Brick or concrete bricks + gypsum plaster is so common here that many people aren’t even aware of any other options. Our basement still has the original lime plaster but that’s not a common building material anymore. I don’t think I’ve ever seen drywall in person but it doesn’t look super convenient or sturdy, at least to someone who isn’t familiar with it.
Our house is from the 1940s and it has solid brick cavity walls, so two walls entirely of solid brick. The cavity used to be empty but a couple of years ago we filled it up to insulate the walls. Then the indoor brick wall is plastered with gypsum plaster and the great thing about that is, you just smear new layers on top of the old until it’s smooth again. So we didn’t have to strip it back, we only removed the loose bits of plaster. Replastering is a dirty job, because it’s all handwork and gypsum powder. It’s labour intensive but it’s not extremely expensive, it’s similar in price to having your house painted. We decided to do the painting ourselves so we could afford to pay a plasterer and I don’t regret that.
Insulating older homes is such a challenge. I’ve seen the pictures, I know your house looks very nice, I would be very scared to do such a big job and possibly ruin the character of the house. But as someone who has lived in older homes for most of their life, I’m well aware of the downsides of a pretty old house too. I know our house doesn’t have that vintage feel anymore, it lost some of it’s character - hopefully we’ll be able to get that feeling back once we’re completely done. At least we can stay comfy now the wind doesn’t blow straight through it anymore, that’s a bonus.
Drywall is very convenient, but not exactly study. It does have the quality of not being especially flammable and it is often building code to use a thicker version for rooms such as kitchens and where water heaters and furnaces are to slow the progress of fires a little bit.
What are the methods for hanging art and decoration (and curtain hardware) on walls with gypsum plaster over brick?
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AIMR
(Linda -In the year 2025, I am happy to be alive! :us:)
685
We had plaster walls in our former house. The way they insulated it was they made two holes at the top and bottom of each wall and stuck a hose in to blow in insulation, then sealed and repainted the holes. It was a lot of work, a big mess and cost a lot of money, but it made the house much more comfortable in the very cold PA winters.
The way I hung stuff was I had to use a drill to make a hole for a molly bolt. If it was a small hanging, I made a cross of masking tape and hammered in small nails. Many times, the plaster would crack anyway, but it was behind the picture so I didn’t care until it was time to move and I had to make all the small repairs before repainting! Some people in our neighborhood put up crown molding and hung pictures like they did in Victorian days. I also found command strips useful to hang things.
Mr. Road just took the kiddo to pick out paint color for the loft. We are in a similar spot…except our flooring isn’t done yet lol. Can’t wait for the wallpaper reveal!
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AIMR
(Linda -In the year 2025, I am happy to be alive! :us:)
688
The attic rooms here are not well insulated and there is one vent but no cold air exchange so heating & cooling doesn’t work well in that space. One of the windows is ancient as well & a few years ago the storm window glass broke. It’s just a “hat” on the house tho so we could do a few things to change all that. It’s just not in the current budget.
Our bedroom closet is on an outside wall & it’s like an icebox in there all winter. The partially finished basement is cool to cold all year round, dampish in summer so we run a dehumidifier.
You’d use a wall anchor in a drilled hole- there are plastic ones and metal ones - they expand to really grip the plaster or brick. I’ve used them on brick where we set up a gate to keep the dogs out of the living room.
Yes, wall plug & screw. They’re pretty quick and easy to use. Brick and plaster is so much the norm here that when you buy, say, a mirror or something else that needs hanging, they usually come with a set of plugs and screws. You can also use hardened steel nails. I’ve used those in the past to quickly hang up art in my craft room. Sometimes when you pull the nails out you can damage the paint or the plaster though. Plugs and screws are easy to remove - take out the screw, pull out the plug and fill up the hole (with repair stuff from a bottle).
I thought drywall would be quite flammable so I’m glad to hear it’s not! In pictures it looks a bit like cardboard. Maybe it’s more sturdy than I thought it would be. In my craft room, I’m planning to hang some solid oak kitchen cupboards onto the wall. They were made by my grandfather, who was a carpenter, but they’re pretty heavy even when empty. Can you attach heavy things like that to drywall?
