On Fri, 18 Apr 2008 11:23:34 -0400, "Newser"
wrote:

I bought a house with a large drywalled ceiling on an outdoor lanai. While
it doesn't get wet, the drywall tape separates and it's clear from the
patching that this has happened frequently in the past. So I'm exploring
some alternative ceilings and someone suggested putting up lath and stucco.
I have questions about that:

1. Is this at all a good idea, or are there some strong reasons not to do
it? (I haven't investigated cost, but will deal with that as a separate
issue once I know what's viable.)

Yes. I had my patio ceiling stuccoed. *I* helped a friend built the
patio cover.

2. The joists in the ceiling are 24" o.c.. This would be the only holding
point for the wire lath since the drywall won't support weight. So, would
the lath+stucco sag?


I would suspect it would, especially if only nails were used to hang
the sheet rock (24" OC). I would not risk lath over the sheet rock. I
would pull the sheet rock down, clean up and install the metal lath.

In my are stucco is applied in three coats (scratch, brown and then
finish).

3. If sagging would be a problem, I would think it could be solved by
adding a plywood 'underlayment' (? overlayment ?). Do you think that would
be satisfactory and, if so, what thickness plywood?


If you tear out the sheet rock there would no cost for wood

4. I would think doing ceilings would be highly unusual for most stucco
contractors. So what questions should I ask them to help figure out whether
they'd really be able to handle this?


It's done every day here.

Make sure they wire-tie the edges of the metal lath together. If they
do not tie the edges you may see hairline cracks appear across the
ceiling...

Thanks in advance for any help or pointers.