Cutting Holes in Plaster and Lath

We also went to work getting the electrical box holes made.  Our technique was to start with a tile bit on the roto-zip.

We used that to cut through the plaster in a controlled fashion.  I’ve seen that you can use a utility knife and plan on dulling the blade with each cut but since we have the roto-zip, we used that.  The roto-zip makes a HUGE mess so the shop-vac attachment is a must even in our dirty dusty house.

After the plaster is removed from the opening, we changed out the bit for a multi-purpose wood bit.

For the low-voltage work (ethernet, cable, and phone) the backless low-voltage boxes will work.  However, we are having insulation blown in and the backless boxes are just going to fill with insulation and make a big mess so we opted to use plastic boxes.

I’ve still got a bunch more boxes to do but this is a well-compartmentalized project that I can do between helping Stefan with the “heavy lifting” on some of the bigger projects.  I am determined not to just be a tool girl but at the same time I have a hard time controlling some of the tools so projects like these outlet boxes are great for me.  They allow me to get stuff done independently of any heavy machinery.

That’s the short version of how to cut a nice hole in plaster and lath.  Do you have any preferred plaster cutting tools or does the term plaster and lath just make you ever more thankful for your nice drywall walls?

Sarah