1950's Bathroom wall construction, plaster over cement over drywall

2 years ago

My house was built in 1954 and has bathrooms that are (on all side) a thin layer of 1/16-1/8 white plaster, over what looks like about 1/2 inch of plaster / grey cement (?), over a 1/2 inch of drywall nailed to the studs. Can anyone school me on the terminology for this build method so I can research in depth? I want to DIY repair the damage I have along the walls behind where a sink and cabinet used to be without having the replace the entire wall to the ceiling. The drain vent pipe from the sink busted and allowed moister into the wall and the wall started "puffing" in areas (it was soft and crumbly to the touch, so it's got to go). I have demoed it in sections and wish to replace the sections as needed. Also the floor has about 2 inches of poured cement over the baseboards instead of (what I expected to find) plywood sheets. The floor had linoleum over 4 inch square tiles that came up as soon as I started pulling the linoleum up. Where the previously mentioned sink and cabinets were (which will be replaced with new), there is no cement, so I'll have to fill that in and then want to lay new larger 10 - 12 inch tiles.

Thanks for any info you are able to provide.

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Comments (4)

Izzy Mn
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
My sister and BIL bought a house built in the 1950's. It had some unusual drywall, very hard. Found out it's called rock lath, may go by some other names.

It has three layers to it. First what seems typical drywall, on that a thin layer of what appears to be cement like coat (about 1/8"), then a very thin coat of plaster on the finished surface. Like I said it's very hard but it does seem to make for a very quiet house.

The tile work in their house is similar to yours and of how they were done back then. Tile was laid into a bed of concrete/cement ( or whatever the proper name) The tile work was in good condition in their home. They were going to tear it out (they are very good at doing remodeling and even built their own house) but someone suggested that the old tile is now a desired thing for some so they left it. They were also warned removing the old tile from floors and walls takes a sledgehammer because it's all set in a thick bed of mortar (I think that's the correct word)

Your tile on the floor is obviously messed up. You will probably have to chisel it all out and build up the floor to proper height to lay new tile or whatever flooring you decide on.

Edited..I see down stream someone said that the cement like layer is brown. My sister's had a gray cement color. Probably similar, just done a little different. My bil added more outlets and had a heck of a time cutting holes. He also removed a small, two feet, portion of a wall, he said it was a real pain and had to purchase blades for cutting concrete because what he usually used wouldn't work at all.
Allen Hayden thanked Izzy Mn
palimpsest
2 years ago
It's rock lath (gypsum board almost like drywall) +brown coat + finish coat plaster.
Allen Hayden thanked palimpsest
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Jeff Meeks
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
I had a similar construction method in my bathroom walls...tar paper and metal lath attached to the studs and then mortar "floated" onto the wall and a final finish coat of plaster. It makes for a very solid wall and was a beast to demo. Where I live for all walls except inside a shower the common practice is to use blueboard and apply a coat of finish plaster. In my shower I wanted to paint the ceiling as so when with a 3 mil vapor barrier, cement board and then veneer plaster. Ask over a johnbridge.com as well. They will be able to recommend the materials you should use to patch your walls. But veneer plastering takes a lot of skill.
Allen Hayden thanked Jeff Meeks
Mike
2 years ago
For the walls, rock lath is the correct answer. In my house, two layers of gypsum panels (the precursor to today's drywall) topped with a finish coat of plaster. Rock solid. Doesn't ding. Great sound insulation. Pain to demo/patch/cut holes in. Thickness in my house is 7/8"-- I usually make 3/8" wood furring strips and then fasten 1/2" drywall to that. You could also use 3/8" drywall on top of 1/2" drywall.

If you're using any power tools to cut it, the poster above is correct, you'll need carbide or diamond tipped for the top layer plaster. It will ruin regular metal blades. That said, a regular drywall hand saw and a little elbow grease will get you right through it too (just requires more effort than cutting regular drywall).

Regarding your baseboards, that is because there had been tile there. These bathrooms are mud bed construction. There are boards between the joists that are flush with them and form a subfloor, then tar paper, then wire mesh, then 1.25" of concrete. You can tile right over it and fill the hole with regular concrete. You can also tear it out and do a new subfloor if you have concerns about height, but that requires mores sweat and a couple trips to the dump. Just a sledgehammer and pry bar will get the job done, but use as light a touch as possible, or you will crack the plaster in surrounding rooms.

1950's Bathroom wall construction, plaster over cement over drywall

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Izzy Mn

palimpsest

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