Plaster Ceilings, Plaster Walls & Plaster Type Identification in buildings
InspectAPedia® -
Plaster & plaster lath ceiling types, history, age determination
Plaster System identification and history of use
Photo guide to split wood lath, pit-sawn lath, circular blade sawn wood lath, expanded metal lath, "rock lath" or plasterboard, drywall, & tainted Chinese drywall
Photo guide to plaster coatings, cracks, hazards
Plaster ceiling collapse hazards & photographs
Here we provide a photo guide to identifying types of plaster ceilings and walls installed in buildings, using building ceilings as a photo and investigation guide.
InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers nor with topics or services discussed at this website.
In this article series we describe and discuss the identification and history of older interior building surface materials such plaster, plaster board, split wood lath, sawn lath, and expanded metal lath, Beaverboard, and Drywall - materials that were used to form the (usually) non-structural surface of building interior ceilings and walls.
Guide to Plaster Ceiling & Wall Covering Systems in buildings
Photo Guide to Types Interior Plaster: split wood lath, sawn wood lath, expanded metal lath, "rock lath" or plasterboard, drywall, & tainted Chinese drywall
Plaster Ceilings & Walls Applied over Wood Lath
Hand Split Wood Lath Based Plaster Ceilings & Walls
Photograph of hand-split wood lath and plaster wall, from the wall-cavity side. Ca 1800. Hand split wood lath will vary in width as you see in our photo (left).
There are several generations of plaster and lath, plaster board, and drywall which have been used
in buildings.
We name and illustrate these and discuss their periods of use below as an
aid in finding out how old a building is and tracing its history. Examples:
Horsehair mixed with plaster or cement for building exterior wall covering
Plaster of paris applied in at least two layers, a rough brown or scratch coat and a smooth white plaster top coat over hand split wood lath;
Sawn-Wood Lath Based Plaster Ceilings & Walls
Our photographs below show traditional sawn wood lath used as the supporting base for a typical three-coat plaster ceiling or wall system. As with the older split wood lath, plaster of paris was applied in at least two layers, usually three layers: a rough brown or scratch coat and a smooth white plaster top coat over sawn wood lath.
At left you can see the "ears" or "plaster ears" formed by the plaster base coat, or brown coat (the first plaster layer) applied onto the wood lath of this antique New York home.
You'll also notice that especially in older structures whose interior partition walls often used minimal and irregularly-spaced framing for interior walls and ceilings, the plasterer sometimes tacked up an extra wood scrap (the diagonal log in our photo at left) to improve support for plaster lath, or to provide a nailing surface to secure the ends of wood lath that otherwise did not reach a vertical wall stud.
Watch out: often the framing supporting plaster ceilings in homes built before 1900 was sized to be just strong enough to support the weight of the plaster itself. Such ceiling structures were not intended to support the weight of a curious home owner or home inspector.
Below (left) is a photo of an 1870's home in "the Bleachery" in Wappingers Falls, NY, restored by the author (DF). Most of the plaster ears had broken away and plaster was falling from the walls and ceilings in this home. Using a flat-bladed shovel we elected to remove all of the loose plaster.
Our second wood lath plaster photo (below right) is particularly interesting because at least one of the wood lath sections shows the vertical, but regularly-spaced saw kerf marks of a machine operated pits saw, a means of cutting wood used before circular saws were available and helping to date this building as pre 1840 in New York.
At left we show a mud-straw mix of plaster base coat used in a late 18th century New York home, ca 1785.
Plaster on Lath Coatings
Our plaster wall and ceiling photos below demonstrate the stages in constructing an traditional plaster on lath surface. Our photo at below left shows a common practice in roughly-finished attics: just a thin skim coat of plaster was applied directly to the wood lath - you can see the wood lath telegraphing through the plaster coating. Very often plaster cracking follows the lines of these lath strips.
Our plaster scratch coat or "brown coat" photo (below right) shows how this surface was sometimes scarified to provide better adhesion of the top coats of plaster. However often the brown coat was simply applied roughly without gouging, as we show in this extra plaster rough coat photo.
