Just pulled down the old pine tongue and groove ceiling in the bathroom- I never was a fan of the Swedish sauna look. Anyway, I am now debating what to put up as a replacement. For the moment, I have left the battens to which the t&g was attached and above them, the old (buggered) lath and plaster ceiling is still in place (although I have removed the loose bits). The battens are attached to the joists above by a mixture of bloody big screws and nails, so they are fairly rigid and probably up to the job of carrying the weight of a new ceiling. However, I worry that if I were to fix plasterboard to the battens and get it skimmed, there may be a greater tendency for cracking along the joints compared to attaching the plasterboard directly to the joists. Another reason for not wanting to use plasterboard is that I can't skim, so the whole job (complete bathroom refit) will stall while I wait to get a plasterer in. So, alternatives: I was thinking about boarding over using thin MDF sheet and then fixing rubber or vinyl tiles. I particularly like the idea of white studded tiles, although I appreciate that there is a danger of the room simply looking as though it is upside down! Aside from issues of taste and decency, is this a reasonable idea? Is MDF okay for such an application, or is there a better alternative? Also, are there adhesives available that would be up to the job of keeping the tiles in place in a hot, damp environment? One other consideration for me is whether to fit an extractor fan. In the numerous hotel room toilets and also bathrooms at friends' houses in which I have had experience of these things, I have never been impressed by their ability to clear water vapour or foul odours. Are they actually worth the bother?
Thanks in advance for any advice, Jim.