Just about to embark on renovating the bathroom and could do with some advice please. The ceiling is covered with those horrible poly tiles and theyre well stuck down. Tried elbow grease, tried steamer, even tried cursing at it but they are well and truly stuck down. I had a thought of just covering the tiles completely with a sheet of plasterboard. Is this ok or not with regards to fire risks? Any ideas or pointers? Thanks Pete
Expanded polystyrene can be used as building insulation (i.e. Jablite), so I'd be surprised if you weren't allowed to just board over a few mm of tiles. Don't take my word for it, though.
Christian.
I'dve thought plaster board over them would be fine as well. Make sure you get the joist marked on either wall so that screwing the plaster board up is easy. Don't mark the joist on the ceiling, cause you won't see the marks once the plaster board is in the way. :-)
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I'd scrape as much of the tiles off as possible. I don't like the idea of them possibly smouldering away possibly un-noticed producing rather toxic fumes...
ISTR that the fire risk from them was a combination of the fumes/smoke when they actually burn't and the dripping burning plastic spreading the fire rather effectively. Being on the ceiling, thus the hottest part of a room, the chances of them catching is quite high.
Thanks for the opinions guys. Im not sure I understand Daves thinking though. As I see it, the tiles would be squashed between the original plasterboard ceiling and the new one which I was considering putting up. I could have sworn that fire can only spread if there is air to feed it, given that fact and as far as I know plasterboard doesnt burn very well, wouldnt that mean the tiles would not burn? I'd love to get the tiles off but I think each individual ball of polystyrene is welded, then superglued, fixed with a 6inch nail and finally covered with an anti diy paint. :s Pete
In message , PeteZahut wrote
I've had a lot of success getting these type of ceiling tiles off (plus the tile cement) with a sharp 4 inch scraper - the type with a replaceable blade.
You will probably find that the tiles were hiding a cracked ceiling.
Air can get to the edges. If something starts it off smouldering, say heat from a light fitting or poor electrical connection it's quite possible for it or anything else flamable concealed in a similar manner, to smoulder away undetected for days...
You've obviously not seen the attention the fire service put into to ensuring a fire is *really* out. The inital blaze in a single room will be quelled within minutes of them arriving but they'll be there for and hour or more damping it down and making sure that there are no hidden pockets of fire to spring back into life. Apart from the waste of resources if they have to re-attend it's a tad embarrasing. B-)
Seconded with the blade/scraper.
Took a layer of tiles, artex/woodchip and several layers of paint of my bathroom ceiling.
Hard work and most people would proabably have just boarded over it all but I'd know it was under the plasterboard everytime I looked up there. ;-)
Mark S.
I had a bedroom ceiling that was covered in poly tiles and I thought they'd never come off.
Removing the tiles with a scraper did most of the job.
The glue was removed by using a wallpaper steamer. It softened the glue nicely and the scraper made a very good job of totally removing the glue from the ceiling.
I was really surprised at just how effectively it was all removed and it only needed painting afterwards. It looks great now.
I wopuld definitely say that fire hazard was reduced by skinning with plasterboard.
I think any sane BCO would accepot that as an improvement: With alterations you have to make sure they are no worse than the original, and if new structure goes in, to current regs.
If it was superglued, it would have dissolved. DAMHIKT.
My dad loved these, it all depends how they are put up :-
wallpaper paste - steam 'em off tile cement blobs - rip & scrape tile cement combed - sell the house
Regards Jeff
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