We are doing drywall in our 1850's house.

Cost: Does that include materials? We are doing 4 rooms (aproximatly 600 square feet) and labout only is $2300 (done by a family friend on weekends... so not the price if we had hred his company)

Trim: I would remove what you can and put it back on after. Sections of our house they paneled and didn't remove the baseboards, it is now partly covered and just looks funny. Remember you are adding depth

Electrical: not sure if they will do it or not(you would need to ask them) but you may need to move the boxes forward, again, you are adding depth so they will end up recessed (not only a PITA - likley against code)

No comments on the texture since I like smooth walls! And old - good plaster was ususally smotthed, not like a popcorn texture.

Don't give up on plaster, yet. There are often hidden plasterers around, keep asking before you rush to dry wall. In many areas it's not that much more expensive than dry wall, and so much more preferable.

The advice to paint what's there for the short run is very wise. This will give you time to plan, and install, any mechanical upgrades inside the walls, then move on to wall finishes .

I give the same advice to all new owners who burst into this forum with so much enthusiasm: sloooooooow down! Do little else in your new house besides cleaning it thoroughly and living there for awhile - at least several months, a year is even better, before you embark on any change more permanent than painting and diverting leaks. If the house passed a pre-purchase home inspection notthing is all that urgent. Taking some extra tme will help you research your house and begin to see what needs doing much more clearly.

The period of living in the house allows you to work through all the ideas you come to the house with (which aren't, after all about it) and let the house tell you what it needs. Your first ideas are no where as good as the ones you will come up with after you've been there.

The other benefit of waiting is that one can recover from the intial economic stress of a move, and get a better handle on how much you can, and need to, spend, and it prevents you from paying big bucks for something and then winding up tearing it out later. Also by deferring some of the expenses for a bit you'll be more likely to have enough resources to do the most important things the right way (which is always more expensive, I'm afraid), the first time.

Linked below is my standard "housewarming present" for new old house owners who fetch up here. You will find very useful info about wall finishes, and host of other topics you may not know you need to know about (yet!)

HTH,

Molly

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to Preservation Brief Series

Thanks, Stanlie and Molly, for your cautions-- I'd normally totally agree with your suggestions, but our life at this moment is very conducive to "getting it done" quickly for the following reasons:

1) We have our first baby right now (10 months old), and will probably have 1-2 more in the next five years. In other words, we'll be baby- or toddler-occupied for quite some time, and not wanting to expose them to dust or lead or other hazards. We'd normally love to DIY, but given the baby, that's a little unrealistic.
2) We are currently living rent-free in my parents' basement, and can stay there while the drywallers, floor refinishers, etc. work. Our belongings are all in storage. This actually makes estimates cheaper, as they don't have to cover or maneuver around all kinds of furniture and such.
3) The house we're buying has ugly walls but has been VERY well maintained electrically-- they've been changing wiring out as shorts develop, but the house is grounded and safe, etc. Current owner estimates 80% of wiring has been replaced, and the rest is not causing problems. (Of course, this is prior to inspection, but I'm inclined to believe her- she's a family friend.)
4) We're moving from a downtown metropolitan neighborhood to small town Arkansas. This gives us a little cash to work with.
5) Utility bills are cheap for this house. Last year's January gas bill was $108. Nothing creaks, the wallboards are 1" thick and laid side-by-side-- solid walls of wood. Given that, and the fact that there's still some original wiring inside the walls, I don't see a real need to insulate.

Finally, this is our third old house (and our oldest-- previous were 1928 and 1948), so we do have some idea what we're getting into here.

Thanks again for your input. I'm still thinking over the drywall matter. I'd hate for the house to look altered, and it seems like it might even if we use the thinnest type of drywall (3/8 inch, I think? or was it 1/4?).

Well put Molly!

To O.P., is the old plaster completely trashed? A lot of times people tell you it HAS to be completely drywalled but that's only becuase thats what their skill is, that's what they know how to do...and so its not cost effective for them to repair plaster... when the reality is if you get someone who knows plaster repair or do it yourself, then it really can be the way to go.

My house has needed a combination of plaster repair AND a few walls that were so far gone that I had to use drywall patches. Using that approach you dont remove the baseboard, you leave the original plaster there Generally its pretty firm around the trim and baseboard, because the trim and baseboard is holding it in place. Its only loose where its bowed out. You remove the loose plaster and then attach 3/8" drywall (or however thin your original plaster walls are). Use bonding agent and plaster to fill gap between drywall and original plaster, feathering the top coat to conceal where the joint is....

Just butting the drywall up to the baseboard and caulking... if its what I'm thinking of... is
just plain UGLYYY!!!

Im not sure how well I'm describing this, please email me if I'm not clear.

Re finishes, an orange peel finish is probably what you want, it sort of resembles an old wall which has been painted.

Kashka kat,

There is no plaster in the whole house, and never was. Nada. Just wallpaper hung on bare board walls-- thick ones downstairs, and slats upstairs. Some 1950s-1960s paneling (thin stuff) thrown up in various rooms over that. This would be a from-scratch plaster job.

I found something that might help-- on the Old House Web forums, a homeowner mailed me pictures of her house-- a PO just caulked and painted her boards. Thought it might help illustrate what we're dealing with downstairs. (Our upstairs is more slatty than boardy like this).

Here's basically what our downstairs walls look like under the wallpaper. I have to admit that I like the look of this, but I know that no 1916 homeowner would've been caught dead with the painted boards showing in their house. But maybe caulking and painting the boards like this would be a good "wait and see" option for now:

re: my treatise on plastering -- never mind :-)

Yes definitely, go with the painted boards-- how unusual and completely charming that would be! If I was looking at it as a house to buy, it would be a plus. To my way of thinking even though the original occupants may have never painted the boards, it would still be more true to the house than putting drywall over it. Voila, trim and baseboard problem solved, plus you have 10,000 to spend somewhere else! My own old house restoration philsophy is "first, do no harm" and keeping as true to original as possible-- so this solution would certain fit w/ that...

Thanks, Kashka. After showing my husband those pictures, that's what we're going to try to do (of course, you never know until we strip the wallpaper off and see what it looks like under there). We went back and took a close look at the paneling upstairs, and will probably try applying some textured plaster skim finishes to the bedroom walls, one at a time. The ceilings will probably all be drywalled just to give them a consistent look and smooth finish-- and to cover up some ugly paperboard tiles that are glued on in about half the rooms.

Thanks to all that disparaged the drywall-- you confirmed my feelings on it, and helped me keep looking for other alternatives. Awesome forum!