New drywall that sits flush with the plaster beside it, so the wall reads as one surface. We tape and finish new board in Arlington Heights homes, old walls and new.
New drywall and old plaster are different thicknesses, and the difference shows as a step if nobody plans for it. Where new board meets plaster, we shim the framing or use thicker board so the faces line up, then tape the joint and feather compound well out onto the plaster. Painted plaster gets a bonding primer first so the compound grips it, and we skim both sides until the joint is gone under paint. On new board elsewhere in the room, it is the standard three coats, feathered and sanded between.
Arlington Heights is on our regular route up Route 53, and Arlington Heights Road and Northwest Highway get us into the neighborhoods around downtown and the Metra station. Where an older Arlington Heights house still has plaster, a remodel can mean drywall on the new walls and plaster on the rest, and the place they meet is the first thing the eye catches. We look at that line with you at the estimate. Then we decide together whether to blend at the joint or skim the whole wall for one even surface.
Framing shimmed or thicker board used so new drywall sits in the same plane as the plaster beside it.
Painted plaster gets a bonding primer so the compound holds instead of peeling at the edge.
The joint is coated well out onto the plaster so the transition does not show.
If the plaster side is wavy or crazed, a skim over the whole wall gives one even surface.
Every new seam and fastener taped and coated three times, sanded between.
Plastic at the doorways and the floors covered, so plaster dust and compound dust both stay in the work area.
We look at the new board, tap the plaster around it and write an estimate that says where we blend, where we skim and how many visits to expect. If the plaster turns out to be loose from its lath once we start, we stop, show you and price the repair in writing before doing it. Primer and extra skim coats add drying time, and we book the visits around that on the days we said. The final walkthrough happens under the room's own light, with a close look wherever old meets new.
Call or text (815) 585-1750 with a photo of where the new board meets the old wall. We will come out and write up how we would finish it.
Call or text (815) 585-1750
Email matt@onitcc.com