Plaster

First off I will answer the question why in the heck did we decide to plaster in the first place. The first and totally impractical reason is that I just happen to like it. The second and much more practical reason that we decided to try plaster is that it has the benefit of of a flexible depth, which is very handy when transitioning from new wall surface to the old. If you have ever attempted to compensate for a difference in surface wall heights using joint compound you will know what I am talking about.

We decided to use a veneer plaster system we were able to find blueboard at our local home improvement store as well as Diamond Veneer Finish Plaster. However the prefered method is not to use just the finish plaster but to have a basecoat in between. Of course they didn't carry the basecoat so I went on a wild goose all over town. The moral of the story is don't screw around with the home improvement stores when you can go right to the building supply place.

The plaster turned out ok, it was hard work and although in general I improved on every wall I did I have a long way to go I ended up having to sand high spots and fill the low spots with spackle. Would I do it again? Yes, but I'm going to need awhile to recover.