Lath & Plaster ceilings - remove or cover up??

balloo_2

Sorry to jump in here but i have a simular prob with my lathe and plaster ceiling overboarding sounds like a great option but on my ceiling it has been covered over with home made artex in some places like icicles and sharpe icicles too how would I overboard that?? Is artex asbestos based? should i try and sand it down? If I try to scrape it off would the ceiling stand up to it?? sooo many questions

zzzLazyDaisy

Re taking down lathe and plaster ceilings - don't do it unless there is really no alternative....... trust me, I speak from experience. No matter how careful you are, it is like living in a demolition site. Only those who have never done it would seriously consider it!!

Re artex - please don't sand down artex until you have established whether it has asbestos, as this is highly carcenogenic. Asbestos was banned from textured finishes around 1979 (I'm speaking from memory). There are tests that can be performed, they cost about £30 per room and take about 10 days for the result. Or if the stipple is fairly shallow you can get a plasterer to plaster over it.

wallbash

Re taking down lathe and plaster ceilings - don't do it unless there is really no alternative....... trust me, I speak from experience. No matter how careful you are, it is like living in a demolition site. Only those who have never done it would seriously consider it!!

As mentioned in postings 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, and 13

Saying that, in the right circumstances I would do it again but perhaps I'm a masochist.:rotfl:

zzzLazyDaisy

wallbash wrote: »

Saying that, in the right circumstances I would do it again but perhaps I'm a masochist.:rotfl:

There there, just keep taking the tablets and eventually these strange urges should go away :D

wallbash

For .... Super bonfire with the lathes
First pint tastes wonderful
Sense of achievement
Its the correct thing to do

Against , you could , perhaps , get mildly dusty

ormus

wallbash wrote: »

Against , you could , perhaps , get mildly dusty

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
funniest thing ive heard on this forum, for ages.

angelavdavis

wallbash wrote: »

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?

The old plaster simply fell down due to historical water damage from a leak in the roof! It had become live so when we started clearing the damage, more fell down. The wood stayed in place. We could have removed it, but the plasterer said this wasn't necessary. The board was fitted on top.

wallbash

Plastering is one skill ( o.k. one of many ) that I don't have . So find it difficult to argue.
But it must have been easier to get a flat finish , if the boards had been fixed to 'clean' rafters.The lathes would certainly been different heights.If he needed to get the correct distance , to match the existing plaster level!would not a wooden packing piece ( on rafters) be better,.

Hope there is a professional plasterer / dryliner to give me an explanation,
Won't sleep tonight :rotfl:

angelavdavis

I also had this query. But when we looked at the thickness of the existing wooden lathes and the new plasterboard, the lathe and plaster thickness was greater - so even with a skim, this could be levelled out.

ormus

a large sheet of PB will cover any small imperfections in ceiling thickness. and once its painted white, itll be almost impossible to spot any dip or rise.
very few ceilings are perfectly flat, esp in older houses.

if in any doubt, then artex it.:rolleyes: