension beyond the baseboard molding and adjacent doorway molding.
"Wavy" depends on how bad the
"Wavy" depends on how bad the wall is to begin with, how skillful the installers are, and how fussy you are.
How bad wall is - see Photo
Did you not see the Photo attached to my 1/4" wallboard post?... showing current wallboard and the molding around it. My house isn't fancy, nor is the molding, but I DO like things done right. Very confused right now. I know reno guys don't want a girl advising them on what to do, LOL. Kinda wishing they would remove the baseboard and other molding and use 1/2" wallboard. No doubt they already purchased the 1/4" though...as they plan to start Friday morning.
Interesting concept to not pull baseboard or molding: :
as a DIY guy, I'd pull all the molding and baseboard off before adding 1/2 drywall. Reuse baseboard, probably new doorway molding.
I dislike painted interior finish wood, but if you dont dislike it, the 1/4" and lots of caulk/filler will work with paint over everything.
KK could probably do a good looking job, not sure many other would do so -- you might end up with something that wil cause you daily discomfort (aka kicking yourself in the rear end every time you see it).
I wonder if KK pulls the molding or not when he uses 1/4"?
PS: actually, if it were my own place, I'd use 5/8" firecode, only a couple bucks more per sheet. Also would likely test the existing, and if not any asbestos, would pull all old stuff off and rototill it into the garden. Would add more outlets whle the wallboard off also <G>
Or, another option for you that you can easily DIY for lowest cost, esp for just one wall.
Scrape off the loose stuff.
Buy a big rough sponge and a bucket of finish mud. < $15 total + paint. Make that wall a rough sponge texture finish - paint.
BTW, in larger metro areas, you can always find paint FREE off craigslist or at garage sales. I have not bought paint for 30+ years, and used over 50 gal of paint last year.
Your suggestion to scrape off loose stuff
Don't want to do any scraping, as content of OLD wallboard is unknown. Better to leave undisturbed and seal over with new wallboard. Pulling the baseboard and surrounding archway trim will be more costly, but that would allow for the 1/2" stuff, which is surely the better option? Trim is very plain. Pulling it off, however, might generate dust and that's what we're trying to avoid by leaving trim in place and overlaying 'up to the trim' with 1/4" wallboard.
Understand that the chance of there being any asbestos in there is vanishingly small, and if it is present it would be reasonably controlled by modest dust control measures. There is almost certainly lead-based paint in there somewhere, though.
Pull trims or not?
The degree of detail on the trim usually dictates whether to pull it or not.
on older house renos with nice original moldings we usually leave it, install the 1/4" and flat tape to it.
1/2" doesn't give you that option.
if you pull and plan to reuse, outside corner base often ends up too short. If the style is right for it, you can use corner blocks to make up the difference.
Even with 1/4", if you pull it you probably need to extend some jambs.
as with most remodels, there's much to consider to achieve good results.
Calvin,
We done this quite a few ways. Sometimes we shadowbox, backband or overlay the trim if we go to 1/2" rock. Lots of different ways to skin a cat (it's just a phrase Splinty).
T-shirt weather today.
KK
you are good
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