is this drywall?

2 years ago

I have a 1930 colonial with mostly plaster walls. I thought this entire wall was plaster in the bedroom, but after we redid our baseboard heaters (ripped out the old ones and replaced with new ones entirely) I noticed these little marks on the wall under the window. This is in 2 of the bedrooms. I wasn’t sure if this was a result of the work they did, or if there’s something going on behind the wall as it’s under a window and I’m worried about water intrusion. I’ve taken a moisture meter to the area and it’s reading the same as the other plaster walls in the house…but if this isn’t actually plaster and it’s drywall then maybe it is too high….

Anyways…anyone have thoughts on what’s going on here? Do these look like marks on drywall from an issue?

And then I guess my last question…can you patch a plaster wall with drywall??? If so, that could be what happened here with previous owners. I can see a little line where that may have happened, or it’s just a “settling” type of line that I was told was normal with plaster walls.

Thoughts?!?

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Comments (4)

helpmehelpthishouse
Original Author
2 years ago
Here is another photo, it wouldn’t let me post 2 pics….
cat_ky
2 years ago
It looks like plaster to me. You seem to worry a lot about mold and lead and asbestos, etc. Try and relax a bit and enjoy your house. Many people lived in it for a lot of years before you, and most likely lived happy healthy lives.
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HALLETT & Co.
2 years ago
I worked on one house where there was drywall under every window while the balance was plaster. With more investigating we discovered that there had been radiators recessed into that spot when the house was built and they were removed and walled over as systems changed. Looks like you have nothing to worry about in this case.
helpmehelpthishouse
Original Author
2 years ago
Ok, thank you both! There were radiators at some point prior to baseboards but I’m not sure if they were under these windows as I don’t see the little hole here like in other spots (where they plugged it in the floor).

Yes, I do worry about these things because I have small children and at one point we did have toxic mold in this house and it caused health issues in all of us that we are still recovering from…so….it’s not something to take lightly (exposure to toxins). I do enjoy our home, even tho we’ve had to sink enormous amounts of money into it on not-fun stuff, but after our experience I can’t help but remain vigilant. Frankly I’d move but there are no options out there right now (or they’re in worse shape than ours). The previous owners did a lot of things incorrectly that we still find out to this day after 6 years living here! Someday I’ll relax lol.