Overboard or rip down lath plaster ceiling

aj9648

Hi

Just looking at options over lath plaster ceiling I have. Is it best to rip out or just over board it? I was just thinking to OB it as I can’t deal with the mess

Apart from an inch I would lose from the ceiling height - any other cons?

trailingspouse

I've done both.

The mess is immense - the dust managed to get into my tumble dryer the wrong way through the filter, while it was in another room!!!
If you have any sort of decorative coving, you will lose some or all of it. You'll only lose the thickness of the plasterboard + skim, so possibly not even an inch. I would overboard, personally.
If you decide to remove the lath and plaster, please wear a face mask. It's nasty stuff.

Gloomendoom

If you don't like mess you only have the one option.

Will you really lose as much as an inch?

aj9648

Yeah an inch doesn’t sound like a huge loss

FreeBear

trailingspouse wrote: »

The mess is immense

Having pulled down two out of the nine ceilings here, it is indeed very messy. Do not underestimate the quantity of plaster that will need to be disposed of - A (nominal) 4m x 4m room produced best part of a tonne, but being lime plaster, it was recycled as hardcore for a shed base. The laths make for good kindling on the fire, so no waste there either.

Down side to overboarding - It is hit & miss getting the screws in to the joists, and if the ceiling is cracking & falling down, the plasterboard will be taking a lot of weight. On the plus side, the additional mass will reduce the amount of noise being transmitted through the ceiling from the rooms above (assuming this is not a bungalow).

JohnB47

Another thing to bear in mind is that, if you ever want to install ceiling mounted spots, the additional depth could cause problems. The clip system these come with is designed to match a certain depth of ceiling. My bathroom has been over boarded but the spots containers only just fit property. If I had the choice again I'd go for a complete replacement but only because I'd planned to install spot lights.

Oh and yes, it is messy to have a lath and plaster ceiling removed. I'd recommend cling film wrapping all of your hi fi gear for a start! That fine dust plays havoc with the controls.