@AIMR we had our cavity walls insulated the same way but it was super quick and mess-free for us. The insulation guys drove up in a mini tanker truck, drilled a hole in the house, attached the hose and blew the house full of insulation material, closed up the hole and left within an hour.
Thanks for explaining! I guess I have used masonry anchors before, but it sounds like you have to really want to have something there for real when you decide to hang it! I can’t imagine doing a gallery wall. Do you have something like 3M Command brand adhesives for hanging things there? I don’t give hardly a thought to putting a pin or nail into my walls and hanging whatever - even something seasonal, but have finally tried Command hooks for some things and am pretty impressed with how they work.
Drywall has one face that is kraft paper, but it is made mostly of gypsum. You can use various kinds of anchors in drywall, but also try to find a wood stud behind it for hanging heavy things.
Progress! It took longer than expected because our house is old and crooked, and because the ceiling needed three coats of paint. But now there’s only the solid wallpaper left to do and we’ll do that next weekend.
WOW! That.is.stunning! And your drapery fabric is going to look AMAZING with these papers! Is the solid a true solid or is there a little variation or texture.
Now I want a wallpapered wall in my craft room. Ah well, it’s going to be filled with lady and cat art. Just as soon as I get around to it.
Our HOA doesn’t really bother us. They don’t really care unless it’s egregious or you have a crap neighbor. The cool thing now is that you can xeriscape your lawn out here! You just have to send your plan to the HOA first, but there’s a few houses down the block that have very nice rock and cacti and yucca lawns.
We had originally wanted to paint those walls but it was hard to find a matching shade of green. And yes, the fabric is a perfect match as well! I’m glad we didn’t go with a darker shade. I just cut the whole bolt of fabric, because the floor was empty, and realistically, how long is it going to stay that way?? Better take advantage now. After this long day my knees are now telling me to Netflix and knit tonight.
@AntBee Thanks! Even though we’re not done, our schedule for the living area (done in October) feels much more feasible now. Even Mr. Imma, the Eeyore to my Tigger, agreed. Hopefully we can finish the wallpaper next weekend, curtains need to be serged, washed and sewn, and we need to get the dining table, chairs and a set of shelves from the storage unit.
@irid3sc3nt I l love wallpaper! It’s fun to install as well. It’s basically just modpodging on a larger scale. One idea I’ve actually had for a long time is a scrappy wallpaper / art wall. A wall that you randomly stick paper to like a huge junk journal or masterboard. I have lots of scraps that I’ve (obviously) kept and will probably use somewhere.
You did a great job!!! The room is going to look so great when it is all completed!! The drapes are going to be so perfect!!!
It’s been years since I hung wallpaper. In the kitchen I needed scaffolding to be able to reach the highest portions of the wall.
Most difficult wallpapering I ever did was for my brother’s office (so many years ago) - Had to pre-shrink the panels in the office hallway before placing them on the walls. Looked great when it was all done, but never again!! lol!!
We’re probably not going to finish the wallpaper this weekend Some rolls had a printing fault, and we had to take them back to the shop. The factory agreed there was a printing mistake and is sending us new wallpaper, but it’s not here yet. If it doesn’t arrive tomorrow then we’ll have to postpone.
I did manage to cut, serge and wash all 23 yards of fabric this week, so at least I can finish the curtains this weekend. Or maybe even some fun crafting instead of necessary DIY? Cutting took around an hour, serging all 8 pieces of fabric (285 x 140 cm) took around two hours. It was actually quite meditative, I had some bad work-related news on Monday and I just spent two hours not thinking about anything except for keeping my fabric straight. Nothing related to job security, thankfully, but two coworkers I was running a project with, both decided to resign, and I heard that on Monday. Which probably means I’m stuck with the project, and a new, totally inexperienced coworker to run it with. Yay.
Some rolls had a printing fault, and we had to take them back to the shop. The factory agreed there was a printing mistake and is sending us new wallpaper, but it’s not here yet. If it doesn’t arrive tomorrow then we’ll have to postpone.