New ceiling

digitaldave

A couple of months ago the ceiling in my kitchen collapsed (approx. 2 metres x 1 metre hole) due to escaped water from the toilet in the bathroom above.

The toilet leak has been fixed and I have claimed through the insurance who have agreed to pay out for the ceiling to be repaired.

What I'm asking is, if there are any plasterers/builders/tradespeople on here, would you normally replace all of the plasterboard on the ceiling or just the sections near the damaged part? It is my plasterer's intention to replace just the area near the hole and he will re-skim the lot afterwards as I have Artex at the moment and want a smooth finish. The price I've been quoted is about £750 all in so was wondering whether this seems a reasonable price to pay, or whether for this price I would expect him to replace all the plasterboard that's there (as I've been told elsewhere that plasterboard is very cheap).

I appreciate your comments.

rdpro

wow, what a ripoff.. ok, ceilings aren't the easiest, but the *single* pb he'll buy will be just a few quid. For 750 quid to skim, you must have a huuuuuuge kitchen!
To put it in perspective, I'd pay about 750 to have the entire downstairs walls of my terraced house skimmed, and then haggle over the ceilings to get thrown in

Btw, if the rest of the board is sound, there's no need to take it down - in fact, it'll cost a lot more in time and cleaning up all the dust afterwards!

digitaldave

Ok, maybe I should provide more details of the quote I was given:
- Take down water damaged kitchen ceiling, fix new plasterboard to ceiling joists and skim joints, plaster ceiling to leave smooth plaster finish, apply paint for final decoration and clearance of site and disposal of rubbish on completion.

By the way, the kitchen is only 4 x 2.5 metres so unfortunately no, not that big!

phill99

I undertake a lot of insurance work and that seems about right for the work you have described. Its common only to replace the affected boards - replacing the rest woule be unnecessary. Remember there is a time lag between the plasterer and decorators - I allow 5 - 7 days depending on the weather. You also need to remember that the job taht you are getting isn't all of the costs - the guy has had to attend the house, write the quote (or pay someone to do it) and all this has to be costed into the price.

rdpro

Sounds like he's taking down the entire ceiling - here's a copy of my house renovation quote for one of the bedrooms, about the size of your kitchen, bearing in mind he's not the cheapest!:

· Bedroom 2 (rear)
Install a new client supplied door. Remove the existing ceiling, install new ceiling and skim.
Estimated cost: £580.00

Why pay to have it painted? It only requires one coat of watered emulsion to seal a skim. About an hour of your time, including preparation.

digitaldave

rdpro wrote: »

Sounds like he's taking down the entire ceiling - here's a copy of my house renovation quote for one of the bedrooms, about the size of your kitchen, bearing in mind he's not the cheapest!:

· Bedroom 2 (rear)
Install a new client supplied door. Remove the existing ceiling, install new ceiling and skim.
Estimated cost: £580.00

Why pay to have it painted? It only requires one coat of watered emulsion to seal a skim. About an hour of your time, including preparation.

Well, that's what I was hoping for (new ceiling) when I asked for the quote. I think I just assumed as plasterboard is so cheap (or so I've been told) that maybe it would be easier for him to rip down the plasterboard that's there and start again. Isn't there a chance that the plasterboard could have been damaged from the water leak futher along than the part which collapsed?
Regarding the painting, I will probably do this myself, just wanted to get an idea of a maximum price I would have to pay if I had the ceiling back to how it was.

rdpro

I've been told most plasterers baulk at ripping down entire ceilings simply because of the mess that the years of dust on the upper surface will rain down on them and your room. Most prefer to secure new board over, then skim. In my situation, the original boards are so badly out of line, boarding over would effectively reduce my ceiling by about 2in!

poppyolivia

Exact same thing happened to us..new bathroom in and wham bam! The hole was the size of a dinner plate...the insurance paid for it and the guy that came out said he would do the whole room for £900 I think it was give or take. When you look at my kitchen ceiling you can tell it was once 2 rooms because of the support so I thought only one side would be fixed but he ripped the whole lot out and gave me lovely smooth gorgeous ceilings!!...Rest of the house is artex heaven but at least the kitchen is getting there!!LOL I even mentioned a patch up job and he looked at me as if I came from another planet!

digitaldave

poppyolivia wrote: »

... but he ripped the whole lot out and gave me lovely smooth gorgeous ceilings!!...Rest of the house is artex heaven but at least the kitchen is getting there!!LOL I even mentioned a patch up job and he looked at me as if I came from another planet!

Well, that is what I was hoping for, but having spoke to him earlier it seems he doesn't intend to rip the lot down, just the most affected sections and re-skim the rest. Not sure about Artex heaven...more like Artex hell!!

cargo

I might be reading this wrong but the guy submitted a quote which as been accepted and authorised by your insurance company.As long as you end up with the ceiling looking like a new one.
Everyone is happy.

poppyolivia

digitaldave wrote: »

Well, that is what I was hoping for, but having spoke to him earlier it seems he doesn't intend to rip the lot down, just the most affected sections and re-skim the rest. Not sure about Artex heaven...more like Artex hell!!

What a mess though when they take down the ceiling....I was scared he would get asbestos poisoning!!! He said it was fine but he's never in his life seen so much Cr*p come down from a ceiling!:D
Yeah maybe heaven wasn't the right word!!! I have water damage in the main bedroom because the roof was leaking...but I really can't be bothered having to clear the room...might fix it myself one day!:rotfl:
I would say there is still 6 ceilings in this house that are artexed and you can see the ceiling tape its that thin!!:rotfl:Very fetching don't you know!

Good luck with the job in hand! xx