Lath & Plaster ceilings - remove or cover up??

vansboy

Was going to ask about the amount of insulation, but you say there is none. If there is ANY, it will be the really itchy stuff they used before, the slightly less offensive stuff, of today.

What I did, was removed all the L&P downstairs & stairwell, but boarded over all the upstairs rooms. This was bad enough!!

The few areas of unlevel boarding, were not too much trouble to level acceptably, when skimming.

& you'll also need a skip, so think about burning the wood - it'll go up in seconds, as it'll be really dry.

The loft hatch can also be repositioned/enlarged, while you're at it, remember!

VB

debbie42

Had one room with a very obvious sag in the lath & plaster ceiling. The plaster had a gap of around 10" or so from the lath. The wallpaper was the only thing keeping it up. So that lot had to come down. A complete nightmare of a mess. The "head in a bucket of soot" comparison doesn't really begin to describe how completely vile it is.

Similar thing in the hall, but not so bad that it couldn't be overboarded, which it was and was a breeze compared to the above scenario.

I totally agree with the previous posters: if it's not bad looking and no obvious big bumps I'd leave it. If it's looking worse but can be overboarded then do that.
If it needs taking down altogether then you could consider moving house first? (I would!) :rolleyes:

wallbash

Getting back to the O/P
Is the removal of the ceiling the thing to do

Quote there are a few cracks but nothing major,

But is it worth insulating , if the ceiling has too come down ??

YES ! insulate and leave the ceiling alone.

Ps I like my thoughts on a bucket of soot , have yet to hear anything better :rotfl:

ema_o

debbie42 wrote: »

Had one room with a very obvious sag in the lath & plaster ceiling. The plaster had a gap of around 10" or so from the lath. The wallpaper was the only thing keeping it up. So that lot had to come down. A complete nightmare of a mess. The "head in a bucket of soot" comparison doesn't really begin to describe how completely vile it is.

This is one thing I'm worried about - if we overboard could the L&P break up over the board and if so would we need to remove it. Or would the board be holding up the L&P?

debbie42 wrote: »

If it needs taking down altogether then you could consider moving house first? (I would!) :rolleyes:

We have just moved house, hence all the work to be done

We could probably stay with the in laws for a bit if we have to.

By the sounds of it overboarding is the way to go, I will have to see if I can persuade OH. I will keep you updated (and post some pictures for entertainment if I'm not successful with the persuading:eek::eek: !!)

Thanks for all your help & advice :T

angelavdavis

ema_o wrote: »

This is one thing I'm worried about - if we overboard could the L&P break up over the board and if so would we need to remove it. Or would the board be holding up the L&P?

By the sounds of it overboarding is the way to go, I will have to see if I can persuade OH. I will keep you updated (and post some pictures for entertainment if I'm not successful with the persuading:eek::eek: !!)

Thanks for all your help & advice :T

Provided you secure the new boards over the top adequately (as has been pointed out by a previous poster), it shouldn't give you problems. As I have just had mine done, I will post up the before and after pics later.

ema_o

That would be fab, thanks v much!!

debbie42

We've had different sorts of work done on various ceilings in our 30's house.

Skimming lath and plaster: looks great. This was done in two rooms downstairs to cover up textured paint and even out where I'd repaired some fixing holes. I was unsure as to how this would work, but the plasterer said it wouldn't be a problem, and the condition of it didn't warrant overboarding.

Ripping down half a lath and plaster ceiling in a bedroom when most of it had fallen down one day (luckily no-one was in the room at the time!). Nightmare! See my earlier post. By the way, if you do decide to go this route, allow for costs of any carpets as the ones in the room will be ruined, no matter how hard you try to protect them.

Overboarding lath and plaster. This was starting to come loose, i.e. if you pressed the bumps (gently!) you could feel it all move up to the laths. Plasterer wacked up some plasterboard no problem. He had to finish off the edges around my staircase with beading, but that looks fine.

I'd get a plasterer in to advise you as to your course of action. They should be able to tell how good/bad it is. I very much doubt they'd suggest ripping down the old stuff!!

Keep us posted.

webwalker

ema_o wrote: »

Hello
We have lath & plaster ceilings in our house which I've been told is not ideal - something about them cracking easily and possibly about not being able to get a smooth finish on them.

We also have high ceilings so I don't think we'll miss the space taken up by the boards.

Has anyone done this and regretted it, or overboarded and regretted that?? Any comments much appreciated!

Thanks
Em

You said your ceilings are quite high so think of an alternative.

A suspended ceiling would cure a lot of your problems, rooms would be easier to heat also.

You could leave your existing ceilings in place and save a whole lot of mess.

angelavdavis

ema_o,

Just to reassure you, this is the situation that has just been remedied this week.

Here are the before pictures of the collapsed lathe and plaster ceiling/skeeling (sp?):

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg76/angelavdavis/IMG_4125.jpg
http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg76/angelavdavis/IMG_4124.jpg

Here are the after pictures (plasterer finished on Tuesday so its almost dry now)

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg76/angelavdavis/IMG_4127.jpg
http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg76/angelavdavis/IMG_4129.jpg

The plasterer put the board over the existing lathe.

wallbash

Always nice to see some pictures ( before and after ) gives all of us 'hope':rolleyes:

Only a small question , looks like the old 'plaster' has been removed i.e. the dirty bits
but the wood (lathes) remained , may I ask why?