Gypsum Board Lath Sheets Used for Plaster Walls & Ceilings = Rock Lath, Plaster Lath, or Rock Lathe
Our photo (above left) shows perforated gypsum board panels that were used as plaster lath. Solid gypsum board (above right, without holes) was also used as a support for a plaster finish coat. Often this material was applied in two-foot widths - a feature that the inspector may spot by noticing scalloped ceilings and walls or even cracks that appear regularly on 24" centers.
Gypsum board lath: Plasterboard with round holes punched at regular intervals substituted for the plaster scratch coat, nailed to wall studs, eliminating the wood lath requirement. A top coat of plaster was applied to the plaster board. "Ears" of oozing plaster pushed through the round holes helped hold the plaster top coat in place
Our wall cross section cutaway photograph of gypsum board lath installed on a New York home (photo at left) shows how these walls are constructed, and you can see quite clearly the top coats of plaster that were applied over the gypsum board itself. [Click any image for an enlarged, detailed view.]
Here is another photograph of a plaster wall test cut that shows a closeup of the layers of plaster board and top coats that make up the wall surface in a 1930's-built home whose plaster-board lath included wood fiber reinforcing materials.
Contemporary gypsum lath products include GoldBond® brand gypsum board products including Kal-Kore brand plaster base panels sold by National Gypsum Corporation. Kal-Kore plaster base panels are designed as a base for veneer plaster, but these can also be used as basecoat plasters for Gypsolite, Two-Way Hardwall (National Gypsum products) or other conventional plasters.
Kal-Kore plaster base is sold in 4' and 8' widths and in 8' to 16' lengths - considerably larger than the older plaster-board lath systems shown above and just below where we describe regular rectangular bulges in plaster ceilings and walls.
Board lath and how it is applied are described in Plastering Skills, F. Van Den Branden, Thomas L. Hartsell, and in US Gypsum's Gypsum
Construction Handbook as well as other publications. VanDenBranden/Hartsell explain the popularity of board lath as a plaster base [paraphrasing]:
Board lath is rigid, strong, stable, and reduces the possibility of dirt filtering through the mortar to stain the surface
Board lath is insulating, strengthens the framework of the structure, and the gypsum board is fire resistant
Board lath requires the least amount of mortar to cover the surface
Gypsum Board Lath is provided in a variety of sizes, thicknesses, and types, most commonly 3/8" x 16" x 48" in dimension, solid or perforated with 3/4" diameter round holes punched 4" o.c. to provide mechanical keys, improving adhesion and fire rating of the surface. Our photo (above) shows mortar passing through the holes in perforated board lath.
Watch out: only gypsum mortar can be applied over gypsum lath. Never apply lime mortar, portland cement, any other kind of binding agent to gypsum lath. [See PLASTER BULGES & PILLOWS]. Also, perforated board lath should not be used on ceilings where it is supported only at edges, because the perforations weaken the lath.
Insulating gypsum lath plaster boards are similar to the gypsum board lath discussed above, but include aluminum foil laminated to the wall or ceiling cavity side of the board. Installed with a 3/4" air space before any ensuing insulation, this material adds about the same R-value as 1/2" insulating board.
Van Den Branden and Hartsell list ten gypsum board lath products, here we provide the full list
Gypsum lath board - discussed above
Long length insulating gypsu7m lath
Veneer plaster gypsum lath
Radiant heat gypsum lath plaster base
Gypsum wallboards
Gypsum backer boards
Coreboard
Gypsum studs
Gypsum sound-deadening backer board
Insulating lath board - discussed above
Bulging Plaster Hazards
For a discussion of rectangular bulges, shadow effects, or scalloping in plaster ceilings or walls see PLASTER BULGES & PILLOWS
Watch out: See PLASTER, LOOSE FALL HAZARDS for examples of bulged plaster that may be danger signs, including an example of a collapse of an expanded wire lath ceiling that had been improperly installed.
If you shine a flashlight along, rather than directly at a wall surfaces, both regular details (such as regular, rectangular bulges in a plaster wall or ceiling) as well as irregular surfaces and defects are easily observed.
Expanded Diamond Mesh Metal Lath for Plaster Walls & Ceilings
Expanded metal lath has been widely used to support both interior plaster in buildings and exterior building wall stucco systems. This article explains plaster systems based on metal lath in building interiors.
Plaster of the same general formula as discussed in the two wood lath based installations above was later applied over expanded metal lath.
