Big Mo wonders if she has a prayer

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11583351

Oh my.

mopinko (42,161 posts)    Wed Sep 24, 2014, 07:19 PM

so, i pulled down the paneling, peeled off the old tin tiles,

now the question is-

do i have to get rid of this old mastic in order to put a on a drywall veneer?

a lot of it is loose and or crispy. it is not a whole lot of square feet, about 100 out of about 150 sq ft overall. but i would really like it to be a couple days work.
 
do i have a prayer?

Mastic (Greek: Μαστίχα) is a resin obtained from the mastic tree. In pharmacies and nature shops, it is called "Arabic gum" (not to be confused with gum arabic) and "Yemen gum". In Greece, it is known as the "tears of Chios," being traditionally produced on that Greek island, and, like other natural resins, is produced in "tears" or droplets.
 
Originally a liquid, mastic is sun-dried into drops of hard brittle translucent resin. When chewed, the resin softens and becomes a bright white and opaque gum. The flavor is bitter at first, but after some chewing, it releases a refreshing, slightly pine or cedar-like flavor.*

*???

Warpy (78,690 posts)    Wed Sep 24, 2014, 07:30 PM

1. Most people just say screw it and rip it all down to the studs and then install new drywall

You can certainly try, though. It's going to be dirty work, but a rubber mallet and wide scraper might make it a bit easier. Don't forget the mask and ear plugs.

mopinko (42,161 posts)    Wed Sep 24, 2014, 08:24 PM

4. i despise ripping out my plaster.

really, really rather add a layer. have done so several times here.

but it is harder to get/find a contractor to repair rather than rip out.

why give up the soundproofing, insulation, and stir up all that dust. that is the part i totally object to.

and sure would not get done in 2 days.

Warpy (78,690 posts)    Wed Sep 24, 2014, 09:55 PM

8. Understood

which is why I suggested the tools.

Once you get done with chipping it off with the scraper and mallet, see how regular/irregular it is and that whatever is still on there will be there in perpetuity.
 
If it's not too bumpy, you can get away with installing something over it.

mopinko (42,161 posts)    Wed Sep 24, 2014, 10:23 PM

9. i would prolly heat gun it.

rather be sticky than dusty.

torch, even.

Chaco Dundee (326 posts)    Wed Sep 24, 2014, 07:52 PM

2. go all the way to the studs.

Anything less will open a can of worms.

Sherman A1 (13,612 posts)    Wed Sep 24, 2014, 08:18 PM

3. Agreed

it will serve you better in the long run and most likely you will end up doing it anyway.

mopinko (42,161 posts)   Wed Sep 24, 2014, 08:36 PM

6. at my age

the long run is not so much a concern. tho i am tackling this because i am trying to get it all done before i get too old.

mopinko (42,161 posts)    Wed Sep 24, 2014, 08:35 PM

5. thing is

this stuff has been here forever. it really hasnt caused any trouble so far.

marble falls (5,014 posts)    Wed Sep 24, 2014, 09:40 PM

7. If it doesn't need replacing, don't replace. You can get the drywall replaced for less than $500....

We're freshing up our bathrooms, too. And we're fixing a lot of worms falling from the can as we go. I've hired an electrician and a plasterer to texture the walls.
 
Some things I used to do I now find I have no problem paying someone else to do right.

mopinko (42,161 posts)    Wed Sep 24, 2014, 10:25 PM

10. it isnt drywall. its plaster and lath.

a little chinky, but mostly sound.

and a whole lot more of a pain in the ass to remove than drywall. hence.....

marble falls (5,014 posts)    Thu Sep 25, 2014, 08:17 AM

11. Get a guy to fix the chinks and skim coat it. Thats pretty reasonably cheap. Still a pain....

but affordable. My guys patching and skimming both of my bathrooms for $400. I'll paint and take down the popcorn on the ceiling.

amerikat (4,333 posts)    Thu Sep 25, 2014, 01:43 PM

12. Just drywall right over the old stuff.

I've done it plenty of times. Avoids all the mess and disposal of the old stuff.

[98ZJUSMC]

mopinko (42,161 posts)    Wed Sep 24, 2014, 10:23 PM

9. i would prolly heat gun it. rather be sticky than dusty.

torch, even.

3....2....1

marble falls (5,014 posts)    Thu Sep 25, 2014, 08:17 AM

11. Get a guy to fix the chinks

Why so raycisss, (D)Ummie?  You so raycisss...

[tanstaafl]

mopinko (42,161 posts)    Wed Sep 24, 2014, 07:19 PM

so, i pulled down the paneling, peeled off the old tin tiles,

now the question is-

do i have to get rid of this old mastic in order to put a on a drywall veneer?

a lot of it is loose and or crispy. it is not a whole lot of square feet, about 100 out of about 150 sq ft overall. but i would really like it to be a couple days work.

Got news for ya, Mo. That ain't mastic. It's plaster, plaster of paris, prolly.

I was born in, and raised the first six years of my life in a farm house built during the Civil War, as evidenced by the silver dollars found at the corners under the roofing boards. When it was torn down, the interior walls were all plaster and lath. The only things I regret now is that my mother wouldn't salvage the armoires in it because there was a closet in every room of her new house. As she said: "I was tired of all that old junk.".  My father wouldn't "waste the effort" to salvage the rough cut limestone blocks from the cellar and foundation. He just wanted the rough cut 2 inch or thicker framing lumber.

There were two other buildings that were built in the mid-nineteenth century. The grain house and the barn. Both, like the house, in the German Farm tradition: pin and tennon. but the grain house beamage had been hand squared (the adz and axe marks were clearly visible) while the barn and house beams had been cut by a steam driven sawmill (the large saw wheel marks were, again, clearly visible).

