For centuries, it had been the go-to material when constructing interior walls for homes. It was not until 50 years ago that construction professionals started adding gypsum into the mixture. It allowed the compound to dry up more quickly.
This mixture, as you might have already guessed, is called drywall. And it’s been the most popular material used for finishing interior walls over the last few decades. No surprise there. After all, modern construction practices favor using the material in terms of time and costs.
This begs the question:
Is drywall really much better?
The answer largely depends on your priorities as a homeowner.
If you want a wall material with a durable surface that can last a long time, then plaster is the ideal choice. The drawback is that it tends to absorb water easily, increasing the risk of water damage. Repairing it can be difficult and expensive. It sometimes requires you to remove big sections of the material when carrying out repairs.
As already mentioned, drywall is more cost-effective to use than plaster. Another big advantage is that it provides better sound and temperature insulation. One major issue with it is that it cracks more easily. Without using top-grade construction materials, installing it can be complicated and messy. And when not installed correctly, the joints between the sheets tend to show. It ruins the surface’s smooth and seamless appearance.
Okay, then. But how is plaster wall made?
It is durable. It’s not because of the material it’s made of, but because of the way it’s constructed. It is made of flexible material you can mesh together. It allows you to create a multi-layered coat system, sometimes called the three-coat stucco process system.
So, how do they pull this off?
It begins with the lath, which are thin wood slats attached to your wall’s framing. Three coats are then applied to the lath in an interlocking manner, resulting in a structural system that holds the wall together. You’re getting a system with good insulation for temperate and sound by layering three coats together.
The 3-coat system is comprised of the scratch coat, brown coat, finish coat. Therefore, the scratch coat serves as the system’s base coat and is the first one attached to the wall. The brown coat is then applied after applying the scratch coat, further strengthening the system. After the brown coat is cured, the finish coat is applied to give the entire system a nice finish.
