Fixing large holes in plaster using sheetrock and mud?

Okay, forgive me if this has been answered elsewhere but here's my situation. I have a piece of investment property that was built in 1950. The wiring has all been replaced by previous owner but the walls are still open from the wiring job. It's plaster with fur strips behind it. I'm not a master plasterer but pretty decent with regular ole drywall. My question is, how should I match the thickness to the existing plaster if I cut drywall to go in these holes? Would I just put extra fur strip behind the drywall piece then tape the joints and use compound to smooth it out like you would drywall-to-drywall? Will it adhere properly to plaster? Sorry, I've just never worked with plaster; I don't know that'd I'd ever get it right if I used all plaster. And of course I think drywall is more cost efficient as well, correct me if I"m wrong.

 

Welcome to the forums!

I have no actual plaster experience either but have successfully patched plaster using drywall products many times. It's best to hang the drywall just shy of the top of the plaster [shim as needed], that way you can skim over it and do a better job of making the repair disappear. I normally use Durabond [a setting compound] when repairing plaster as it dries hard like plaster and is less likely to crack like regular j/c. If you use regular ready mix j/c you will have to tape the joint between the plaster and drywall.

Our plaster pro will probably be along later with more advice for you

 

Plaster usually has a small 1/8" finish veneer coat on it. I do everything that Marksr suggested And peel back a little more of the finish veneer to give me a nice area to add a layer of tape. Important that you use a setting type compound and not something from a ready mix bucket. Apply several coats to bring it out to level with the existing. If the plaster is textured, you will need to experiment with the final skim coat to try to drag a match into the compound. My favorite is an old wallpaper paste brush or a wallpaper application brush (wide to spread wallpaper out) the bristles are stiff enough to drag a nice pattern. Start outside with the existing texture and drag it toward the center.