Original lath and plaster with artex - costly to remove and replace or alternatives?

Blank11

Hi, I am looking to buy a two bedroom house (65sq m) and I have heard horror stories of the ceiling collapsing with original lath and plaster. Also overboarding it if the plasterer doesn’t screw the nails in properly that can cause issues and lath might not be able to handle the weight. For peace of mind I’d want to remove it but from the sounds of it seems like a messy and costly job. I’m in central Scotland and would like to ask if anyone knows the rough costs so I can decide whether to go through with this house purchase. TIA

TELLIT01

I can't comment on price, but removal of lath and plaster ceiling will be an extremely messy job.  The ceiling is going to be well over 50 years old to be of that construction so will have that period of dust and debris on top.  It's certainly not a job to be done once the house is occupied.

Blank11

TELLIT01 said:

I can't comment on price, but removal of lath and plaster ceiling will be an extremely messy job.  The ceiling is going to be well over 50 years old to be of that construction so will have that period of dust and debris on top.  It's certainly not a job to be done once the house is occupied.

The house is roughly 90 years old. I would be staying with family before moving in. But I’m just thinking if this will be all too costly and I run over budget for this job. As I still need to account for the central heating system being over 30 years old 

Albermarle

THe centralBlank11 said:

TELLIT01 said:

I can't comment on price, but removal of lath and plaster ceiling will be an extremely messy job.  The ceiling is going to be well over 50 years old to be of that construction so will have that period of dust and debris on top.  It's certainly not a job to be done once the house is occupied.

The house is roughly 90 years old. I would be staying with family before moving in. But I’m just thinking if this will be all too costly and I run over budget for this job. As I still need to account for the central heating system being over 30 years old 

 Heating system being 30 years old is probably not a significant issue, unless you specifically want to replace it with a new system for some reason. Although if the boiler is that old then it probably will need replacing at some point.

Also are you sure the ceilings are lath and plaster, as it was about 90 years ago when they were being superseded by plasterboard. Even if they are, they may still be in good condition. Do you know they are not in a good state?

FreeBear

TELLIT01 said:

I can't comment on price, but removal of lath and plaster ceiling will be an extremely messy job.  The ceiling is going to be well over 50 years old to be of that construction so will have that period of dust and debris on top.  It's certainly not a job to be done once the house is occupied.

It is a very, very messy, dusty, and dirty job. The dust gets everywhere, and even after a real good clean, you'll find patches months/years later. On the plus side, it gives you the opportunity to sort out any plumbing & electrics and a chance to insulate the ceilings right up to the eves. Oh, and you get a big supply of dry kindling should you want to light a fire.

Pulled down several lath & plaster ceilings here. It doesn't need any specialist tools (hammer, wrecking bay, mole grips), but you do need a decent dust mask, goggles, and overalls (plus gloves). A scaffold tower is desirable if the ceiling is particularly high, but not essential.

As to cost - I wouldn't like to say. I've pulled down and boarded the ceilings myself, and after paying a "plasterer" that ended up doing a poor job, doing the final skim myself.

frankersBri

It creates a lot of dust/mess. If you're doing the whole house, then definitely do it before you move in! But I replaced the ceiling downstairs when I renovated my kitchen/diner. Small bits had already falled down in the corners. Saying that, I have not replaced any other ceilings in the house and they're all fine, and I believe are all layth and plaster still.. Also live in a house that is circa 90 years old. 

TELLIT01

I was thinking "Nah.  Our house has lath and plaster and is much less than 90 years old".  Then I did the calculation.  Built in 1938 so only 86 years old!