Easiest way to remove ceiling

If accessible stamp on it from on top.

If not, hammer and wrecking bar to pull down and pull out nails.

Crow bar

Richard

Whats the easiest/cleanest/quickest way to remove a plasterboard ceiling

Garden spade.

Mike

Tried that and had the ceiling down in 20 minutes and less dust than trying saw it.

Job nearly done :-)

You don't really want to saw it - it will make lots of dust.

Use a fubar or similar to smash a hole in it, and then tear it down with your hands. Wear a hard hat and some decent work gloves and - ideally - a face mask.

Bear in mind that the plasterboard will have been put up before the walls were plastered, so it will extend over the top of the wall plaster

- so be careful not to pull too much plaster off the walls in the process.

What's the current finish - is it just normal skim? If it's artexed or stippled, it just might contain asbestos - so you definitely need to make sure that you don't breathe any of the dust.

Angle grinder.

/What's the current finish - is it just normal skim? If it's artexed or stippled, it just might contain asbestos - so you definitely need to make sure that you don't breathe any of the dust. /Q

Better late than never...

Jim K

There is every chance the walls will be ripped out as well depending on how the wall tiles come off so not too bothered about the ceiling/wall joint.

It is actually a double skin this one has been papered, hopefully I wont need to take all of the 2nd skin down, that has been artexed.

yes I am wearing a mask.

Not a bad idea. At least you can stand to one side as the crap falls down.

My advice - buy a sheet of DPM that is bigger than the work area (at least 4ft or so bigger) - preferable the whole room floor area.

Pin/tape it down and likewise all the way to the outside door.

Leave it there until the new ceiling is up, plastered and painted. Saves a LOT of cleanup effort - and stuff sweeps up on DPM so much more easily.

Titting around with a saw = lots of fine floaty dust that gets into everything.

Breaking plaster leaves heavy lumps and crumbs that (barring the layer of s**te on top op the PB) generally falls straight down and stays down.

Disposable paper suit is made for times like this...

Tell an apprentice not to damage it.

:-)

Smack it. The mess can be terrible.

NT

That's interesting. How do you use that? To pry or to cut?

Thanks, Stephen.

Both. Chop into the board with it at a convenient point, then slide the blade of the spade between the joists and pull down, repeat like an old fashioned tin opener. Then go back and deal with what nails pulled through with claw hammer or better still nail bar. It works with lath and plaster as well.

Mike

I did one recently with a garden hoe, of all things. It can just about slice through the board, and has a nice long handle. Still a bit messy, though, and you have to have some idea of where the joists are, to go between them.

Thanks I'll try that next time.