Plasterboard over wallpapered ceiling

antilles

Bought an old house, the bedroom ceilings are wallpapered with thick wallpaper. We peeled some of this back and the reason for the wallpaper is clear...the ceiling underneath is cracked and damaged, there's even been a leak at some point which has dried out and been papered over.

Obviously the ceilings need to be replaced. I'm planning to overboard with new plasterboard and plaster over those with multifinish, but is it OK to leave the wallpaper on? Basically to save the messy job of stripping it all off. The paper is in good condition and not damaged anywhere and not stained or smelly... just wondered if there's a logical reason I should strip it all first.

Thanks.

FreeBear

You say "old house", so I'm guessing it is a plaster & lath ceiling - Overboarding will work as long as the screws are long enough and you hit the joists every time. Fixing plasterboard to old ceilings and hoping that the rusting nails holding up the laths will keep everything in place is a recipe for disaster.


Whilst it is a dirty, messy, and very dusty job, removing the plaster & laths is preferable in my opinion - The old lime plaster can be recycled as hardcore (great if you plan on laying a path or shed base), and the laths used as kindling on the fire. You do however, need to make sure that all the old nails are removed before putting up plasterboard.


I'm in the process of slowly replacing the ceilings in my old house - As each one comes down, electrics & plumbing get checked, repaired, or replaced depending on condition. Also gives me the opportunity to plug any draughts and put insulation in the voids.

Hasbeen

antilles wrote: »

Bought an old house, the bedroom ceilings are wallpapered with thick wallpaper. We peeled some of this back and the reason for the wallpaper is clear...the ceiling underneath is cracked and damaged, there's even been a leak at some point which has dried out and been papered over.

Obviously the ceilings need to be replaced. I'm planning to overboard with new plasterboard and plaster over those with multifinish, but is it OK to leave the wallpaper on? Basically to save the messy job of stripping it all off. The paper is in good condition and not damaged anywhere and not stained or smelly... just wondered if there's a logical reason I should strip it all first.

Thanks.

Personally, I would just overboard with plasterboard good screws into the joists and skim. Taking the Plaster/ laths? down is going to be messy and in my opinion unnecessary. But look at other advice.

Mistral001

Hasbeen wrote: »

Personally, I would just overboard with plasterboard good screws into the joists and skim. Taking the Plaster/ laths? down is going to be messy and in my opinion unnecessary. But look at other advice.

I saw this done in a room in an office I used to work in (old Georgian house). It was done in a couple of days by a handyman and the resultant ceiling was fine.

antilles

Sorry when I say old I mean 1970s ish. Much older than my last house but I realise now it's probably not old at all. It's already got normal plasterboard attached to the ceiling joists and I would usually just overboard. I just want to board over the wallpaper too rather than stripping it off first, I'm guessing I don't need to bother removing the paper first.

Mistral001

If it is 1970's then the plasterboard should be of reasonable quality. Repair and an reskim might be all that is needed.

I made my kitchen bigger a few years ago and had several cracks in the ceiling and a area of plasterboard which needed replacing. I replaced said area of plasterboard and filled in the cracks myself and got a plasterer to reskim the ceiling. Ten years later the ceiling looks totally fine. No cracks or blemishes. My house was built in the 1950's BTW.

FreeBear

A 1970s build would be "modern build" to most. In which case, strip off the old paper, tape the cracks (replace any popped nails with screws), and skim. Don't try skimming over the paper because as soon as it gets wet, the weight of the plaster will bring it down.

Mistral001

FreeBear wrote: »

A 1970s build would be "modern build" to most. In which case, strip off the old paper, tape the cracks (replace any popped nails with screws), and skim. Don't try skimming over the paper because as soon as it gets wet, the weight of the plaster will bring it down.

Agree.

BTW I forgot to mention in my post which is something along these lines that you need to take of the old wallpaper before reskimming - I thought that was a given.