[BattleHymn]

There is a reason heat guns are not recommended to strip material in situ when working on a house, primitive.  It's your life, though. 

I'm surprised none of the primitives have suggested using 1/4" drywall over the surface.  It maintains the relief of any trim work, and minimizes the hassle of attempting to remove whatever glop is stuck to the inside of the primitive's wall surface. 

Last time I checked, 1/4 drywall is around $10 a sheet, which means a couple of sheets would clear out the bank accounts of all but the most affluent primitives on the island.   
 

[Big Dog]

Last time I checked, 1/4 drywall is around $10 a sheet, which means a couple of sheets would clear out the bank accounts of all but the most affluent primitives on the island.

Mo the Crazy Chicken Lady could sell some of her fine feathered friends, and use the money to buy drywall.

[98ZJUSMC]

There is a reason heat guns are not recommended to strip material in situ when working on a house, primitive.  It's your life, though. 

I'm surprised none of the primitives have suggested using 1/4" drywall over the surface.  It maintains the relief of any trim work, and minimizes the hassle of attempting to remove whatever glop is stuck to the inside of the primitive's wall surface. 

Last time I checked, 1/4 drywall is around $10 a sheet, which means a couple of sheets would clear out the bank accounts of all but the most affluent primitives on the island.

Is it that high?  I did exactly that in my living room to fix the boogered up drywall after getting rid of paneling.   I thought I only paid about $5.50/sht.  1/2" last year was just under $8.00.

[diesel driver]

There is a reason heat guns are not recommended to strip material in situ when working on a house, primitive.  It's your life, though. 

I'm surprised none of the primitives have suggested using 1/4" drywall over the surface.  It maintains the relief of any trim work, and minimizes the hassle of attempting to remove whatever glop is stuck to the inside of the primitive's wall surface. 

Last time I checked, 1/4 drywall is around $10 a sheet, which means a couple of sheets would clear out the bank accounts of all but the most affluent primitives on the island.

If its only covering" 100 or so" square feet, 3 sheets will cover it.  But its "timeline" of taking 2 days to hang it is probably right.  Mopinko needs to start praying, NOW!

[BattleHymn]

Is it that high?  I did exactly that in my living room to fix the boogered up drywall after getting rid of paneling.   I thought I only paid about $5.50/sht.  1/2" last year was just under $8.00.

Everywhere I have went (at least in my neck of the woods), 1/4" is higher than all other thicknesses of drywall.  It is even a special order at some outfits. 

[Zathras]

After reading this thread, why do I have visions of Tool Time staring Tim Taylor and Al Borlin in my head all of a sudden?

[franksolich]

After reading this thread, why do I have visions of Tool Time staring Tim Taylor and Al Borlin in my head all of a sudden?

Well, I'm still unsure about something.

When Big Mo says "mastic," apparently she's referring to those miniature near-transparent hardened globules?

If so, that's what I would've called it, "clusters of miniature near-transparent hardened globules."

I honestly had no idea about this word, "mastic."

Perhaps it's been uttered in my presence a few times in my life, but of course being deaf, I never heard it.

This reminds me of when GOBUCKS used the word "backstrap," in reference to deer meat, which confused me greatly; I had no idea the term existed.

Of course I'm surrounded by deer-hunters who from time to time congregate here, either before or after, and they talk a lot of deer-hunting.  The word "backstrap" probably has been said hundreds, if not thousands, of times in my presence, but damn it, I never heard it, and so had no idea.

I think it would help Big Mo's literary style if she when using obscure words, briefly explained the meanings of things, under the assumption that not everybody knows the words she uses.

<<<does that courtesy all the time, for readers; it's as easy as strawberries-and-cream.

[GOBUCKS]

I guess you could call the backstraps "rib eye" or "prime rib", like the same location on a beef, but they're so much smaller it doesn't seem right.

It's like how we don't cut a venison tenderloin across the grain and call it filet mignon.

[franksolich]

I guess you could call the backstraps "rib eye" or "prime rib", like the same location on a beef, but they're so much smaller it doesn't seem right.

It's like how we don't cut a venison tenderloin across the grain and call it filet mignon.

That was years ago, though, that "backstrap" presented me with any problem.

But seriously, if a word's commonly spoken, but not commonly written, it should be no wonder the deaf struggle with vocabulary (but as there's nothing one can do about it, no one should worry overmuch about it).

When I was an aspiring writer (this was eons ago), one of my professors noticed a peculiarity about my writing--rather than simply writing the name of something (say, "bridge"), I tended to describe its appearance ("a long road crossing an expanse of water") or its function ("on which traffic passes to cross the river"), because I'd never heard the word, or encountered it often enough in written matter to bother remembering it.

And lo, these many years later, my mechanic, of all people, appreciates the habit.  Most people tell him what's wrong, and name parts.....and get it all wrong.  I simply describe the appearance and function of the object without naming it.....and after thirteen years, while he's caught me being a little off at times, he's never caught me being totally wrong.

But that's something one just has to live with.  However, I'm still irked the time the Treasonous Bastard primitive called me an idiot because I didn't know what a certain cooking appliance was--a primitive used a brand-name for it.....a name that's commonly uttered, but rarely if ever written, and as I'd never heard it before, I had no idea what it was.

Every time I see the Treasonous Bastard primitive on Skins's island, I have to suppress the desire to kick him in the ass; being "socially sensitive" to the problems of the "handicapped," he should've known I'd never heard the word, and the primitive who originally used it, should've written "electric turkey roaster" instead.

<<<holds the primitives to a higher standard because they allege themselves to be more socially sensitive than we are.  (Of course, I find the opposite is actually the true case.)

[vesta111]

Kind of curious about the tin tiles mentioned in the first post.     Are these the decorative tiles that cost $5.00 each or some other thing ?