"RogerT" wrote in message
...
This is regarding a possible rehab of another property that I own. It's
an older home with wood lath and plaster wall. I am considering tearing
out the lath and plaster down to the studs, then having it rewired
throughout, then having the ceilings and walls sheetrocked. I would
rather not sheetrock over the existing lath and plaster.

My question is about how contractors typically go about doing the
sheetrock over the old ceiling joists and wall studs. How do they deal
with the fact that after the demo of the original lath and plaster, the
ceiling joists and studs are often uneven -- that is, not "planed".

Do they usually just do the new sheetrock by going with what they have and
just shimming the areas that need to be shimmed to end up with a flat,
"planed", and even new sheetrock wall? Is there some other way that this
is usually done?



Unless all the electrical boxes, doors and windows are being replaced, the
studs will need to be built out to at least 3/8" to allow for the removed
lath. A finished wall using plaster and lath was about 7/8". Drywall is
1/2".

This is no big deal but it is an added expense. Ripping up a 4x8 sheet of
3/8 CDX will give you a net material cost of about 44 cents per 8' stud
(based on 12-31-10 prices). With labor a dollar per would be a fair price
estimate.

As someone else said, chances are what you have is more true than many new
homes being built.


--
Colbyt
Please come visit http://www.househomerepair.com