Plaster walls provide an equal amount of benefits and drawbacks. For the discerning homeowner, those pros and cons may be a deal-breaker. Plaster is often cloaked in mystery, and many homeowners aren’t aware of what it is truly made of, how it is applied, and why they should consider keeping or investing in plaster walls for their home. We will explain the reality of plaster walls to you and let you make that decision yourself.
Building Plaster Walls
Unlike drywall, building a plaster wall takes several steps, making it far more durable than its drywall counterpart. The wall is applied to a lath, typically wood or metal, which allows the plaster to push through and harden, making it incredibly durable. The plaster is then applied in three separate layers.
The first is called the scratch layer, which is a rough mixture of water, sand, and lime. It is called the scratch layer because it is scratched to create a better bond for the next layer, the brown coat. Both of these coats are applied in a thick layer around ¼ to ⅜” thick, unlike the final skim coat, which is applied to a thickness of ⅛” and smoothed out, making it ideal for painting or detail work.
The Benefits of Plaster Walls
All of those layers give plaster walls a different level of strength from the typical drywall installation. With the lath, scratch, brown, and skim coats applied, a plaster wall is incredibly thick, making it very durable and difficult to scratch or break. Accidental cuts or holes are much harder to create, making it easy to maintain these plaster walls.
This thickness also lends itself to energy conservation, making it great for thermal breaks and reducing utility bills. At twice the thickness of typical drywall, plaster walls help homeowners keep rooms cold or warm, reducing the need for constant heating or cooling in warmer and colder months.
This thickness is also excellent for reducing sound bleed. People with noisy homes will enjoy the reduced sound reverberation that plaster provides, especially in the age of virtual meetings. This sound dampening is great for those who might live near a noisy road, and it’s great for privacy overall.
The Drawbacks of Plaster Walls
The thickness of plaster walls isn’t without its drawbacks, though. This thick layer makes it difficult for virtual signals, like wifi and Bluetooth, to work correctly. Homes with plaster walls will typically need alternatives to single router/modem setups, which may require a higher upfront cost for the homeowner.
Hanging pictures is typical in a home, but the thickness of plaster walls, and the lath behind them, makes it difficult to hand pictures or cabinets in these spaces. Even putting a nail into the wall may prove to be a challenging task, though there are a few tricks to make this easier.
However, the largest drawback is foundation cracks. As the plaster dries, it becomes more brittle, making it more likely to crack in high traffic areas or due to settling of the home. As the home ages, the likelihood for cracks to appear increases exponentially.
The Reality
Plaster walls aren’t a perfect solution with no drawbacks. However, their benefits outweigh the costs. Plaster walls are a high-end installation that takes an extreme amount of skill to install properly. If your home already has plaster walls, it is worth holding on to them, as the cost and pain associated with replacing them will outweigh the benefit. If you are choosing between plaster walls or drywall, we always recommend plaster for the longevity and durability they provide.