Our photo shows expanded mesh metal lath used as plaster lath support for ceilings and walls; this material was also used on building exterior walls to support a stucco finish.
Metal lath was on occasion used also to support poured concrete ceilings (shown here) - unlikely to provide adequate strength for a thick pour unless additional reinforcement was used.
Depending on building age we may find a mixture of multiple types of plaster support, wood lath, gypsum board lath, and metal lath.
Wall or ceiling or stucco crack patterns may follow the borders of metal lath segments, especially if the lath was not securely nailed.
Also see Loose Plaster is Unsafe for an example of a collapse of an expanded wire lath ceiling that had been improperly installed.
Masonry Surfaces as a Plaster Base
As Van Den Branden and Hartsell detail, "masonry walls are about the oldest form of plaster base known.". Thick coats of lime-based mortar were applied to very rough surfaces to plaster or "stucco" the building exterior or interior surfaces for many centuries before anyone thought of foam-board based EIFS type systems (see SIDING EIFS & STUCCO).
The authors continue to explain that because modern masonry wall exteriors are much more smooth (picture brick or concrete block walls), thinner coatings of mortar are used. The authors define three types of masonry bases for plaster, whether indoors or outside:
Our photo (left, courtesy of Steve Goldstein) shows both rough and smooth brick and adobe surfaces on buildings in Guanajuato, Mexico. These surfaces are regularly plastered or stuccoed with lime based cement mixtures and should be considered high suction masonry bases as we describe below.
Low suction masonry bases for plaster: glazed tile, hard burnt brick surfaces, road or paving bricks, hard stone such as granite
Medium or average "suction" masonry bases: "cinder block", concrete block, face brick, medium-hard brick, hard clay partition tile, better grades of common brick, and some softer stone surfaces.
High suction masonry bases: soft common brick, soft clay partition tile, gypsum partition tile, some highly porous tile surfaces.
For completeness one should add a fourth plaster surface type:
Concrete surfaces as a plaster base: these surfaces provide special problems for plaster application and need to be specially prepared (scratched), or must be plastered using a special high-adhesive bonding plaster, or coated with a primer that is approved for bonding the plaster to the concrete
Loose Plaster is Unsafe, Especially Loose, Falling Plaster Ceilings
For a discussion of rectangular bulges, shadow effects, or scalloping in plaster ceilings or walls see PLASTER BULGES & PILLOWS
Watch out: See PLASTER, LOOSE FALL HAZARDS for examples of bulged plaster that may be danger signs, including an example of a collapse of an expanded wire lath ceiling that had been improperly installed.
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Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.
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Roger Hankey is principal of Hankey and Brown home inspectors, Eden Prairie, MN. Mr. Hankey is a past chairman of the ASHI Standards Committee. Mr. Hankey has served in other ASHI professional and leadership roles. Contact Roger Hankey at: 952 829-0044 - rhankey@hankeyandbrown.com. Mr. Hankey is a frequent contributor to InspectAPedia.com.
American Plywood Association, APA, "Portland Manufacturing Company, No. 1, a series of monographs on the history of plywood manufacturing",Plywood Pioneers Association, 31 March, 1967, www.apawood.org
Asbestos products and their history and use in various building materials such as asphalt and vinyl flooring includes discussion which draws on Asbestos, Its Industrial Applications, D.V. Rosato, engineering consultant, Newton, MA, Reinhold Publishing, 1959 Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 59-12535 (out of print).
ASHI, American Society of Home Inspectors,® Inc., 932 Lee Street, Suite 101, Des Plaines, Illinois, 60016. The American Society of Home Inspectors is the first and leading national association of home inspectors in the U.S. Website: www.ashi.org
ASTM C 842
ASTM C 841 Metal Lath or gypsum lath installation
Building Research Council, BRC, nee Small Homes Council, SHC, School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, brc.arch.uiuc.edu. "The Small Homes Council (our original name) was organized in 1944 during the war at the request of the President of the University of Illinois to consider the role of the university in meeting the demand for housing in the United States. Soldiers would be coming home after the war and would be needing good low-cost housing. ... In 1993, the Council became part of the School of Architecture, and since then has been known as the School of Architecture-Building Research Council. ... The Council's researchers answered many critical questions that would affect the quality of the nation's housing stock.
