While drywall is the standard in most houses today, plaster is still used for a variety of aesthetic upgrades. It can be applied in either a smooth, glossy finish or a stucco-like textured finish. Retrofitting original plaster walls with insulation-as with most work on plaster walls-can prove challenging and still offer less energy-efficient payoff than drywall with insulation. The drywall installation process allows for such flexibility to accommodate those layers. However, even though plaster is denser, it can’t beat the thermal capabilities of standard drywall coupled with modern insulation commonly found today. Plaster is more sound-proof, but drywall usually means better insulation.Ī dense material, plaster blocks sound transmission much better than gypsum drywall. If you need to hang an item like a picture frame on a plaster wall, use screws instead of nails to avoid potential damage-using a hammer on a plaster wall could be disastrous. More importantly, you run the risk of chipping or cracking the plaster. Whereas with drywall it’s possible to push thumbtacks into the wall to hang up posters, you likely couldn’t pierce a plaster wall with the flimsy point of a tack. Plaster is harder and more brittle than drywall. It’s easier to hang items on drywall, but it’s not impossible with plaster. Photo: Plaster costs more than drywall.īecause plaster requires more of a specialized skill than drywall installation and takes longer to complete, the labor alone will usually run about three times higher or more than drywall installation.
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