Ok I got the tenants out and my original plan was to clean and get house on market as is. House is 100 years old and plaster walls are cracking/bowing just looking like crap. Any suggestions for a cheap fix (other than skimming cracks again!). Anyone have experience covering with beadboard or 1/4 in drywall? --99.182.xx.xxx

I have done a lot of covering with 3/8 drywall years ago,in my city the floor trim and window trim was so thick we could set the drywall on top of the floor trim and butt it up against the window trim and just flat tape around the windows and there was enough trim to still look good.These were mainly class C and D rentals --72.231.xxx.xxx

Lathe/plaster walls will continue to crack - the nails are just rusted out between the studs and the lathe, if you are fast you might be able to pull down with screw/washer anchors or just let it fall and then drywall - very messy project, but once open you can get new electrical cable to bathroom/kitchen area and areas where laser printer or window/wall a/c will use more power, repair plumbing things, insulate and drywall and unless you have rotten beams you should be good for many years. --76.188.xxx.xx

When it comes to safety or long term benefit, covering with 3/8" or 1/4" luan board (almost the same price point) is option I would go to.. --71.232.xxx.xxx

I think I'd go with a hybrid of Vee and Ken's ideas only I'd use 1/4 drywall (you'll only lose an inch off the size of the room) and I'd only rip out plaster and lathe in areas where the wiring is most likely located. Replace the wiring and sheet over the wall with 1/4 drywall. --71.213.xx.xxx

on my very old buildings (and most others in my area too), we put up the bead board maybe 5ish feet up. then patch and make the top 1/4 doable. I did an entire house over a few years ago and the living room was bad. I did bead board on one entire wall and the 5ish foot on two walls and the fourth "wall" was really just an archway to the dining room with a little 2ish foot wall on each side so I had those rough plastered. --72.70.xxx.xx

--68.50.xxx.xxx

Break out plaster then insulate walls with spray foam then install drywall where there will less expansion and contraction. In the meantime use dura bond to repair. The drying time varies from 20 to 90 minutes. Plaster is stronger then drywall where it is very labour intensive to install. So a lot depends on the short term or long term. Older houses were insulated poorly which leads to a lot of the problems. --147.194.xxx.xx

FYI as well as paying a premium for 1/4" SR, it's also difficult to properly put screws into 1/4" DW. IMO you would be better off using 3/8" or even 1/2" SR. --71.174.xx.xx

I would also say repair depends on how thick your plaster is. Don't repair less than 1/2" plaster. If you want to try a large wall repair use the plaster washers and plasterweld to stick new to old. I rake out the cracks and fill them w/ MH brand patch and Spackle walls w/ window screen. --24.194.xx.xx

Britt,even paper tape and regular premixed joint compound applied in a gentle manner. Very gentle...........charlie.................................................very very gently............. --174.199.x.xxx

If the wall is bowed out, you no doubt have broken keys. Plaster is heavy and could push your new drywall loose after a while - needs to be secured properly - be careful and do a repair that will last. --68.10.xxx.x

Because the wood molding around the baseboards and windows stood out around 3/4" of an inch -- I covered all of the wall (and ceiling) with THIN drywall. I then mud'ed the seams. Applied a drywall special primer and then strayed on a texture. Worked like a charm.... --47.156.xx.xx

That was before I became State Lead abatement director. Plaster is known to have lead - test before --24.34.xx.xxx