# Peeling Paper off of Plaster Walls



## train_rider (Mar 23, 2012)

What's up guys? Just looking for your expertise regarding dealing with old plaster walls. I'm renting a house that I like for the most part, but the old plaster - lath walls are proving to be a headache. Current dilemma. As you can see in the image, I am having a problem with what appears to be peeling painted-over wallpaper on the surface of bare plaster. First I need to verify this is right. 

Picture Here

The pink stuff I believe is plaster, I can quite easily peel off a thin layer off the paper that appears to have been glued on. Sometimes the back surface (the dark brown stuff) is hard to get off, but most of the paper peels off pretty easily. Anyway I plan on re-painting the kitchen, but I don't have the faintest idea how to deal with this. There is a long (about 1/4 inch thick) crack in the plaster that runs to the floor, and as well the plaster is crumbling in places. Is it possible to patch the plaster and get some wallpaper to cover the problem area before priming and painting? What would you folks recommend? I'm looking for something cheap and easy. This isn't my house, but my landlord is pretty nice and lowers my rent whenever I do repairs or improvements.

By the way, hi to you folks. This is my first post


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## train_rider (Mar 23, 2012)

Well things went from bad to worse. I moved the radiator away and here's another pic of the ugly wall.








Image Link
As you can see, there was a large crack running vertically down to the baseboard. The plaster was crumbling a lot around that area, and the more I picked at it, the more came off.
Now the wall looks like this:








Image Link
Basically the lath is completely exposed now
I don't even know how to go about attacking this. I'm considering removing all the plaster in the area free of the lath and using a large piece of 3/8" sheetrock to patch the wall (basically attach sheetrock to the lath and studs). I think I've seen that done before. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

...............


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Does your land lord know your doing all this?
I just hate to waste time messing with failing, cracking plaster. I just rip it out and go over the wall with new drywall. I end up with a smooth wall that holds paint better and I never have to go back and fix the next area that's cracked again.
Some of the other guys that I'm sure are going to come right behind me and cut down everything I suggest, and I could care less if they do, must get paid by the hour to keep coming back and trying to fix it again. I get paid once, if it fails it's on my dime so I want it to look 100% right and never have to fix the same wall again. I know what works for me.


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## train_rider (Mar 23, 2012)

Lol. I knew someone would ask. Yes my landlord is aware, and I've made a number of upgrades/repairs around the house, and he's fine with me doing that as long as I tell him in advance (and he also discounts my rent and pays for supplies).

Thanks for the advice. That's what I was planning on. Do you just attach drywall to the lath or remove it first? Also since I'm putting in drywall on an inside corner, would I need to remove some plaster on the adjacent wall to get a good seam?


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