The living room's architectural details, including the mantel, built-in bookcases, and French doors, required only stripping and fresh paint.
To tackle the water-damaged perimeter walls throughout the rest of the house, I had to take off all the plaster and lath and pull out the rusted nails with nippers. Seemed like there were millions of them. I had already decided that we would replaster. Drywall would have been a lot cheaper, but there’s no comparison. So I insulated and hung blueboard, which is moisture-resistant, and hired some pros who put up a brown mud scratch coat and then the white coat. It looks great.
Luckily, we were able to save the plaster on the interior walls, which the pros reskinned. I like knowing that the original fabric of the house is still there.
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