How could homes be designed and built more efficiently?
What kinds of construction and production techniques worked well and which did not?
How did people use different kinds of spaces in their homes?
What roles did community planning, zoning, and interior design play in how neighborhoods worked?
"
Isham: "An Example of Colonial Paneling", Norman Morrison Isham, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol. 6, No. 5 (May, 1911), pp. 112-116, available by JSTOR.
Plastering, PM 5, Product & Systems Technology, US Gypsum, May 1998, web search 10.5.2010, original source: http://www.usg.com/rc/technical-articles/plaster/
plastering-technical-guide-veneer-plaster-joint-reinforcement-systems-en-PM5.pdf
United States Gypsum Company, 125 South Franklin ST., PO Box 806278, Chicago, IL 60680-4124,
Paraphrasing from this document: USG uses the term shadowing in this document in describing the visual effect over gypsum board joints caused by the lower moisture absorption rate (take-up) and lower capacity than gypsum base face paper. Shadowing at joints occurs where veneer plaster is applied over tape joints, requiring a second coat to completely hide the tape, providing a visually uniform surface. USG Advises: "This [second] cover coat must be allowed to harden and dry before plaster application is started.
Gypsum
Construction Handbook [purchase at Amazon.com] H17, Technical
Folder SA920 and PM2, PM3 and PM4, United States Gypsum Company, 125 South Franklin ST., PO Box 806278, Chicago, IL 60680-4124,
Plastering Skills, F. Van Den Branden, Thomas L. Hartsell, Amer Technical Pub (July 1, 1985), ISBN-10: 0826906575, ISBN-13: 978-0826906571 [purchase at Amazon.com]
Gypsum Construction Guide, National Gypsum Corporation
Lath & Plaster Systems, 092300/NGC, National Gypsum Lath and Plaster Systems, National Gypsum Corporation, 800-628-4662 describing National Gypsum's Kal-Kore brand plaster base
Gypsum Construction Guide, National Gypsum Corporation, 2001 Rexford Road, Charlotte, North Carolina 28211, Tel: 704-365-7300, Email: ng@nationalgypsum.com, Website: http://www.nationalgypsum.com
Metal Lath Specifications, Specification for metal lath and accessories, Lath and Plaster from Amico, 3245 Fayette Ave.
P.O. Box 3928, Birmingham, AL 35208, (205) 787-2611, (800) 366-2642 and in Canada: 1080 Corporate Drive, Burlington, Ontario L7L 5R6, Canada, (905) 335-4474, (800) 663-4474. Amico is the largest metal lath producer in North America. Website: http://amico-lath.com/
Weaver: Beaver Board and Upson Board:
Beaver Board and Upson Board: History and Conservation of Early Wallboard, Shelby Weaver,
APT Bulletin, Vol. 28, No. 2/3 (1997), pp. 71-78, Association for Preservation Technology International (APT), available online at JSTOR.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop. The Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.
"The Elimination of Unsafe Guardrails, a Progress Report," Elliott O. Stephenson, Building Standards, March-April 1993
"Are Functional Handrails Within Our Grasp" Jake Pauls, Building Standards, January-February 1991
Access Ramp building codes:
UBC 1003.3.4.3
BOCA 1016.3
ADA 4.8.2
IBC 1010.2
Access Ramp Standards:
ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), Public Law 101-336. 7/26/90 is very often cited by other sources for good design of stairs and ramps etc. even where disabled individuals are not the design target.
ANSI A117.4 Accessible and Usable buildings and Facilities (earlier version was incorporated into the ADA)
ASTM F 1637, Standard Practice for Safe Walking Surfaces, (Similar to the above standards)
American Plywood Association, APA, "Portland Manufacturing Company, No. 1, a series of monographs on the history of plywood manufacturing",Plywood Pioneers Association, 31 March, 1967, www.apawood.org
Animal Allergens: Dog, Cat, and Other Animal Dander - Cleanup & Prevention Information for Asthmatics and regarding Indoor Air Quality.
Asbestos: How to find and recognize asbestos in buildings - visual inspection methods, list of common asbestos-containing materials
Asbestos products and their history and use in various building materials such as asphalt and vinyl flooring includes discussion which draws on Asbestos, Its Industrial Applications, D.V. Rosato, engineering consultant, Newton, MA, Reinhold Publishing, 1959 Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 59-12535 (out of print).
