Ceilings not "proper" modern ceilings?

moneyistooshorttomention

I suspect that the ceilings in my 1970s house aren't normal modern ceilings. They are, in the main, papered-over with that textured type wallpaper that gets painted over and duly has been (thankfully not woodchip anyway) (obviously from when the house was built) and I think that probably what lies underneath that wallpaper (when I remove it in order to have the standard modern painted ceilings I have) are "squares" of plasterboard of not that big a size and not properly fixed together.

What is the best way to deal with this please?

I'm guessing that what is involved here is leaving those existing squares of plasterboard in place and having a coat of plaster put over them by a plasterer before I can have them painted?

Is that the case and, if so, what would it cost roughly to plaster the ceiling of, say, a room of around 13' x 11'?

DaftyDuck

The wallpaper may well be anaglypta [STRIKE]or the even older lincrusta[/STRIKE] (nope - edit.. not in a 1970's property). Horrid solid stuff to remove. You'll only damage what's up above anyway.

Get a man in and have plasterboard put up first, then finished in plaster. It'll lower the ceiling by an inch at most, but will give a good and lasting finish. Do you have easy access from above to replace any electrics or plumbing that needs doing? If not, get it done at the same time.

Removing the old stuff will be horribly, horribly messy and smelly and dusty and disgusting. I know, 'cos I've just had to remove a ceiling below a tiled bathroom floor to fix the plumbing. Ghastly rain of filth on my (luckily) balding bonce!

I'd guess at £200 for the job, but that might be way out. Others will know better.

moneyistooshorttomention

Thanks.

It is indeed anaglypta. I've just had a quick check and recognise one of the photos I saw as what I have.:(:eek:

The ceilings are accessible from the loft if need be. My workmen are in process of clambering to and from the loft dealing with electrics and plumbing for modernising the house.

Am I reading your post correctly? ie that you reckon I need to just leave existing ceiling panels (with wallpaper on top) in place and sort of put a "false ceiling" underneath that, with new plasterboard covered with a coat of plaster?

If so, would there be any problem doing that courtesy of this house having coving (made of plaster) round the edge of the ceilings?

EDIT: With the house (and this blimmin' anaglypta) being pre-1980s, I am wondering if this anaglypta contains asbestos. I wouldn't have thought so (as its wallpaper and not artex), but I have been googling around and found one or two suggestions it might do so. My surveyor (on buying the house) mentioned asbestos re the ceilings, but I don't think he had looked at them properly and just thought "not plain painted...must be artex" without taking a closer look and seeing that they are wallpaper and not artex. Does anyone have a definitive answer on this point too please?

DigForVictory

Ah, anaglypta - devil's own interior design.

Yes - the fake ceiling and the coving will not cooperate easily, and you may have to consider moving (hiking off, and reinstating/ repairing/ replacing) it lower. Which will up the price, but a nice coving is a nice feature.

Or you could move out and let a hit squad de-anaglypta the ceiling whilst trying to maintain the coving, but that will not be cheap or easy.

Sorry not to have better news, but keep on enjoying the view!

southcoastrgi

it might just be lining paper put over to hide any cracks ?
yes you can put plasterboard over the ceiling (it's called overboarding) then plaster it, although to do it properly you should remove the coving & replace it afterwards (or not if you don't want coving)

DaftyDuck

Removing old coving then replacing is a time-consuming and worthless job in my humble - unless the coving is old enough to be a feature. In a 1970's house it won't cost much more to replace it with new. Up my quote to £230 if it is a squarish room without too many alcoves. Mind you, my price guess might have been way off. ... .......

Since you are feeling strapped for dosh at the mo, there's probably no reason not to just slap a coat or two of paint on, and live with it until you are feeling more flush.

Pob lwc!

moneyistooshorttomention

I think (errrm...know) I'm likely to be broke for the next few years getting this place together. It just better be worth it...:cool:

Right now, I'm taking the "Might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb" approach. If I throw enough money at those ceilings then they will be done for good (ie plain painted modern), so I'm inclining towards your suggestion of a sort of "false ceiling" an inch or so down from real one and just "lose" that coving in the process (as I don't like it anyway).

I'm guessing from your likely figures that it wouldn't be THAT much to do that...

DaftyDuck

I'm not sure you need to go as far as a lower "false ceiling"... plasterboard can be nailed up direct to current ceiling (any worthwhile workman will find the joists and nail it on well enough), and the plaster will add a centimetre at most. If you don't like the coving, all the better.

Yep, best get all the filthy jobs done a.s.a.p., then start enjoying life.

moneyistooshorttomention

Right you are Dafty. That makes sense to me. Plasterboard nailed direct to present ceiling sounds a possible way to go. At some points I can see what looks like outlines of joins in plasterboard showing through this wallpaper and, from this, am guessing very roughly by eye that these sections of plasterboard are probably somewhere in the region of 4' x 4' in size each, but I presume that it doesn't make any difference that they aren't great huge bits of plasterboard and will have enough places to do said nailing-to.

A centimetre of added depth shouldn't even be visible (even though I have noticed the ceilings are lower here than in my previous Victorian house).

As you say "get the filthy jobs done asap". I've gone through about two-thirds of the items on the Urgent list to date and reckon I will have done all except one urgent thing before Christmas all being well and then I shall feel freer to get out and "enjoy life" as you put it....when I've finished glugging down a bottle of champagne to celebrate having made good headway on the house or drown sorrows at having spent so much money (dependant on whichever thought comes to mind first:cool:).

Diolch yn fawr.

Ruski

overboard with 9mm sheets. SCREW - do not nail.
3 - 5 mm plaster skim having scrimmed the joints.

Overall loss of ceiling height 12 to 15mm - not the inch plus that's being suggested!



HTH

Russ

DaftyDuck

DaftyDuck wrote:

It'll lower the ceiling by an inch at most...............

I'll stick with that, and you can worry about the 10mm differential.

I think Money is likely to be an inches person myself.


But, I am genuinely interested... SCREW - do not nail? Why? (I'm genuinely not sure which I'd opt for with a second ceiling, but I'd certainly nail plasterboard up on a single ceiling... using ribbed nails.