Tips for working on drywall

If you live in an older house, say 50 or 60 years old or older, there’s a good chance you have plaster on the walls. Plaster walls were very common, especially in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Plaster was widely available, workable, and capable of producing very smooth walls and ornate trim. However, it was and is very difficult to be worth it. It took a good plasterer many years to learn his trade under the careful instruction of a master plasterer.

Gypsum is still widely available, although it is rarely used. Just check the hallways for paint

your local home improvement center and you will see it mixed with putty and

patching compound. The reason for its disappearance was the invention of the joint

compound. Unlike plaster, joint compound (or drywall compound) is easy to work with.

with. Slow to install and harden, very easy to sand, blends easily, can be

bought already mixed, and it is easy to clean. Joint compound works simply

letting the water evaporate, leaving the hard, white stuff on the wall.

Plaster, on the other hand, sets quickly, hardens like cement, is very difficult to

work with once it starts to set up, it is difficult to clean and must be mixed as

necessary and in quantities that can be worked with quickly. The plaster as it sets, is

actually a chemical reaction between solid gypsum and water.

For this reason, joint compound is the natural choice for most new homes and

patch jobs. However, plaster is by far the superior product. A plaster wall is rock.

Hard, has a solid sound and feel, is not easily damaged or scratched, and can

withstand some abuse. These properties allow interesting remodeling and

repair.

A simple task, such as hanging a hook for a picture frame, can cause large pieces of

plaster peels off the wall and collapses. Try to drive a drywall

screwing into drywall can be an exercise in frustration as chunks of the wall come off

and screw blunted by drywall, drill bits and saw blades blunted instantly

we contacted

Due to these challenges with plaster, I have compiled some tips for working with

it’s. Note that these work for me in most situations, but the cast may be different

and behave differently in different places, so work very carefully.

1. When hanging a photo frame on a hook with a nail, please tape it first

piece of tape over the area where you will place the nail. This will help

prevent chipping. Once the nail is in place, remove the tape.

2. Another way to insert a wall hanger for a picture frame is to drill a small pilot

nail hole. The pilot hole does not need to be deep. Deep enough to penetrate the

plaster top layer. If you see brown dust coming out of the drill bit, you’re done.

the top layer and in the brown layer.

3. To drive a screw through drywall, always drill a pilot hole!

4. Never use a drywall screw in drywall to fasten anything! Although it may seem

that the cast is holding it in place, you risk ripping off a large chunk of cast

if you find a weak point. Always screw through the drywall and into the studs.

5. When screwing down the drywall and studs to the wall, make sure you are

the wall studs and not the wood stud that holds the plaster to the wall! shoot down

the batten is one of the worst things you can do as it will knock down large chunks of

plaster with it!

6. Standard stud finders will not work on drywall. You need stud sensors that

they have some kind of deep penetrating technology. Common stud finders are

designed for half-inch drywall walls and can distinguish the thickness of the plaster very well.

7. Use the tapping technique to find studs. Yeso has good harmonics and

tapping or banging your knuckles on it, you can usually hear the gaps between

the tacos quite easily.

8. Like anything else in an old house, be very careful! there was no construction

codes when many of these houses were built, so there is no guarantee that the walls

studs are evenly spaced, no old or abandoned pipes in walls

and there are old-fashioned plumbing and power lines in the walls.

Remember, work slow and smart! Never rush an old house project. take a few

minutes to think things over several times. You will still be in for surprises, but if

Work slowly and deliberately, hopefully they won’t ruin your day!