Asbestos Identification and Testing References
Asbestos Identification, Walter C.McCrone, McCrone Research Institute, Chicago, IL.1987 ISBN 0-904962-11-3. Dr. McCrone literally "wrote the book" on asbestos identification procedures which formed
the basis for current work by asbestos identification laboratories.
Stanton, .F., et al., National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 506: 143-151
Pott, F., Staub-Reinhalf Luft 38, 486-490 (1978) cited by McCrone
ASHRAE resource on dew point and wall condensation - see the ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook, available in many libraries. The following three ASHRAE Handbooks are also available at the InspectAPedia bookstore in the third page of our Insulate-Ventilate section:
2005 ASHRAE Handbook : Fundamentals : Inch-Pound Edition (2005 ASHRAE HANDBOOK : Fundamentals : I-P Edition) (Hardcover), Thomas H. Kuehn (Contributor), R. J. Couvillion (Contributor), John W. Coleman (Contributor), Narasipur Suryanarayana (Contributor), Zahid Ayub (Contributor), Robert Parsons (Author), ISBN-10: 1931862702 or ISBN-13: 978-1931862707
2004 ASHRAE Handbook : Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning: Systems and Equipment : Inch-Pound Edition (2004 ASHRAE Handbook : HVAC Systems and Equipment : I-P Edition) (Hardcover)
by American Society of Heating, ISBN-10: 1931862478 or ISBN-13: 978-1931862479
"2004 ASHRAE Handbook - HVAC Systems and Equipment The 2004 ASHRAE HandbookHVAC Systems and Equipment discusses various common systems and the equipment (components or assemblies) that comprise them, and describes features and differences. This information helps system designers and operators in selecting and using equipment. Major sections include Air-Conditioning and Heating Systems (chapters on system analysis and selection, air distribution, in-room terminal systems, centralized and decentralized systems, heat pumps, panel heating and cooling, cogeneration and engine-driven systems, heat recovery, steam and hydronic systems, district systems, small forced-air systems, infrared radiant heating, and water heating); Air-Handling Equipment (chapters on duct construction, air distribution, fans, coils, evaporative air-coolers, humidifiers, mechanical and desiccant dehumidification, air cleaners, industrial gas cleaning and air pollution control); Heating Equipment (chapters on automatic fuel-burning equipment, boilers, furnaces, in-space heaters, chimneys and flue vent systems, unit heaters, makeup air units, radiators, and solar equipment); General Components (chapters on compressors, condensers, cooling towers, liquid coolers, liquid-chilling systems, centrifugal pumps, motors and drives, pipes and fittings, valves, heat exchangers, and energy recovery equipment); and Unitary Equipment (chapters on air conditioners and heat pumps, room air conditioners and packaged terminal equipment, and a new chapter on mechanical dehumidifiers and heat pipes)."
1996 Ashrae Handbook Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning Systems and Equipment: Inch-Pound Edition (Hardcover), ISBN-10: 1883413346 or ISBN-13: 978-1883413347 ,
"The 1996 HVAC Systems and Equipment Handbook is the result of ASHRAE's continuing effort to update, expand and reorganize the Handbook Series. Over a third of the book has been revised and augmented with new chapters on hydronic heating and cooling systems design; fans; unit ventilator; unit heaters; and makeup air units. Extensive changes have been added to chapters on panel heating and cooling; cogeneration systems and engine and turbine drives; applied heat pump and heat recovery systems; humidifiers; desiccant dehumidification and pressure drying equipment, air-heating coils; chimney, gas vent, fireplace systems; cooling towers; centrifugal pumps; and air-to-air energy recovery. Separate I-P and SI editions."
Principles of Heating, Ventilating, And Air Conditioning: A textbook with Design Data Based on 2005 AShrae Handbook - Fundamentals (Hardcover), Harry J., Jr. Sauer (Author), Ronald H. Howell, ISBN-10: 1931862923 or ISBN-13: 978-1931862929
Brick Nogging, Historical Investigation and Contemporary Repair, Construction Specifier, April 2006. Historical use of brick in timber-framed buildings, drawing on the investigations of the Kent Tavern in Calais, VT.
