In a home remodeling project, our attentions are mostly likely directed to the glamorous aspects: new flooring, lighting, furniture, and kitchen countertops. While those are all undeniably important, another aspect of remodeling deserves more of our attention: the interior walls.
In addition to providing privacy and separation, a home’s interior walls also act as a sound barrier, insulator, and defense against fire. Two kinds of materials are commonly used for constructing interior walls, namely plaster and dry lining. (a.k.a. drywall) The former has been used since ancient times, while the latter has only gained fame in the last 50 to 60 years.
That said, if you’re about to embark on a major remodeling or renovation project, let’s go over what we need to know about plaster and drywall.
Plaster vs. Dry Lining
If you live in an old home, there’s a chance that its interior walls are made of plaster. The material dates back to the ancient Egyptian times, where the tombs had plaster walls adorned with paintings. Plaster was also used in ancient Roman homes, with fresco artwork features.
Wet plasters are applied over wooden strips called laths. It would form walls and ceilings after it hardens, but the drying time can be lengthy. Moreover, the installation process is time-consuming and labor intensive. There is, however, a faster-drying variety of plaster, called gypsum-based plaster, which could be helpful in speeding up a construction process.
If a home or any other building is brand new or just built in the recent past, its interior walls are most likely made of dry lining. The material may also be known as sheetrock, plasterboard, gypsum, wallboard, or drywall. Aside from being used in walls and ceilings, they may also be used in constructing additional architectural features such as eaves and arches.
Dry lining is installed around steel columns and beams to conceal them. They’re a dry, solid material, so no drying time is required, unlike plaster. Installation is simpler and faster compared to the plaster as well; walls that take weeks to build with plaster can be finished within a few days with a dry lining. There are also high-quality dry lining tools for sale in hardware stores, and with those, you can further speed up the construction and enhance the durability of your interior walls.
Which of the Two Should You Use For Your Home?
Both plaster and dry lining have great qualities. You’re not required to choose just one for your home, because having both works wonders, too. But if you’re working under a certain lead time, using dry lining may be more feasible, because of the faster installation process. They cost less than plaster, too, making them the better choice for homeowners with a limited budget.
But if you’re featuring archways and other curved surfaces in your home, plaster would be a good material to construct those, although the dry lining is also capable of creating those. But if you think the wet plaster would make smoother curves, you can just use dry lining for the flat walls and ceilings to save some bucks.
Both materials have fire-resistant varieties, so if a fire occurs, you’d have ample time to safely evacuate because your dry lining or plaster walls would prevent the flames from rapidly spreading.
Now that we’ve gained some basic knowledge about plaster and drywall, let’s be more meticulous in choosing the material that we’ll use for our interior walls. They’ll be our guard against external issues that may affect the safety of ourselves and our belongings, so let’s pay more attention to them and ensure their longevity and durability.
