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Elm Court's Unfinished Restoration

Bob Berle takes Bob Vila on a behind-the-scenes tour of Elm Court. Starting with the suite above the dining room and pointing out how the floors go up and down corresponding to the heights of the ceilings below. During the building�s long vacancy, water wreaked havoc on the plaster walls. Many walls will need to be replaced. Also shown is a quick view of the Bachelors Wing, which is a 10,000 square foot area separate from the rest of the house.

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Chapters from this episode

Elm Court Master Bedroom Now Playing

Elm Court Master Bedroom

The Bachelor's Den at Elm Court Now Playing

The Bachelor's Den at Elm Court

Elm Court's Utility Room and Washer and Dryer Hookup Now Playing

Elm Court's Utility Room and Washer and Dryer Hookup

Elm Court's Guest Suites Now Playing

Elm Court's Guest Suites

Elm Court's Unfinished Restoration Now Playing

Elm Court's Unfinished Restoration

Elm Court Stair Hall Now Playing

Elm Court Stair Hall

Clip Transcript For:

Elm Court's Unfinished Restoration

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" There are still areas that have not been. This is the suite above the dining room -- You can see quite a bit of hot water damage through here on the plaster work this class shall have to come out actually yeah. We're just getting started on some of the windows through here thanks triple window here. Which we've classic because we need to rebuild the frames. How come we have to go upstairs now. Wolf you remember when we were invoked once in the parlor the dining room and dining room ceiling is at least four feet higher than -- okay. And so we need to up the stairs to up. To gain that elevation and in the dining so how much square footage do we have here we've about a thousand here in play. And this actually is somewhat along I think you'll find we've another 10000 or so on another wing. The bachelor's wing and in the billiard wing that. We're getting started so these were rooms that were built just for bachelor members of the family. That is one of the stories I think it's in -- hard to get there unless you go through a bathroom. Or outside the building codes almost separate quarters from the house proper place some billiards and then wander upstairs and not to disturb anybody that's a good idea to have separate quarters I -- and sure."

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Blown-In Insulation in the Plaster Walls

Bob again meets up with insulation contractor Joe Sheridan in the main house where the Cocoon insulation in being blown into the original plaster walls. To accomplish this, Joe's crew has drilled holes every 16 inches so that they are into every stud cavity. They drill one high and one low to acheive the proper density. First they apply it to the bottom and fill till it's solid in there - about 30 seconds on a bottom cavity. The installer can tell when it's filled from the pressure of the hose. The product will start backing into the hose. With experience you can hear it. Thge goal is to create maximum density in the cavities - leaving no air pockets. When the insulation process is complete a plasterer will have to come in and patch each hole individually.

Blue Board Plaster Walls

Bob joins Bob Fragakis, a plastering contractor. Bob, along with his helpers Joe and Larry, will be installing blue board and then applying a plaster skim coat over the blue board. Blue board is used as its paper makes a ready surface for plaster adhesion. Fragakis� helpers show how to install the twelve-foot sheets to the ceiling and walls. He then explains the tools and materials used to smooth the plaster, deal with joints and corners, and prevent future cracks.

Drywall Types

Here s another great tip from BobVila.com. U.S. Gypsum developed a way to sandwich plaster between two paper faces and make wallboard as early as World War I, but the manpower shortage of World War II is what really made it catch on. Before drywall, builders nailed lengths of wood, called lath, to the studs and then applied several coats of plaster to that for a smooth finish. As many of us with old houses can attest, lath and plaster walls can last a long time but they re hard to deal with if you re having rewiring, insulation and plumbing needs. Drywall comes in various thicknesses. For interior walls, one-half-inch works fine but won t stand up to heavy abuse. Five-eighth-inch is required for fire hazard walls like garages and basement entries. Standard paper-faced drywall is grey and comes in 4x8 or 4x12 sheets, designed to make it easy to cover from stud to stud with minimal cutting. But even cutting is made easy. Most drywall scores and snaps with a simple utility knife. Holes can be cut by hand with a short keyhole saw or a small rotary tool. Special fiberglass-faced drywall was recently introduced to help prevent mold problems that can develop when traditional paper-faced drywall gets wet. This new product finishes just like paper-faced drywall with tape and joint compound. Behind tile, in bathrooms and in other wet areas, it s important to use cement board. This denser product is waterproof and faced with fiberglass mesh that won t degrade or mold when it gets wet. In the past, some builders used a product called green board in bathrooms, but time has shown that this product is not a good substitute for cement board. Find out more at BobVila.com: the ultimate home improvement web site! 2008 BobVila.com

Preparing the Finish Plaster Coat

It's time for the finish coat on the new plaster walls. Gary Annino explains how the plasterer creates a gauge of slaked lime and water. The gauge acts like a swimming pool into which water is poured and plaster is sprinkled and left to sit. After about ten minutes, the reaction is complete and the gauge is ready to be mixed into a lime plaster. This lime-plaster finish coat will be applied in a thin coat then polished up with a final application until it shines like marble. During this last pass and polish with a trowel, the plasterer keeps a spray bottle handy, constantly spraying the plaster so the trowel will glide over the surface and polish it smooth. Overall, the finish coat is about 1/8 inch thick. Bob then looks at the ceiling where wire lath is used to repair the holes and allow them to rebuild the plaster. The entire ceiling will receive a skim coat of lime plaster when the rough coats are done.