"Brick nogging is a European method of construction which was brought to the new world in the early-nineteenth century. It was a common construction method that employed masonry as infill between the vertical uprights of wood framing." -- quoting the web article review.
Building Research Council, BRC, nee Small Homes Council, SHC, School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, brc.arch.uiuc.edu. "The Small Homes Council (our original name) was organized in 1944 during the war at the request of the President of the University of Illinois to consider the role of the university in meeting the demand for housing in the United States. Soldiers would be coming home after the war and would be needing good low-cost housing. ... In 1993, the Council became part of the School of Architecture, and since then has been known as the School of Architecture-Building Research Council. ... The Council's researchers answered many critical questions that would affect the quality of the nation's housing stock.
How could homes be designed and built more efficiently?
What kinds of construction and production techniques worked well and which did not?
How did people use different kinds of spaces in their homes?
What roles did community planning, zoning, and interior design play in how neighborhoods worked
"An Example of Colonial Paneling", Norman Morrison Isham, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol. 6, No. 5 (May, 1911), pp. 112-116, available by JSTOR.
Dust from the World Trade Center collapse following the 9/11/01 attack: the lower floors of this building contained spray-on fire-proofing asbestos materials.
Energy Savers: Whole House Systems Approach to Energy Efficient Home Design [copy on file as /interiors/Whole_House_Energy_Efficiency_DOE.pdf ] - U.S. Department of Energy
"Energy Savers: Whole-House Supply Ventilation Systems [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Whole-House_Supply_Vent.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11880?print
"Energy Savers: Whole-House Exhaust Ventilation Systems [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Whole-House_Exhaust.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11870
"Energy Savers: Ventilation [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Ventilation.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
"Energy Savers: Natural Ventilation [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Natural_Ventilation.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
"Energy Savers: Energy Recovery Ventilation Systems [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Energy_Recovery_Venting.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11900
"Energy Savers: Detecting Air Leaks [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Detect_Air_Leaks.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
"Energy Savers: Air Sealing [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Air_Sealing_1.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
Falls and Related Injuries: Slips, Trips, Missteps, and Their Consequences, Lawyers & Judges Publishing, (June 2002), ISBN-10: 0913875430 ISBN-13: 978-0913875438 "Falls in the home and public places are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in the United States, but are overlooked in most literature. This book is unique in that it is entirely devoted to falls. Of use to primary care physicians, nurses, insurance adjusters, architects, writers of building codes, attorneys, or anyone who cares for the elderly, this book will tell you how, why, and when people will likely fall, what most likely will be injured, and how such injuries come about. "
Fiberglass: Indoor Air Quality Investigations: Health Concerns About Airborne Fiberglass: Fiberglass in Indoor Air from HVAC ducts, and Building Insulation
Humidity: What indoor humidity should we maintain in order to avoid a mold problem?
Ice Dam Leaks in building attics and roof cavities, how to inspect for evidence of leaks, identify causes, and correct bad attic ventilation, improper roof venting, and these causes of attic mold or roof structure damage
Insulation: Selecting Insulation for New Home Construction, U.S. Department of Energy - "Your state and local building codes probably include minimum insulation requirements, but to build an energy-efficient home, you may need or want to exceed them. For maximum energy efficiency, you should also consider the interaction between the insulation and other building components. This is called the whole-house systems design approach."
Insulation Types, table of common building insulation properties from U.S. DOE. Readers should see INSULATION R-Values & Properties our own table of insulation properties that includes links to articles describing each insulation material in more detail.
Lighting, proper use of: proper aiming of a good flashlight can disclose hard to see but toxic light or white mold colonies on walls.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST (nee National Bureau of Standards NBS) is a US government agency - see www.nist.gov
"A Parametric Study of Wall Moisture Contents Using a Revised Variable Indoor Relative Humidity Version of the "Moist" Transient Heat and Moisture Transfer Model [copy on file as/interiors/MOIST_Model_NIST_b95074.pdf ] - ", George Tsongas, Doug Burch, Carolyn Roos, Malcom Cunningham; this paper describes software and the prediction of wall moisture contents. - PDF Document from NIS
Pergo AB, division of Perstorp AB, is a Swedish manufacturer or modern laminate flooring products. Information about the U.S. company can be found at http://www.pergo.com where we obtained historical data used in our discussion of the age of flooring materials in buildings.
