Ideas for wood lath?

[mammabooh]

Hey thrifty minds...

Help us think of some uses for this pile of oak lath. We can't stand the thought of burning it. I saw some cool artwork using lath, but I'm not that talented.



Any ideas?

[Pelenaka]

Your kitchen resembles my living room, gotta love demo work.
We have been burning the lathe since it is poplar, perhaps pine but there is no tell tale sent. Not to mention that it has plaster inbeded for the past 108 years.
My first thought for repurposing the lathe was making a garden trellis or lattice.


~~ pelenaka ~~

[tinknal]

If you have any plans that involve plastic sheeting (weather proofing, green house, etc.) It works well to nail the lath around the edges and to any internal supports.

[deb]

Originally Posted by mammabooh

Help us think of some uses for this pile of oak lath. We can't stand the thought of burning it. I saw some cool artwork using lath, but I'm not that talented.

I don't know what to do with your lathe, but I do want to know how you got my kitchen cabinets and countertops in your house !?? The drawer pulls are different, but everything else is the same.

Deb
in wi

[pheasantplucker]

Glue it and clamp it...Then trim it for a serving platter or anything else. Probably not a good idea for a cutting board since it's so porous (bacteria).

[tinknal]

Originally Posted by pheasantplucker

Glue it and clamp it...Then trim it for a serving platter or anything else. Probably not a good idea for a cutting board since it's so porous (bacteria).

Lath is usually rough cut. It would probably have to be planed. Wouldn't be much left if you even could plane it.

[texican]

More'n likely it's very brittle. And thus of very little value... might put it in fences to stiffen em a little, for temporary use.

I'd probably use it as kindling wood. (But then I have several barn fulls of lumber).

[DaleK]

You'll get more value out of burning it than anything else anyway. Try driving a nail through it and it'll shatter.

[fishhead]

Originally Posted by pheasantplucker

Glue it and clamp it...Then trim it for a serving platter or anything else. Probably not a good idea for a cutting board since it's so porous (bacteria).

You could build a cutting board table top from it by glueing it together if it isn't dirty from plaster as pheasant plucker suggested.

[Harry Chickpea]

I suppose, if you want to go to the trouble...

Get a bit of panelboard or thin plywood to use as a backer.
Cut and arrange the strips into a pattern or design on the panelboard.
Mix a flour paste and paste a sheet of building paper right over the top of the strips.
Once it has dried, flip the entire panel and strips upside down.
Coat the panel and exposed backs of the strips with contact cement, using a roller.
Lay the panel back on the strips.
Add a lot of weight to insure good adhesion.
Once dry...
Remove the weights and flip paper side up.
Use an electric hand plane or floor sander to remove the paper and level the surface.
Fine sand.
Finish.

Lath was also used for the coarse woven lathwork, like you see now made of plastic in the home stores.

[clovis]

I've seen bird houses made from plaster lath. I thought they were beautiful. They were at an upscale antique/art shop...and pricey to boot.

All were made in a shabby chic and country style...very cool.

[Old John]

Well, short pieces of light Lath, 18" to24", with the ends tapered and a 4' to 8' light cord attached to on end might make great Bull-roarers, for the older kids to play with.
They whirl them about, by the cord and it'll make a great Roar, if you get it going just right. My DKids use to love them to make noise with.

I think there is an Aborigines tribal religious group that used them in Celebrations in Times, long past.

[NJ Rich]

Given the age of the home I would bet there is asbestos in the plaster and that is on the lath. That is something to consider but I think it is too late to take the precautions you probably should have taken during demo to protect your health.

If it does contain asbestos you may have a hard time legally getting rid of it depending on what your state laws are.

[Harry Chickpea]

Eh, I'd sooner suggest the walls might have been painted with lead paint. Plaster decorations needed fibrous material like asbestos, but walls weren't as likely to contain it. Even the EPA says if the percentage is less than 1% it is non-hazardous.

As for health risk -
"Although reported incidence rates have increased in the past 20 years, mesothelioma is still a relatively rare cancer. About 2,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed in the United States each year."
Source: http://www.legallawhelp.com/safety_a..._mesothelioma/

There are 308,000,000 people in the U.S., so statistically, your chances are about .000065% of getting the disease in any year. In reality, if you didn't work in a mine or shipyard or boiler factory, your chances are FAR lower. I'd go so far as to say that your chances would have been greater of being in an auto accident going to get the poly needed to "safely" remove the plaster.

[Macybaby]

FIRE STARTER!!

We saved a lot from our house and have it under a small shed, have it's about 8' x4'x 3' tall. We keep a garabage can of broken ones (we break them) next to the house, and bring in 3-4 each time we need to start a fire. Since we're not home enough to keep it going round the clock, this is usually at least once a day.

I will so miss this once it's gone, but we figure at the rate we use it, we've got many more years' worth on hand.

[mammabooh]

It was horeshair plaster, so I doubt that there was any asbestos in it (the house was built in 1902, but the cupboards were built in the 50's).

We still haven't decided what to use it for, but we removed all of the nails and stacked it neatly in the barn for now. I'm thinking of using part of it for the sides of a large shoe caddy that I want to build for our mud room. Not sure yet...

[ronbre]

lattice, see the gardens in my blog, I have lattice fences and arbors all over and plan to put up more