Tools for Tearing Down Plaster Walls

Flat-Blade Shovel

• While you won't be doing any digging, you will be doing a lot of scraping, and that's where the flat-blade shovel comes into play. When getting started, you'll use the back side of the shovel to hit the wall and break off some of the plaster. Once there is a decent amount removed, you can then use the shovel to scrape along the wall to separate the plaster from the underlying wood lath to which it's attached.

Large Scoop Shovel

• A large scoop shovel is used to scoop the broken plaster off the floor and move it into a wheelbarrow for disposal. Brad Guy and Bob Falk, authors of the book "Unbuilding
  Salvaging the Architectural Treasures of Unwanted Houses," recommend placing a wheelbarrow next to the wall and below the plaster you're scraping off to reduce some of the work of scooping it from the floor.

Pry Bar

• Once you remove all of the plaster off the wall, you'll need to go back over the walls and remove the wood lath from the studs. This can be done by wedging the pry bar between the lath and the studs and pulling back.

Hammer

• After the walls are down to the studs, there will be a decent amount of nails still sticking out of the studs. Use the claw end of the hammer to pull the nails out of the studs. All nails will need to be removed before a new wall surface can be installed.

Safety Items

• Tearing out plaster walls is a dirty and somewhat dangerous job because of the heavy weight of the plaster. You'll need safety goggles, a dust mask, heavy-duty work gloves and a hard hat.