Piquet Wall Construction: See this photo of
piquet wall construction - involving timber-framed wall construction with long top girts, diagonal timber bracing, and small diameter logs
placed vertically along with concrete chinking to fill in the wall plane.
Plank House Construction: weblog from plankhouse.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/plank-house-construction/ and where plank houses were built by native Americans, see
Large 1:6 Scale Plank House Construction / P8094228,
Photographer: Mike Meuser
06/12/2007 documented at yurokplankhouse.com where scale model Museum quality Yurok Plank Houses are being sold to raise money for the Blue Creek - Ah Pah Traditional Yurok Village project.
Re-Bath, tub lining products is a bath tub relining manufacturer and distributor located in Tempe, Arizona - see rebath.com
Rubblestone Wall Filler: See this Lartigue House using exterior-exposed rubblestone filler between vertical timbers of a post and beam-framed Canadian building.
Slips, Trips, Missteps and Their Consequences, Second Edition, Gary M. Bakken, H. Harvey Cohen,A. S. Hyde, Jon R. Abele, ISBN-13: 978-1-933264-01-1 or
ISBN 10: 1-933264-01-2,
available from the publisher, Lawyers ^ Judges Publishing Company,Inc., www.lawyersandjudges.com sales@lawyersandjudges.com and also from the InspectAPedia Bookstore (Amazon.com)
The Stairway Manufacturers' Association, (877) 500-5759, provides a pictorial guide to the stair and railing portion of the International Residential Code. [copy on file as http://www.stairways.org/pdf/2006%20Stair%20IRC%20SCREEN.pdf ] -
How to Clean Moldy Wood Framing & Sheathing How to clean/seal mold from/on exposed lumber or plywood subfloor or roof sheathing indoors - some suggestions based on our field and laboratory research
Lighting, proper use of: proper aiming of a good flashlight can disclose hard to see but toxic light or white mold colonies on walls.
Manufactured & Modular Homes: Modular Building Systems Association, MBSA, modularhousing.com, is a trade association promoting and providing links to contact modular builders in North America. Also see the Manufactured Home Owners Association, MHOAA, at www.mhoaa.us. The Manufactured Home Owners Association of America is a National Organization dedicated to the protection of the rights of all people living in Manufactured Housing in the United States.
Stuff that is not mold but is often mistaken for it - things you may not want to test. Also, not all "black mold" is toxic - here are examples of harmless black mold.
Mold-Resistant Building Practices, advice from an expert on how to prevent mold after a building flood and how to prevent mold growth in buildings by selection of building materials and by anti-mold construction details.
Slips, Trips, Missteps and Their Consequences, Gary M. Bakken, H. Harvey Cohen, Jon R. Abele, Alvin S. Hyde, Cindy A. LaRue, Lawyers and Judges Publishing; ISBN-10: 1933264012 ISBN-13: 978-1933264011
Slips, Trips, Missteps and Their Consequences, Second Edition, Gary M. Bakken, H. Harvey Cohen,A. S. Hyde, Jon R. Abele, ISBN-13: 978-1-933264-01-1 or ISBN 10: 1-933264-01-2, available from the publisher, Lawyers & Judges Publishing Company,Inc., www.lawyersandjudges.com sales@lawyersandjudges.com and also from the InspectAPedia Bookstore (Amazon.com)
Steps and Stairways, Cleo Baldon & Ib Melchior, Rizzoli, 1989.
"The Dimensions of Stairs", J. M. Fitch et al., Scientific American, October 1974.
"The Elimination of Unsafe Guardrails, a Progress Report," Elliott O. Stephenson, Building Standards, March-April 1993
"Are Functional Handrails Within Our Grasp" Jake Pauls, Building Standards, January-February 1991
"Weather-Resistive Barriers [copy on file as /interiors/Weather_Resistant_Barriers_DOE.pdf ] - ", how to select and install housewrap and other types of weather resistive barriers, U.S. DOE
Weaver: Beaver Board and Upson Board:
Beaver Board and Upson Board: History and Conservation of Early Wallboard, Shelby Weaver,
APT Bulletin, Vol. 28, No. 2/3 (1997), pp. 71-78, Association for Preservation Technology International (APT), available online at JSTOR.
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