When wondering what materials to coat your interior walls in
Naples, Florida with before decorating them, you might be weighing up
your options and struggling to choose whether drywall or plaster is
best. When making your choice between drywall and plaster, the main factors are
to choose the finish which best suits the look and feel of the rest of the
building; if it’s traditional, possibly plaster would look best and in a new home
often drywall is favorable. You also need to weigh up what’s most important to
you. For saving time and cost, drywall might be your type, or are you looking
for something more hardwearing, durable, shiny and smooth?
We’re looking at the cost and insulation properties of plaster vs
drywall. Which is cheaper? Which is quicker? Which will keep the heat in
better? Here at Smith Plastering, we will tell you which of these two suits
your design.
Plaster
The traditional form of plastering, the kind that’s been practiced for
hundred of years. Wet plasters build up layers of strong, hard wearing
materials – traditionally lime, gypsum or cement – to create a strong, durable
finish. The layers can create a texture, sound resistance, and air tightness
that aren’t replicated by drywall; however, they can also require a lot more
labor and specialized skill.
Drywall
The streamlined way to plaster, drywall are essentially big chunks of
pre-rendered material that you can stick directly to the wall. It’s like
wallpapering instead of painting the design on to the wall. You still need to
cover the drywall with another few coats, one to fill all the gaps that might
have been created, a skim coat to cover it, and paint to provide the color, but
it’s a still a whole lot more convenient than wet plaster. The main advantage
is that it can be thrown up quickly and easily, with relatively little mess.
This can result in much lower labor costs.
Which is cheaper?
For materials alone, wet plaster tends to be cheaper than drywall.
However, unless you’re doing the work yourself, this is not what will
cost you the money. The real cost of plastering comes from the labor, and the
labor costs vary hugely between drywall and plaster.
When using drywall, the labor is minimal. A wall plastered in this way
can be boarded up and plastered over in a matter of days, possibly even hours.
With traditional wet plastering, however, each layer must be applied by a
skilled drywall contractor in Naples, taking several times
longer than just whacking up some drywall. The wet plaster must then be left to
dry before the next coat can go on, meaning another day of labor.
Which has better insulation?
With regard to the materials themselves, there’s not a large difference
that separates the two in terms of insulation values. There are high-quality
clay plaster options and special insulated plasterboards on the market, but
when you’re looking at standard plasterboard drywall and traditional wet
render, there’s not all that much variance. The composition of the wall itself
is much more important.
One advantage that should be noted with regards to insulation, however,
is the opportunity to install insulation behind drywall. While this can be very
effective, it will limit the space inside the room, which something that should
be fully considered before committing to it. All of that said, there is one
other factor with regards to keeping your house warm that is affected by your
choice of plaster. The thermal envelope of the house can be seriously altered
by choosing either drywall or wet plaster.
Whereas drywall requires cutting at the bottom to make room for a
skirting board, and may not necessarily reach the top of the wall perfectly, a
wet render can reach everywhere and ensures that the thermal envelope of the
room or building is fully intact. This can save you a significant amount of
money on your heating bills.
If you are looking for
a drywall company in Naples or in Collier and Lee
counties, Smith Plastering is the right company for you! We provide help
for builders to finish the job on time and with satisfaction guaranteed. Call us at 239-594-7537 today for a FREE quote on
your upcoming project.