(im reposting this from the oldhouse forum as I was just directed here to post)
Im new on here but found the forum from sold older posts on Scored plaster Subway Tile walls.
We bought a 1927 Craftsman a year ago. Its in lovely condition and the previous owners took really good care of it, so it was pretty much move in ready. (yeah now after living here a year, and seeing how many nice things they did we are grateful and thankful) we looked at a lot of fixer uppers and you dont realize some of the work and also how wonderful when original aspects of the home are maintained and left alone.
The house was painted inside and out before the sale, so really all I wanted to change were some paint colors inside to suit my taste more. The bathroom was painted Lavender. It has the original hexagon tile floor. Medicine cabinet over sink, wood doors, not sure if the tub is old or the age, the previous owners had it reglazed and all the fixtures on the tub and shower curtain rack are all brass.
I was going to start painting this week, the bathroom has thicker texture, more modern on the walls. But I could see 3 areas where the outlines of tile marks showed through. So I thought it had once had tile that was torn out, then of course a neighbor clued me in on scored tile, but I still did not know what was underneath. So my plan was to paint the walls white (im going with a black and white bathroom theme with metal accents/brass/silver) and I was looking at maybe getting the lower half done in subway tile or board and batten or something like that.
So I was masking off to paint and a piece around the sink was peeling, I pulled it off, and well....
I discovered I do have the scored plaster subway walls underneath. I was actually excited, and became a fiend for the day (Killed myself for it too!) my arms, hand and back are so sore today!
So I found some older threads on this, and wondered if anyone has taken it back down to this and redid it? I mean spruced it back up? I found a blog of someone who did, filled in cracks, sanded and put a coat of a kitchen/bath enamel white paint on it.
I had 2 coats of paint and texture to go through to get to it, some of it is bare, some of it has a coat of old white paint on it when I get down to the end. I was also concerned about parts torn out for plumbing at some point. I have come across two, luckily not too huge and I think can be smoothed out to blend.
I know its a job, luckily I have a small bath, and my tub/shower area has been tiled over so Im not even touching that area. Im more interested in just doing the remaining walls,
Has anyone done it and FINISHED? I found lots of talk about it, but any finished work and tips?
Im wanting to get in there today and do more but I have to be careful and let my body rest, I was icing and tylenol last night as I just overdid it in my excitement going back to the original walls. I am big on things being original, but dont mine modern adaptations and improvements mixed in. And I figure since this place was so well loved and taken care of and didnt require a lot of work other then me decorating it, its the least I can do to restore some of her original charm.
Oh and another question! I have no idea how high up this goes so dont want to do much damage to the drywall once I reach the top. I can have some trim put in, really want a wood ledge to match the wood work at the top to cap it. But its just hard to guage how high to go up without tearing up to much or is their a typical height?
Tips and photos or feedback of anyone whos redone it? Thank you!
Some pics of the bath upon move in, and what I found under the drywall texture. The stone color is the natural state of the plaster after all the drywall texture is off, and then some of the tile, the exposed areas have white paint on it, just seems to be a coat underneath all the drywall. There are a few spots patched but so far nothing to big.
