![plaster and lath wall plaster and lath wall](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/f9/0f/c3/f90fc32a6cb35d40bc8642ceac9606bd--plaster-repair-plaster-walls.jpg)
Because of the nature of the material, it can withstand long exposure to water ingress, extreme weather conditions and is more flexible than gypsum-based materials.
![plaster and lath wall plaster and lath wall](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ea/fe/cc/eafecc2ec67f7623f8467378db406777.jpg)
Lime hair plaster is extremely durable- examples of Egyptian and Roman installations can be seen on many buildings Europe and North Africa. However, there are some drawbacks with replacing Lime-Hair plaster in Historic buildings with modern gypsum, including breathability issues, compatibility issues, acoustical differences and durability. Gypsum plaster is quicker and needs less skill. This traditional type of plaster fell out of grace during the post war construction boom, when there was a need for quick housing replacement and a severe lack of artisan tradesmen. In this article series we describe and discuss the identification and history of older interior building surface materials such plaster, plaster board, split wood lath, sawn lath, and expanded metal lath, Beaverboard, and Drywall - materials that were used to form the (usually) non-structural surface of building interior ceilings and walls. The plaster mix could be applied to both walls and ceilings and in spite of its time-consuming application process, the plaster cured faster than other commonly used mixtures (Earth Daub, Adobe) making it more versatile.
![plaster and lath wall plaster and lath wall](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8c/6d/70/8c6d70c7a02874f3cc474073a8cdeb3f.jpg)
It was not uncommon for other animal hair to be used in plaster mixtures, but the long hair found on the tail of horses make for the perfect plaster mixture. Therefore, if you really want to replace your lath and plaster walls with drywall, then you need to remove the plaster walls completely down to the studs. Most smaller items can be hung pretty securely anywhere on the wall by screwing into the wood lath, but for heavy things that weight more than 10-15 lbs, like large mirrors and TVs, you’ll need to learn how to find studs in a plaster wall. A finished drywall wall ready for painting. If you own an old house with plaster and lath walls, you may have discovered how utterly useless a stud finder can be. The purpose of the horsehair itself was to act as a bridging agent, controlling the ‘shrinkage’ of the plaster and helping to hold the plaster ‘nibs’ together, the ‘nibs’ being crucial to the performance and longevity of the plaster. Your only insulation option is going to be blown-in insulation.