How To Tell If A Wall Is Concrete
A stone cement wall and a hollow wall with gypsum or other panels over a framework.
How to tell if a wall is concrete. Now the surface in most recently built homes this is wallboard also called drywall or plasterboard ranging from about 3 8 inch 9 5 mm thick to 3 4. If it is a concrete wall it is most likely solid unless it is tilt panels that were prestressed and have hollow cores since pouring a concrete wall with a hollow cavity is very difficult and. Because concrete block is considered by most homebuyers in florida to be the sturdiest type of construction many of them assume that a stucco finish on the wall means concrete block and it can be a disappointment on the occasions when we have to tell a homebuyer that it is not what they are getting. A moisture meter is a piece of equipment which when placed directly against a wall will analyze the moisture content of that wall.
A stucco wall must be supported by some load bearing material such as wood or concrete. Scan for moisture inside walls with a moisture meter. If you know that you have a leak within a certain wall but are unaware of the precise location place the moisture meter at 5 or 6 different spots on the wall. To tell if a wall is load bearing examine the building s blueprints to see where the original support beams were built.
If the wiring is enclosed by an electric box your walls are most likely drywall. The trick to these is in the word hollow sound echoes in the cavity when. Stucco can be applied to wood sheathed walls in typical frame construction by adding a metal lath over the wood. In heavier construction the support may be masonry brick poured concrete concrete block cinder block or tile blocks.
Internal walls near the center of a building often help to support the weight of the house. If the wiring is loose and you can see lath your walls are plaster. Stucco can be applied directly to any masonry based wall such as brick concrete or cinder block. How do you tell if a concrete wall is hollow or not.
The other answers seem to show how to distinguish between concrete and drywall. If you see lath and plaster pushing through you know you have a plaster wall.