Title: How to Cut Open Plaster Lath Walls | Home Guides | SF Gate
Headings: How to Cut Open Plaster Lath Walls
How to Cut Open Plaster Lath Walls
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Content: How to Cut Open Plaster Lath Walls | Home Guides | SF Gate
How to Cut Open Plaster Lath Walls
Home Guides
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Home
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Home Improvement
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Troubleshoot, Fix and Repair
By William Machin
Many remodeling projects require cutting plaster walls for medicine cabinets, electrical boxes, plumbing lines or air conditioning grills. In some cases, an opening is cut or enlarged when installing a new window or door. Unless you have a set of building plans or are familiar with the most likely locations of electrical conduits and pipes in walls, it’s necessary to take special care. Home improvement enthusiasts can use a method that has proved safe when cutting plaster and lath. 1
Switch off the breaker at the electrical panel that serves the room where the opening will be cut. Turn off the water supply to the house or building at the main valve. Spread a dropcloth on the floor at the area of the new opening. 2
Measure from the floor or ceiling and mark the location for top and bottom of the opening on the plaster with a pencil. Measure from a corner, a door or window and mark the sides of the opening. Use a framing square and a pencil to make straight lines between the marks that define the opening.