Seeking advice on drywall backing

4 years ago

Hi everyone, this is my first post. My wife and I just recently acquired our first investment property. The house was built in the 1940s and has been neglected for most of that time. It is a single family house that's been converted to a duplex and some of the modifications done are quite questionable.

The first thing we noticed is that the laundry room floors and walls are a bit out of whack. I removed the old subfloor successfully but the drywall is another story. After removing the back section, I found what looks to be the wooden siding of the house.

In this case, should I repair the siding using similar materials and then put the drywall back, or should I take out the "siding" completely, or should I do something else all together?

Also, there's insulation in the walls that seems to be falling apart. Can I leave them as they are or should I remove them and / or replace with something else?

Thanks in advance!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
4 years ago
I'd fix the drywall and forget about it.
PRO
Charles Ross Homes
4 years ago
What you're calling "siding" is wood lath which was/is a substrate for plaster. There's no reason you need to remove it unless you're going to rewire and reinsulate and need full access to the stud cavities.

Given the age of your home, you need to be concerned about both lead and asbestos. The former in paint and the latter in insulation materials.
Related Professionals
Portsmouth Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Abilene Bathroom Remodelers · Oshkosh Bathroom Remodelers · Olympia Cabinets & Cabinetry · Starkville Basement Remodeling · Beckley Basement Remodeling · Minneapolis Basement Remodeling · Harrisburg Basement Remodeling · Palm Desert Basement Remodeling · Wilmington Bathroom Remodelers · Worthington Home Remodeling · Florence Kitchen Remodelers · Bowling Green Bathroom Remodelers · Greensboro Bathroom Remodelers · Wichita Falls Bathroom Remodelers
David
Original Author
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Thank you Charles! I want to just focus on only the essential work so your advice is very cogent. I'm going to install the drywall over the lathe like before. Do I need to repair any of the lathes that are broken / missing?

The danger of asbestos hadn't crossed my mind. I'm going to order a test kit now. If I do have asbestos, would it be sufficient if I wear respiratory protection while I work, or is there more I need to do? Thanks!
3onthetree
4 years ago
That is certainly not lathe for old plaster. Probably not used as siding as it doesn't overlap. That is probably the decorative bead board either used or added later if this Laundry room was added or converted from a covered porch or something. Maybe present in the original room since it was behind a chase or whatever you removed.

But, you can leave it as I suspect the adjacent drywall is over it anyway. You don't have to repair or replace, just leave the solid ones, remove loose ones, and as long as your drywall is fastened properly, all is well.

As far as the insulation, you can remove what little is there. If this is an interior wall then you may want to put some fiberglass batts in for a little bit of sound attenuation. If exterior walls, that is a larger discussion. As far as asbestos, you're on your own.
PRO
Charles Ross Homes
4 years ago
If you look at the bottom of the picture you'll see the drywall is applied over the old wall finish. My eyes read that finish to be plaster, but it could be a prior application of drywall, instead.

Typically in older homes in our area, decorative beadboard wainscoting was installed with the bead oriented vertically-- which suggests it wasn't the wall finish, but rather a substrate.
3onthetree
4 years ago
Plaster has to go through lath to hold, unless there is a mesh applied. So beadboard.
PRO
Charles Ross Homes
4 years ago
That important discussion behind us, we can return to the OP's question about asbestos...

Homes of the vintage of the OP's-- if they have insulation at all-- often contain vermiculite. It's an asbestos hazard and shouldn't be disturbed. Here's a link to additional information:

https://www.epa.gov/asbestos/protect-your-family-asbestos-contaminated-vermiculite-insulation

The other issue is the potential for lead in paint prior to 1978. Demolition activities could cause avoidable health risks.