Can I drywall over lathe

[cedile]

I have removed all of the plaster, baseboard, and trim from the walls and ceiling in my kitchen. If I carefully removed a few sections of lathe in order to rewire and insulate properly can I replace the removed lathe sections and drywall over the lathe or does it have to be removed.

Thanks,
Cedile

[kactuskid]

Your ceiling should be 5/8" drywall in order not to sag sho you really should remove the lathe from the ceiling prior to drywalling. As for the walls, you could probably install 1/4" drywall over the lathe to bring it out flush to where the old plaster was. Otherwise, remove the lathe and install 1/2" drywall. Whichever way you choose to do the walls, you will probably have to shim out some sections just because plaster was not as uniform as drywall is. You can buy cardboard drywall shims at Home Depot and staple them to the face of the studs. You may also need to install some nailer studs in the wall if all the studs are not 16" on center.

If it were mine I'd remove all the lathe, run your new wires between the studs, insulate, and then install 1/2" drywall. But it's up to you.

[volts]

If it were me, I would start CLEAN and use furring strips or studding. Shimming, compensating, etc.. who needs it?