Ceilings & Plasterboard

[Steve Gontarek]

I have two choices re a lath & plaster ceiling (this is a bungalow, so its only loft space above). The ceiling is pretty cracked (though it has been repaired over the years)

1. Bring it down and reline with plasterboard directly onto joists
2. Leave original and put plasterboard on top (or rather under, if u get my drift)

What's the concensus on each option ? What are the cons of option 2 ?

Also regarding option2, I feel it would be easier attaching battens directly to the joists thru the lath & plaster, then fixing the plasterboard to the battens, rather than trying to fix the plasterboard directly to the joists (thru the lath & plaster).Anyone see anything wrong with that ?

Ta Steve

[Grunff]

Taking down lath and plaster is a horrible, horrible job. So, if, and only if your current ceiling is totally flat (not sagging at all), then simply board on top.

If OTOH it isn't (like all of ours werent :-() then your only sensible option is to pull it down and board onto the joists.

As for putting in battens, I'm not sure this gains you a great deal, and it will lose you some height.

[Steve Gontarek]

I already done this in another part of the house and basically want to avoid doing it again: it *is* a horrible job. The ceiling I want to do isn't sagging, but it has been cracked and repaired alot and no matter how much you paper over it, you can still see the repairs

As for the battens, well, it strikes me it would be easier to fix to (and locate) the joists first using the battens so that when I come to fix the plasterboard on , allI have to worry about is lining them up with the battens, which will I set anyway at an interval useful for fixing plasterboard! In addition, the wooden battens might support the old ceiling a bit more, just in case it does decide to come adrift. I have the height to play with anyway. Does that make sense ?

Steve

[David W.E. Roberts]

How about the 3rd way :-)

I stripped the plaster off the lath - in my case quite easy as the plaster was already coming off the lath, and it was held together by very strong paper. It came off in large chunks. Messy, but not as bad as some reported experiences. I then screwed new plasterboard through the laths into the joists.

I think that taking the laths down (and dealing with the nails) is the bad part of replacing the ceiling - so just taking the plaster off avoids this. You can also see exactly where the joists are when you are screwing up the new plasterboard.

In general I have seen it recommended that you screw plasterboard instead of nailing it.

I see no benefit in screwing battens to the existing joists and then fastening the plasterboard to the battens - it is just extra work. As easy to screw the plasterboard directly to the joists. As you are covering the existing ceiling you can cut into the plaster to confirm the run of the joists - and you would have to do this anyway to fit the battens.

The only reason for lowering the ceiling I can think of is if you add insulation between the existing ceiling and the new plasterboard for extra noise and heat insulation.

HTH Dave R

[Lobster]

Just been there and done that (both options!)

Agreed absolutely. It's pretty simple to pull it down, but the mess it causes is like nothing you've ever experienced. We pulled down two, and had the others overboarded. In one room, where we did overboard, the ceiling was a bit wonky (ie not straight, although not sagging), and this is reflected in the final job TBH. But in the other rooms, you now really can't tell which were overboarded and which we'd pulled down first.

Yes, really no point in battens. You do need to locate all the original joists first, to attach the PB; easy enough with a bradawl or soomething. Mark the centres of the joists on the walls, at just below ceiling, so when you've covered the lines on the ceiling with pb, you can still see where to put the screws in. And do use screws, not nails - been there, done that too... even if you have to buy a 15-quid cordless drill/driver from B&Q just for the purpose, it would be well worth it!

David

[Andrew Gabriel]

The joists and laths in a lath and plaster ceiling (or wall for that matter) may well have never been flat -- that was the plasterer's job back then, and the plaster could vary from 1/2" to 2" thick on a wall or ceiling to make it flat. That could make fixing plasterboard hard in the worse cases.

[N. Thornton]

I can see no reason to fit PB at all. The solution is to skim the existing ceiling, but if its not 100% sound then do this first:

1. Put props under the plaster, with wood sheet on top. You can use wood poles plus scrap books if you dont have props.
2. In the loft, pour dilute PVA along side the joists.
3. Leave it all to dry out, remove props.

If you put PB under an old ceiling, as it falls off, which it will, it will put a heck of a weight on the PB, and it will end up a mess in time. If you remove the ceiling and put new PB up, it will be a hell of a mess. Any wonky joists can be packs with bits of scrap wood.

Glueing is clean and long lived.

Regards, NT

[-= debully =-]

ROFLMAO!!!!!

[Michael Mcneil]

If it's lath and plaster the centres for the batons will be imperial and new plasterboard is metric. Putting battens up will allow you to get the finish level and even and to space them at 4oo mm centres. Start 2 or 3 inches from one edge. It will carry that much until skimmed.

[David W.E. Roberts]

O.K. - a light has just blinked on :-)

You are putting the battens at right angles to the joists so you don't have to follow the original joist spacing and can set the battens to minimise the cutting of plasterboard.

I was having trouble seeing why you would want to attach battens along the line of the joists.

So this is a valid strategy even if you take the ceiling down and expose the joists.

Ho hum!

[Andrew Gabriel]

If the ceiling joists are level with each other and you are going to plaster the ceiling, you shouldn't need batons at right angles to the joists along the plasterboard joins. What is sometimes done is to leave a 1/4-1/2" gap, Then when plastering, you start by forcing bonding coat plaster through these gaps so it goes right through and builds up a bit on the back, and level off on the front with the plasterboard face. This bonds the plasterboard edges together very effectively.

I would not try this parallel to the joists though -- differential movement in adjacent joists might cause cracking later.

[Steve Gontarek]

Yup !

Steve