Bought 1880's house with lathe and horsehair plaster wallsHave to do some re-wiring, replace windows, add pipes for hot water baseboard heat and need to add insulation to the outside wallsall of this on both first and second floorsGoing to either cover existing walls with drywall or remove them and replace with drywallWhich is best? As I'm going to place drywall anyway, is it best to remove plaster walls first? Or is it okay to just cover them up to decrease the amount of hours and mess that removing them involves?
Nope, sorry, inefficientVac trucks are much better.
In the real world it's not a realistic idea since it is very inefficient compared to existing means of picking up and transporting a liquidHOWEVER, I do see a new career move for SpongeBob Squarepants!
Have you ever put a sponge in the bath and then lifted it out? Most of the sponge water just falls back out again Plus, cranes are not really a good way to get to a location when you can just lay a pipe to the area you want drainingYou'd spend more time getting the arm in position than it's worth, plus it would only be able to reach as far from the vehicle as the jib lengthThe sponge would also be a bit smelly if you used it a few times on the typical things people suck up and might not even soak up some of the heavier and more nastier stuff that a pump and pipe will! Sorry, but it sounds like a loser.
My preference would be to skim the existing plaster onlyIf there are sufficient wall repairs to be made to justify drywalling, then I would take out the old lath and plasterIt is the messiest job with the finest dust that gets everywhere so tape up and seal 100% completely other parts of the house and the room must be empty (will ruin carpets etc.)I would also put some soundproofing between the studs and even consider a double layer of plasterboard as the lath and plaster will have provided better noise insulationI'd also number the bits of skirting board and strip, knot and prime them while they are off the wall and can be worked on nicely off trestles If you were to drywall over the top you still have to take off skirting boards and architrave around doors, plus you have to spend time locating studs to screw them to or the lesser job of dabbing them on the wallsIt may not be as true as putting the drywall directly onto the joistsThe only extra work is a day each room where you get absolutely filthy, and your life is easier after that.
