Bulge / Crack in kitchen ceiling, please advise?

Dannyp6611

We are currently doing up our property to sell and get the best possible value for it. I am looking for some advise regarding cracking and bulging in the Kitchen ceiling and what would be the best method to sort this out? There is a flat roof above the kitchen ceiling so maybe that is the reason, however maybe its just the old age of the property as it is over a 100 years old. I have taken some photos please refer to link and remove spaces. Thank you


(i 1349.photobucket.com/ alb ums/ p750/d anny_parker 1/bulge_zpsrhqpthkz.jpg)

stuart45

Is the ceiling lath and plaster?

AdrianC

You need to know what the ceiling's made of, first.


Lath and plaster is small wooden strips with (often horse-hair reinforced) plaster forced through the gaps. It's what would have been there when the house was built, and is almost certainly now very crumbly, at best.


Plasterboard is the modern alternative.


Ripping down a ceiling will always be a horrible, messy job - but re-boarding isn't at all hard. If the flat roof's leaking, there's likely to be plenty of other clues.

davidmcn

Dannyp6611 wrote: »

I have taken some photos but unfortunately unable to upload them

Put them on a photo-hosting site (if you haven't already) and give us the URL disguised in some way (stick in some spaces).

Dannyp6611

(i 1349.photobucket.com/ alb ums/ p750/d anny_parker 1/bulge_zpsrhqpthkz.jpg)


thank you for your help please see photo.

AdrianC

That looks like it could be either. If it's plasterboard, the long straight line would be the edge of a board. Looks like it's had some bodgery in the past where a hole's been filled - kitchen, so an old extractor removed? The colour mis-match could be damp, or could be simply mis-painted old bodgery.


Both your links look to be the same.

Dannyp6611

thank you for your replies, so would your advice still be to completely rip it down and plasterboard. We have already plasterboarded the bathroom ceiling so this isnt a problem however i don't want to make any big problems for myself.

stuart45

Looks like it could be plasterboard, with perhaps Artex.
You could use taper edged boards and tape and fill the joints, which is easier than plastering the ceiling.

Dannyp6611

stuart45 wrote: »

Looks like it could be plasterboard, with perhaps Artex.
You could use taper edged boards and tape and fill the joints, which is easier than plastering the ceiling.

would you recommend completely taking it down or plasterboard over the top of the current ceiling? sorry i am a novice

stuart45

I would take down the old plasterboard, but if it's the old lath and plaster a lot of DIYers prefer to overboard as it's a really dirty job.
Make sure you stagger the new boards to help prevent any cracking.

Adereterial

If it’s artex, do you know how old it is? Old artex can include asbestos and that is not a job for an amateur. You’ll need a professional to both remove and dispose of it.