Following a fairly considerable leak should our lath and plaster ceiling be replaced?

pinksprout

We sustained a rather considerable leak under our bath which has caused the very thick 'lining' on our lath and plaster lounge ceiling (which is directly below the bathroom) to partly fall down from one corner. The lath and plaster itself is not bulging and has now dried out. It appears to be stable. The coving and walls are stained.

The insurance assessor has erred on the side of caution and recommended that the ceiling and coving are completely removed and replaced. He has offered us a cash settlement on this basis. Alternatively the insurance company will appoint a builder to replace the entire ceiling. It is a huge room and I can't begin to imagine the mess that will entail

Is it always necessary to remove and replace a lath and plaster ceiling after it has got wet or, as it seems to still be in good condition, can the remainder of the lining be removed and the ceiling overboarded and skimmed?

Thank you for your advice.

olias

Overboarding will mess up your levels where the ceiling meets the coving. I'm guessing the coving is original? if the coving is of no special merit, I would go with having the lot replaced. Also if the coving is of a period style, rather than the modern bland coving, I would make sure the insurance are going to replace it with a like for like modern reproduction.

Olias

Gloomendoom

If it looks stable, I'd keep the original lath and plaster.

There are specialists that can repair both the lath and plaster and and any damage to the coving.

pinksprout

olias wrote: »

Overboarding will mess up your levels where the ceiling meets the coving. I'm guessing the coving is original? if the coving is of no special merit, I would go with having the lot replaced. Also if the coving is of a period style, rather than the modern bland coving, I would make sure the insurance are going to replace it with a like for like modern reproduction.

Olias

Thanks Olias

The coving is not original but it is unusual and we like it! The insurance assessor has quoted to include replacing it like for like.

It may be possible to remove the remainder of the thick lining paper, treat the water damaged area with a fungicidal treatment, repaper and decorate without the need to overboard and skim. I guess we are just wondering about the long term wisdom of this approach. The ceiling really does appear stable and until the assessor recommended pulling the whole ceiling down it hadn't crossed our minds.

Thank you for your comments.

pinksprout

Gloomendoom wrote: »

If it looks stable, I'd keep the original lath and plaster.

There are specialists that can repair both the lath and plaster and and any damage to the coving.

Thanks Gloomendoom. On this occasion you are not living up to your 'name' with your advice You are right, however, we should try and track down a 'lath and plaster' specialist for further advice. It would without doubt be our preference to keep the present ceiling which was formerly in perfect condition.

jozbo

dont want to scare you but i'd err on the side of caution myself.
in my parents house the (lath and plaster) ceiling below the bathroom completely fell down - luckily noone was in there but it would have been serious if not fatal if they had. apart from a few fine cracks there seemed to be no warning, it didnt bulge etc. seemed to give in one day when one of us was just walking around the bathroom above. it was just after years of overflowing kids' baths.

pinksprout

jozbo wrote: »

dont want to scare you but i'd err on the side of caution myself.
in my parents house the (lath and plaster) ceiling below the bathroom completely fell down - luckily noone was in there but it would have been serious if not fatal if they had. apart from a few fine cracks there seemed to be no warning, it didnt bulge etc. seemed to give in one day when one of us was just walking around the bathroom above. it was just after years of overflowing kids' baths.

Yikes jozbo! Thank you for sharing that. I shall think again. I'm very glad that no one was injured.

ukmaggie45

jozbo wrote: »

dont want to scare you but i'd err on the side of caution myself.
in my parents house the (lath and plaster) ceiling below the bathroom completely fell down - luckily noone was in there but it would have been serious if not fatal if they had. apart from a few fine cracks there seemed to be no warning, it didnt bulge etc. seemed to give in one day when one of us was just walking around the bathroom above. it was just after years of overflowing kids' baths.

We had the lath and plaster fall down in our kitchen (beneath bathroom) too. Around 4/5 years ago, and long after both our kids had left home (there did tend to be bath overflows when they were littlies ), gone to uni, begun work. Fortuitiously we had gone out to buy a barbie to do kebabs in the back yard in the evening. Otherwise DH might have been flattened while standing at the cooker! :eek:

Still not repaired - long story! Might get to it over the next couple of years though.