Late 40's Drywall with Plaster Veneer Film

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Willa
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Late 40's Drywall with Plaster Veneer Film

Post by Willa »

This film is from the Gypsum Association's archives, and has every cornball educational film technique happening (ie a pro is contrasted with a fumbling DIY'er, plus light easy listening music soundtrack).

It is an excellent resource for early - mid 20th c. houses that have early drywall with a plaster veneer. The pro is REALLY a pro - very swift nailing up the drywall and astonishing to watch applying the plaster. He's really graceful. He is also wearing completely pristine white clothing to work in. He looks very well dressed.

There are some examples of things like perforated drywall that I had not seen before. And watch this guy do a plaster arch ! Instead of using a utility knife he has a tool like a sharp little axe that is also a hammer.

It's a little long ( 18 or so minutes) but it really shows how a skilled tradesperson works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1CACkgUJcU

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Manalto
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Re: Late 40's Drywall with Plaster Veneer Film

Post by Manalto »

That was great. Thanks for posting!

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Willa
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Re: Late 40's Drywall with Plaster Veneer Film

Post by Willa »

It's new information to me that drywall, in this context, was referred to, and used as lath, and also that it was made in much smaller sheets. The smaller sheets would be much easier to handle, though more labour in installation.

I'm pretty sure the issues with my plaster are due to too much sand (or maybe dirty sand) in the basecoat. Since this is a modest house (suburbs of 1897 ?) the plaster coat on top is thin - much thinner than is what in this film.

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Re: Late 40's Drywall with Plaster Veneer Film

Post by phil »

that was an interesting video that really shows how far we have come. thanks for the link. with the stuff without holes, he's basically sticking half an inch of heavy plaster to the paper on the drywall. It makes me wonder if most of this stuff is long gone now with that layer separating as the paper degraded? i wonder what sort of timeframe they had to use up a bag of plaster? no coffee breaks for these guys ;-)

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Re: Late 40's Drywall with Plaster Veneer Film

Post by Seabornman »

I have been remodeling a ca. 1950 house that has the gypsum lath with plaster. The thickness of the plaster varies quite a bit so it is not the equivalent of a modern skim coat over blue board. I gutted a bathroom and kitchen. Water had ruined the plaster and backing board behind the tub, but everything else was still very solid.

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Re: Late 40's Drywall with Plaster Veneer Film

Post by Gothichome »

Willa, thanks for the link. Just like today's DIYS shows, they sheeted and plastered all in one day. Wonder if the boarder has a high iron count in his blood. Oh, one other item, the tall building at the end of the film was flying Canadas old red ensign flag with a BC provincial shield.

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Willa
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Re: Late 40's Drywall with Plaster Veneer Film

Post by Willa »

Gothichome wrote: Oh, one other item, the tall building at the end of the film was flying Canadas old red ensign flag with a BC provincial shield.


Haha, I totally missed that ! That's what I get watching YouTube plastering videos at 2:00 in the morning.

Yes, that guy installing the boards really spits out those nails. Did he wear grooves in his teeth ?

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Re: Late 40's Drywall with Plaster Veneer Film

Post by Texas_Ranger »

Fascinating stuff! I'm sure contemporary German builders would be HORRIFIED! They consider plasterboard a finished surface and only tape and spackle seams and screw holes, anything else would be a waste of time and money to them. Some even refer to plasterboard as "dry plaster".

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Re: Late 40's Drywall with Plaster Veneer Film

Post by Casey »

That is three-coat plaster, not veneer. Veneer is the white coat directly on the gypsum underlayment (which is today 1/2" blueboard)
The stuff with the holes to accept plaster is, I believe, called "buttonboard". The plain 16x48 sheets are"rocklath", in use since the 30's.
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Willa
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Re: Late 40's Drywall with Plaster Veneer Film

Post by Willa »

Casey wrote:That is three-coat plaster, not veneer. Veneer is the white coat directly on the gypsum underlayment (which is today 1/2" blueboard)
Casey


More news to me. I had assumed that any drywall with plaster on top would be described as a veneer. But yes, the film definitely shows the three coats = not veneer.

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