# Plaster vs drywall



## j120strat

i think drywall is better than plaster because plaster crack's. plaster is waisted money.


----------



## Blackhawk

When i first started out i was in the plaster business aa a metal lather and there was few lathers and plasters building sailboats out of lathing and plaster..like to see u do that with drywall..lol or tear out tile on brown coat and lath ..things change thats all gone now here.. a good plaster can make that wall like glass but here id do the walls in drywall them old plasters r all gone here now talk about artist they was..


----------



## j120strat

i could turn a brown coat wall to glass with hot mud...easy......next


----------



## Blackhawk

yeah till someone turned on the shower then your hot mud be down the drain..


----------



## j120strat

ever heard of a thing called paint.


----------



## boardslinger

I like being able to insulate and drywall, then skimming a thin coat of white coat plaster, that way I have the freedom and flexibility of drywall, but maintain the plaster look.


----------



## Blackhawk

Wouldnt need paint if it was plaster


----------



## fox builders

*plaster*

here in Ma there seams to be an invisible line where drywall ends and blue board and skim coat take over. here in western MA drywall is used but if you go approx 30 miles east blue board and skim coat are used.
Having built over 30 homes in central Ma we never ever used drywall (residental) drywall is still used comm in eastern MA.


----------



## j120strat

Blackhawk said:


> Wouldnt need paint if it was plaster


but your gonna paint anyway. :whistling
silly plaster boy.


----------



## Blackhawk

*You better for sure paint it ..*

You got to paint it ..with plaster its just for looks only not for protection from water and if your wall is tile and it fails u got mush.. with plaster no mush ..lol


----------



## Top Cat

I have to agree with Blackhawk. There is nothing cheaper than drywall and you get what you pay for.


----------



## j120strat

Blackhawk said:


> You got to paint it ..with plaster its just for looks only not for protection from water and if your wall is tile and it fails u got mush.. with plaster no mush ..lol


ive seen plaster turn to mush plenty of times.there is no plus with plaster.


----------



## lxdollarsxl

plaster walls definately better than drywall, but like someone else said here its quicker and cheaper to use drywall - oh the good old days:thumbup:


----------



## Frankawitz

*How do you come up with that?*

How do you figure plaster is for looks, you must not have the knowledge to mix a batch up that will not be fased by water if you mix your portland and lime, sand mix, This stuff can be used on exterior walls and crown and cornice mouldings. you need to check your facts. Just for looks give me a break. I'll tell you this it will hold up better then your sheetrock.


----------



## James B

j120strat said:


> i got a buddy out at lake las vagas where the building is about as high end as it gets, from workmanship to materials,and its all 5/8's drywall baby. so i disagree with the above post.


Again, the contractors are probably not pushing plaster (it has nothing to do with being high end or low end. If the contractor doesn't encourage plaster or give it as an option, it's not going to get done, even if it's better).

Also, given the shortage of good plasterers, you are not going to use plaster on a high end house if you can't find someone qualified to apply it (people aren't going to pay millions of dollars for an amateur plaster job, even if plaster is better). So people like your buddy aren't going to risk it. Pissing off high end clients (or any client) is not a good idea.

Even if drywall is better than plaster, it is not due to your weak argument above.


----------



## Kent Whitten

I was just on a job that for the first time I watched platerers....plaster. It was amazing watching these guys. I can see both sides of the argument. Plaster is damn, damn hard and now I can tell the difference. But these guys, even though they were good at what they did, they still did not understant what to do and what not to do. I found some places that was easily 1/2" thick plaster. They had thick coats on the bottom of the wall almost always. This is not good at all, but I'm also pointing out one crew.

This plaster was done and dry in an hour or so. Not much I can say for drywall being like this. It's 50/50. There are positives and negatives both ways, but you can't beat the basic end all be all....drywall's cheaper.


----------



## RichWei

*Knockdown*

OK OK ! I got one,, sombody tell me how to do a knoch down finish using one of those textured sprayers! This is a way to cover flaws in older walls.


Dickarty:


----------



## eagleandbaby

j120strat said:


> i could turn a brown coat wall to glass with hot mud...easy......next


I think you should move over to the "Politics of Passing Gas" thread. It is in the Off Topic section. It is pretty quite there and can use someone who has strong views and likes to express them.


----------



## eagleandbaby

I just quoted a job in Beverly Hills. It was a 20 unit condo/apartment where all the units were damaged form water coming in from the roof. All the walls were plaster. Most of the ceilings were removed from the units during medigation but only a few walls. The complex was build many many years ago. After reading this post I looked trough the units for cracks in the walls and did not see any. I am not sure how old the place was but I was told it was one of the first multi unit complexes build in Beverly Hills. 

Again not any cracks in the walls I inspected. If the walls had drywall I am pretty sure most of the walls would have been torn out.


----------



## A W Smith

Plaster wont grow mildew and mold as fast as drywall. if at all. Mildew and mold love paper.


----------

