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Tim Smith
 
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Default repairing lath + plaster ceiling

Hi

Ive got two questions really.

Firstly, we have a small (2.5' by 2.5') ceiling at approximately 45deg over
the stairs between the horizontal downstairs ceiling and the vertical wall
of the stairwell. The plaster on this bit of ceiling was completely shot
falling off. Underneath are the wooden slats attached to three joists.

Since Im not too bad at plastering now (did a course near Bedford and plenty
of practice) I tried to replaster this with the normal sand/cement mix
undercoat. Of course I had great difficulty in getting much of this to stay
in place.

My question is therefore, is it reasonable to cover this ceiling with
plasterboard ? If so, can I leave the wooden laths in place and just screw
the plasterboard into the joists through the laths or should I also remove
the laths which will obviousyl create more mess.

I can then use some plaster or filler or something to fill the curves
between the old plaster and the new plasterboard.

Secondly, the same downstairs ceiling is coming away from the laths in
places although the plaster is still in one piece. The ceiling has been
wallpapered which is holding most of it in place I think.

Is there anything I can do to secure the plaster to hte laths again ? Is an
alternative to fix plasterboard over the whole ceiling ? Again I dont really
want to resort to taking teh whole ceiling down. What is the correct way to
do this ?

Thanks

Tim


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bof
 
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In message , Tim Smith
writes
Hi

Ive got two questions really.

Firstly, we have a small (2.5' by 2.5') ceiling at approximately 45deg over
the stairs between the horizontal downstairs ceiling and the vertical wall
of the stairwell. The plaster on this bit of ceiling was completely shot
falling off. Underneath are the wooden slats attached to three joists.

Since Im not too bad at plastering now (did a course near Bedford and plenty
of practice) I tried to replaster this with the normal sand/cement mix
undercoat. Of course I had great difficulty in getting much of this to stay
in place.


I've replastered lathe ceilings using normal undercoat plaster and it
seems to stick fine, I tended to squidge it on so that some was forced
between the lathes, which I'd guess helped it stay in place, try using
undercoat plaster instead of the sand and cement.

--
bof at bof dot me dot uk
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Tim Smith
 
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Bof,

Thanks for the rapid reply !

I guess Im tempted by the plasterboard option because it liklely to be a
quicker and less messy (certainly with plastering).

Would this method work or is it a bodge job ? I want to do this properly.

Tim


"bof" wrote in message
...
In message , Tim Smith
writes
Hi

Ive got two questions really.

Firstly, we have a small (2.5' by 2.5') ceiling at approximately 45deg
over
the stairs between the horizontal downstairs ceiling and the vertical
wall
of the stairwell. The plaster on this bit of ceiling was completely shot
falling off. Underneath are the wooden slats attached to three joists.

Since Im not too bad at plastering now (did a course near Bedford and
plenty
of practice) I tried to replaster this with the normal sand/cement mix
undercoat. Of course I had great difficulty in getting much of this to
stay
in place.


I've replastered lathe ceilings using normal undercoat plaster and it
seems to stick fine, I tended to squidge it on so that some was forced
between the lathes, which I'd guess helped it stay in place, try using
undercoat plaster instead of the sand and cement.

--
bof at bof dot me dot uk



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Lobster
 
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Default

Tim Smith wrote:

snip

You did check the FAQ for this newsgroup before posting, didn't you...
http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/miscellaneous.html#Repairing :-)

David
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Tim Smith
 
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Default

Oops.

Sorry - I have to admit I didnt....

Thanks for the pointer though - plasterboard it is !

Tim

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
Tim Smith wrote:

snip

You did check the FAQ for this newsgroup before posting, didn't you...
http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/miscellaneous.html#Repairing :-)

David





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Anna Kettle
 
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On Fri, 25 Mar 2005 17:44:57 -0000, "Tim Smith"
wrote:

Is there anything I can do to secure the plaster to hte laths again ? Is an
alternative to fix plasterboard over the whole ceiling ? Again I dont really
want to resort to taking teh whole ceiling down. What is the correct way to
do this ?


The _correct_ way to do it is the way it was done before, but that
requires a new head cos the words bonding and plasterboard go out the
window to be replaced by lime mortar and goat hair

The materials might be trickier to locate (where are you?) but if you
can do modern plastering then the technique is easy enough and lime
mortar sets slowly so you don't need to feel rushed. If you want to go
that route then I'll explain in more detail

Even if you use modern materials I would add some short strands of
fibre to give tensile strength; hair, fibreglass, string, straw or
whatever

Anna


~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England
|""""| ~ Lime plaster repairs
/ ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc
|____| www.kettlenet.co.uk 01359 230642
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Biff
 
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Default

Anna is so right. Abandon the gypsum and use the real stuff. Here's
a couple of firms that will supply goat hair, lime putty and
everything else you need to fix a lath and plaster ceiling the proper
way. Order on line from Womersleys or Mike Wye:

http://www.womersleys.co.uk/acatalog..._plasters.html
http://www.mikewye.co.uk/

Get more advice from Perdiod Property UK Forum. Lots of experts
willing to share their knowledge about looking after old houses
properly hang out there.

http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/index.shtml
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