I ripped some ugly 80s faux rock off a fireplace wall in my house. Identical to this: Ugly fake stone removal - YouTube

It had the same wire mesh backing. After removing all of the rock and mesh I found 1/2 inch plywood on top of an original brick wall underneath.

Picture:


The boss wants new tile around the fireplace, a mantel and drywall the rest. Also going to remove the hearth bricks up to the edge of the fireplace surrounds which was started in the picture.

Now the plywood "looks" flat and level but my question is can I drywall over the plywood or do i need to tear out the plywood and start with studs mounted to the brick with masonry screws?

thanks!

 

If the plywood held the lath and faux stone previously I would think it could handle the drywall without a problem.

Do you see any fasteners through the plywood or is it adhesive attached with a few fasteners to hold it in place?

If you pull at an edge with a pry bar is there any evidence it is loose..

 

I painted a new house once where the customer required all load bearing walls to be sheathed in plywood before the drywall was hung. He was an engineer and was worried the 2xs wouldn't support the load He paid the extra so the builder obliged. The driveway guy about flipped when he was told he needed to excavate and put in an 18" base for the asphalt.

Only reason to remove the plywood would be if you needed to update electrical or insulation.

 

Yes there are nails through the plywood into the brick. The plywood is very secure and does not budge.

 

Plywood base on walls Have at it, no reason to hit the studs. Just hang the rock and move on. Use screws, not nails.