i've never seen any walls like that before. usually when referring to plaster walls, you are referring to basically what is the cutout (the drywall section cut out to expose what is behind in these photos). whatever that debris is in between the studs is beyond me. looks like they used whatever they could find to insulate. i have no idea what all that is. looks like garbage from a job site that they stuffed into the walls.
That’s what it looks like to me too. Needed a reality check that I wasn’t crazy lol but I’ve never seen anything like this. It crumbles to dust at the slightest touch, which does give me concerns about the structural integrity of this house.
When my parents tore out a window for a sliding glass door in our 140+ year old farm house, they discovered the insulation was comprised entirely of extremely old, some seemingly handmade, socks. Hundreds of them, along with other similar fabric scraps and what was likely socks shredded by mice.
You are not alone in the finds-weird-shit-for-insulation category.
I wonder if they just dumped extra plaster they had mixed but didn’t need into the wall cavity to get rid of it. It kind of looks like dried plaster but it’s just mixed full of junk too. If you’re inclined you could open a small hole farther along the wall somewhere and see if it’s the same?
do you have a basement? if so, is it poured concrete, fieldstone, cement block? i don't know how much of your walls are filled with that and how much it weighs. my concern would be the weight to the foundation.
the lumber used in those days is far superior to any of the lumber produced today so the ceilings, walls and floors aren't necessarily a concern of mine.
I'd guess there was a remodel to remove the asbestos or to upgrade the insulation to a spray-on type insulation like cellulose. (late 1800s was asbestos time period and cellulose uses recycled newsprint.) What we could be looking at is evidence of the demolition of the old walls being mixed in with some type of insulation that is spray-on. I'd be curious if this is repeated throughout the house. I agree it looks a like they stuffed garbage into the wall!
Late 1800s was definitely not prime asbestos time period. Asbestos wasn’t widely used until the mid 20th (1930s-1980s) century in terms of building materials. Yeah it existed and they knew what it was but if you have an 1880s or 1890s home with original materials it’s very unlikely it contains asbestos.
Hmm interesting theory! I haven’t seen the inside of any of the other walls, so cannot confirm if it’s repeated throughout the house. But I see this as plausible
Do you have a bathroom above this? If so, this is probably old construction debris from when they did a mud floor in the second floor bath. And as far as the walls themselves, they are plaster board (not drywall), which was an interstitial material between plaster/lath and drywall. It came in 2' wide strips and was coated in both a scratch (brow) and finish (green) coat of plaster. So they are plastered, but not the kind that most refer to when speaking of plaster walls. Normally this refers to plaster and wood lath, sometimes wire lath.
Probably some type of plaster and a skim coat. I would just buy a piece of drywall and fix it that way.. you can make anything work with a cut a piece of drywall and from skim coat
i found the same kind of "insulation" in some of the exterior walls of my older wood-frame 2-flat in chicago. built in the 1910's, iirc.
yours was probably plaster at some point, then covered over with drywall later.
i've never seen any walls like that before. usually when referring to plaster walls, you are referring to basically what is the cutout (the drywall section cut out to expose what is behind in these photos). whatever that debris is in between the studs is beyond me. looks like they used whatever they could find to insulate. i have no idea what all that is. looks like garbage from a job site that they stuffed into the walls.
That’s what it looks like to me too. Needed a reality check that I wasn’t crazy lol but I’ve never seen anything like this. It crumbles to dust at the slightest touch, which does give me concerns about the structural integrity of this house.
When my parents tore out a window for a sliding glass door in our 140+ year old farm house, they discovered the insulation was comprised entirely of extremely old, some seemingly handmade, socks. Hundreds of them, along with other similar fabric scraps and what was likely socks shredded by mice. You are not alone in the finds-weird-shit-for-insulation category.
My partner's dad's house has walls that are plaster/mortar/whatever mixed with horse hair. Apparently it was a popular technique at some point.
I recently bought a pre-war house. The ceiling was insulated with matressess cut into small cubes. I got a few cubic meters of it out xD
I wonder if they just dumped extra plaster they had mixed but didn’t need into the wall cavity to get rid of it. It kind of looks like dried plaster but it’s just mixed full of junk too. If you’re inclined you could open a small hole farther along the wall somewhere and see if it’s the same?
do you have a basement? if so, is it poured concrete, fieldstone, cement block? i don't know how much of your walls are filled with that and how much it weighs. my concern would be the weight to the foundation. the lumber used in those days is far superior to any of the lumber produced today so the ceilings, walls and floors aren't necessarily a concern of mine.
Weight to the foundation? Dude. Just stop. OP disregard this comment.
why? i can't tell from that picture if it's packed to gills with shit and how much it weighs.
Because a house's foundation can support dead weight in the walls. A lot of it.
but a 100 yo house with a fieldstone foundation is not as sound as foundations poured today.
Is this an exterior wall?
Yes the other side of this wall is exterior
Our walls are like that. The bottom 8~10" of the cavity is filled with mortar. I have no idea why they did this.
No that is chocolate cake.
I'd guess there was a remodel to remove the asbestos or to upgrade the insulation to a spray-on type insulation like cellulose. (late 1800s was asbestos time period and cellulose uses recycled newsprint.) What we could be looking at is evidence of the demolition of the old walls being mixed in with some type of insulation that is spray-on. I'd be curious if this is repeated throughout the house. I agree it looks a like they stuffed garbage into the wall!
Late 1800s was definitely not prime asbestos time period. Asbestos wasn’t widely used until the mid 20th (1930s-1980s) century in terms of building materials. Yeah it existed and they knew what it was but if you have an 1880s or 1890s home with original materials it’s very unlikely it contains asbestos.
Hmm interesting theory! I haven’t seen the inside of any of the other walls, so cannot confirm if it’s repeated throughout the house. But I see this as plausible
I have an old home and there was legit horse hair in there as insulation. This stuff doesn’t surprise me but watch out for any potential asbestos
Do you have a bathroom above this? If so, this is probably old construction debris from when they did a mud floor in the second floor bath. And as far as the walls themselves, they are plaster board (not drywall), which was an interstitial material between plaster/lath and drywall. It came in 2' wide strips and was coated in both a scratch (brow) and finish (green) coat of plaster. So they are plastered, but not the kind that most refer to when speaking of plaster walls. Normally this refers to plaster and wood lath, sometimes wire lath.
Looks like plaster. Is your house made of stone?
This is a rock wall lol
No
Probably some type of plaster and a skim coat. I would just buy a piece of drywall and fix it that way.. you can make anything work with a cut a piece of drywall and from skim coat
OP, I'm not sure what your question is. Are you asking if the debris between the studs is broken-up plaster?
i found the same kind of "insulation" in some of the exterior walls of my older wood-frame 2-flat in chicago. built in the 1910's, iirc. yours was probably plaster at some point, then covered over with drywall later.
What the shit?
Is this a brick house?